Clinical Research Directory

Impact Tourniquet Conservative Placenta Accreta Neonatal APGAR

Placenta accreta spectrum disorder (PAS) refers to a condition where the placenta fails to separate naturally after childbirth, which can cause significant maternal and neonatal complications, including severe bleeding, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. According to the pathological characteristics, PAS can be classified into three categories, including placenta accreta, placenta increta, and placenta percreta. Risk factors for PAS were identified as cesarean section (CS), hysteroscopy history, in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer and placenta previa, etc. It was reported that over 90% of the PAS cases were with prior cesarean delivery. In order to reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by PAS, guidelines were released from several international societies, including the Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) recommending comprehensive multidisciplinary team (MDT) and expertise in pelvic and abdominal surgeries are essential for patients with PAS. Antenatal diagnosis of PAS is highly advisable, which is closely associated with surgery options, bleeding management and success of uterine preservation. Current diagnostic approaches include imaging examination, PAS prenatal grading system and MDT. Severe complications of PAS (particularly in the case of PP), such as substantial hemorrhage and organ injury, are closely related to the placental position and trophoblast invasion depth. Ultrasonography and MRI are major imaging means for prenatal diagnosis. In the meantime, to preserve fertility, approaches to conservative surgical management for PAS have been developed. The purpose for conservative management of PAS patients is to reduce bleeding, avoid organ injury, preserve the uterus and maintain uterine function. As the concept of uterine preservation is accepted by more and more practitioners, conservative surgical techniques have been developed accordingly. According to the survey of the Society for Maternal-Foetal Medicine (SMFM), only 15-32% of doctors would apply conservative management for PAS cases. Due to the lack of high-quality clinical trials as well as follow-up studies, standardized surgical management for PAS has not yet been determined. There are three approaches applied to placenta management in PAS, including manual separation of placenta, one-step conservative surgery and leaving the placenta in situ. Removing the complete placenta can effectively reduce bleeding and infection and preserve the uterus. The classical "Triple-P" management was proposed in 2012, which includes perioperative placental localization, pelvic devascularization and placental non-separation with myometrial excision and uterine reconstruction. The uterine artery tourniquet has numerous advantages, including a decrease in blood loss and the number of transfused packed RBC units. The simplicity of the technique allows for residents to apply the tourniquet to decrease the bleeding and allows time until an experienced obstetrician arrives. Presently, other attempts to avoid hysterectomy include uterine compression sutures, intrauterine balloon tamponade, pelvic artery ligation, and spiral suturing of the lower uterine segment. Intrauterine balloon tamponade may increase CS scar dehiscence, uterine rupture, and infection. Best practices for these methods involve skilled surgeons and obstetricians who have detailed knowledge of pelvic artery anatomy that includes vascular variations or distortions. The Apgar score was established in 1953 as a rapid newborn assessment immediately after birth. It provides a mechanism to describe the situation of the fetus becoming a newborn. Physicians face many challenges in analyzing the fetus' transition into a baby in the delivery room, especially for premature ones. The Apgar score is usually used to analyze the newborn after birth in the delivery room briefly. Thus, the Apgar score analyzes the clinical signs in neonates, such as cyanosis, pallor, bradycardia, decreased reflex response to stimulation, hypotonia, and apnea, or breathing problems such as abnormal rate and tachypnea as quantitative data. The Apgar score is reported at 1 and 5 min after birth and repeated every 5 min up to 20 min for infants with an Apgar score \<7. A peculiar step of such a surgical approach involves the ligature of newly formed vessels between the uterus and the bladder. It has been speculated that such a step may affect the newborn by reducing blood flow to the placenta. This study aimed to report the neonatal outcome of women undergoing conservative reconstructive technique for PAS.

Efficacy of Prehospital Tourniquet Models for Arterial Occlusion in Upper and Lower Limbs

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the occlusive capability and mechanical behavior of different commercially available pre-hospital tourniquet models and the results of their application on upper and lower limbs, in order to validate the techniques proposed in international guidelines regarding proximal application on the arm and thigh ("high and tight tourniquet") and controlled application, 2 to 3 inches proximally to the injury, on the forearm and leg ("controlled tourniquet"). It is estimated that 40 volunteer individuals will be recruited, who will sign the Informed Consent Form (ICF), a group primarily composed of undergraduate and graduate students in health-related fields. Regarding inclusion and exclusion criteria, these individuals will be of both sexes, aged ≥18 and ≤60 years, with both upper and lower limbs, a Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥18.5 and ≤30 kg/m² (considering the normal and overweight range, excluding underweight and obesity ranges), and without Diabetes Mellitus (DM), Systemic Arterial Hypertension, Buerger's disease, vascular and metabolic dysfunctions affecting the limbs including lymphedema, history of neoplasms, cardiac surgeries, renal failure, recent open or closed injuries in the limbs, or any other condition suggestive of systemic or localized vascular dysfunction in the limbs. The main questions it aims to answer are: Null Hypothesis (H0): There are no significant differences in the occlusive capability between TQs and in the efficacy of total vascular occlusion (arteriovenous) depending on the application site among the segments (forearm, arm, leg, thigh). Alternative Hypothesis (H1): There are significant differences in the occlusive capability between TQs and in the efficacy of total vascular occlusion (arteriovenous) depending on the application site among the segments (forearm, arm, leg, thigh). Specific Hypothesis: TQs will present significant variations in initial tightening pressures, arterial occlusion times, and arterial occlusion pressures, evidencing differences that may affect their efficacy. Each participant will receive a total of 8 TQ applications on the arm, forearm, leg, and thigh segments bilaterally, for each of the 3 non-consecutive collection days. Vascular occlusion will be verified using Doppler ultrasound on the radial artery for upper limbs and on the posterior tibial artery for lower limbs. It is a cross-sectional and self-controlled trial, aimed at collecting primary data, with randomization of the application order regarding device, laterality, segment, and blinding of the statistical analyst regarding the applied tourniquet model.