Does the Midline Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Have a Place in Critical Care?

Background The goals of infusion therapy are to preserve vascular health and safely deliver needed treatment. Achieving these goals is challenging in critical care because of the complexity of the treatment required. Daily justification of retaining an existing central venous catheter also creates urgency to change to a peripheral vascular access device. The midline catheter has had a resurgence in use because of the need for a long-term peripheral vascular access device not linked to central catheter–associated bloodstream infection risk. Objective To review the characteristics of midline catheters, the benefits and risks of midline catheters, and current evidence regarding midline catheter use in critical care. Results Research related to midline catheters has greatly expanded the body of knowledge regarding vascular access device selection and midline catheter use. Discussion Although the quality and results of research on vascular access devices vary widely, a more accurate safety profile is emerging to illustrate how midline catheter use can support the goals of infusion therapy. Conclusions Optimizing vascular access device selection requires recognition that every vascular access device can cause patient harm. Although the midline catheter appears to fill an important niche in infusion therapy, use of the midline catheter should be carefully evaluated. Midline catheters should not be used as a catheter-associated bloodstream infection prevention strategy, should be inserted to administer peripherally compatible solutions, and should be considered for short-term continuous vesicant therapy only in emergent situations until more definitive vascular access can be achieved.

Device Selection in Patients with Borderline Size Aortic Valve Annulus Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation

Transcatheter heart valve (THV) selection for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is crucial to achieve procedural success. Borderline aortic annulus size (BAAS), which allows a choice between two consecutive valve sizes, is a common challenge during device selection. In the present study, we evaluated TAVI outcomes in patients with BAAS according to THV size selection. We performed a retrospective study including patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and BAAS, measured by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT), undergoing TAVI with self-expandable (SE) or balloon-expandable (BE) THV from the Israeli multicenter TAVI registry. TAVI outcomes were assessed according to the Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 (VARC-2). Out of 2,352 patients with MDCT measurements, 598 patients with BAAS as defined for at least one THV type were included in the study. In BAAS patients treated with SE-THV, larger THV selection was associated with lower rate of paravalvular leak (PVL), compared to smaller THV (45.3% vs. 64.5%; pv = 0.0038). Regarding BE-THV, larger valve selection was associated with lower post-procedural transvalvular gradients compared to smaller THV (mean gradient: 9.9 ± 3.7mmHg vs. 12.5 ± 7.2mmHg; p = 0.019). Of note, rates of mortality, left bundle branch block, permanent pacemaker implantation, stroke, annular rupture and/or coronary occlusion did not differ between groups. BAAS is common among patients undergoing TAVI. Selection of a larger THV in these patients is associated with lower rates of PVL and better hemodynamic profile in patients implanted with SE and BE-THV, respectively, with no effect on procedural complications.

Selection of Devices Based on Multicriteria for Mobile Data in Internet of Things Environment

Internet of Things (IoT) is a computing term which describes universal Internet connectivity, transforming everyday objects into connected devices. Many smart devices are interconnected to sense their surroundings, send, and process the sensed data. The IoT connects the real world with the global world by interconnecting edge devices. The main goal of the IoT is to attain high operating performance, improve throughput, and control the assets and processes of the industry. Many heterogeneous devices in IoT settings are linked with each other to transfer huge amount of information for operations of organizational efficiency. The appropriate and proper device may hinder the main goals of the IoT which seems difficult to achieve. However, not a single research study is focused on the selection of devices based on multicriteria properties. For solving the dilemma of the IoT device selection, “Properties Based Device Selection Using Ant Colony Optimization (PBDS-ACO)” is implemented in this paper which selects a device based on multicriteria properties. By exploiting the suggested model, the effectiveness and efficiency of the IoT are shown.