Index by author

The authors investigated the impact of early extubation and ventilation duration in a cohort of 103 patients that underwent thrombectomy under general anesthesia. Prolonged ventilation was associated with pneumonia during hospitalization and unfavorable functional outcome (mRS greater than or equal to 3) and death at follow-up. According to ROC analysis, a cutoff after 24 hours predicted unfavorable functional outcome with a sensitivity and specificity of 60% and 78%, respectively. The authors conclude that short ventilation times are associated with a lower pneumonia rate and more favorable clinical outcome.

The authors describe a Lean Six Sigma project with the goal of reducing the relative use of pediatric head CTs in their population of patients with hydrocephalus by 50% within 6 months. The existing baseline imaging practice for hydrocephalus was outlined in a Kaizen session, and potential interventions were discussed. An improved radiation-free workflow with ultrafast MR imaging was created. Baseline data were collected for 3 months by using the departmental radiology information system and data collection continued postintervention and during the control phase. The improved workflow resulted in a 75% relative reduction in the percentage of hydrocephalus imaging performed by CT between the pre- and postintervention/control phases. The authors conclude that the lean interventions in the pediatric hydrocephalus care pathway resulted in a significant reduction in head CT orders.