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Our study aims to compare the ICU admissions rate between lorazepam versus PB in treating AWS in hospitalized patients. B Introduction: b Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) is a potentially life-threatening medical condition and even though benzodiazepines (BZDs) are the standard of care in the treatment of AWS, therapy-associated complications like respiratory depression requiring ventilatory support and the use of adjunctive pharmacotherapy persist. Studies have shown promising results with phenobarbital (PB), but have been limited to use in the emergency department or as an agent of choice for refractory AWS in the intensive care unit (ICU). [Extracted from the article]

CP is an unusual syndrome of pneumothorax affecting premenopausal women in association with endometriosis. The pneumothorax resolved on follow up CT scans, but reappeared 1 year later as large right hydropneumothorax, requiring ICU admission for acute hypoxic respiratory failure, managed with chest tube placement. CT scan of the chest showed a right sided small to moderate size pneumothorax without parenchymal lung disease. [Extracted from the article]

Background: The advent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) unveiled the worst national blood crisis that the United States had witnessed in over a decade. With the pandemic influencing the different stages of the acquisition of blood products outside the hospital setting, we aimed to explore the possible barriers contributing to the shortage of blood products within the medical community., Aim: To assess the adherence to restrictive blood transfusion practices for patients in the COVID era and pre-COVID era., Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study on hospitalized patients distinguishing the pattern of blood transfusion during the COVID and pre-COVID era in a community hospital. Data was tabulated to include the number of red blood cell (RBC) transfusions and if transfusions met restrictive blood transfusion criteria as per institutional guidelines. Chi-square was applied to test the statistical association between qualitative variables. Unpaired t test and Mann Whitney U test were applied respectively to test the mean difference of quantitative variables., Results: A total of 208 patients were included in the study, of which 108 were during COVID era and 100 were during pre-COVID era. The leading reason for admission in both the COVID era and pre-COVID era transfused patients was shortness of breath (53.7% and 36% P = 0.001), followed by gastrointestinal bleeding (25.9% and 21% P = 0.001). There was a higher percentage of RBC transfusions in the intensive care unit in the COVID-era group than in the pre-COVID era group (38.9% vs 22%, P = 0.008). The restrictive transfusion criteria were met in 62% vs 79% in the COVID and pre-COVID eras, respectively ( P = 0.008)., Conclusion: The COVID-era group received RBC transfusions with less stringent adherence to restrictive blood transfusion practices in comparison to pre-COVID era group., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: Our study was conducted in adherence to a well-defined protocol. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this manuscript., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)