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Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic and logistical consequences of routine preoperative focused cardiac ultrasound (FOCUS) in patients scheduled for elective vascular surgery., Methods: In a prospective, observational study, FOCUS was performed in all patients seen in the vascular surgery outpatient clinic from January 14 to May1, 2019, unless a full echocardiography had been conducted in the preceding 12 months or the patient was already referred to an echocardiography by the vascular surgeons. FOCUS followed a stringent protocol and referrals for a full echocardiography followed predefined criteria., Results: Preoperative FOCUS was performed in 55 (60%) patients. Of these, 12 patients (22%) revealed cardiac pathology and were referred to a full echocardiography. Coronary angiography was subsequently performed in one of these patients but was without a further consequence. All patients underwent surgery., Conclusion: FOCUS disclosed cardiac pathology in the outpatient clinic but with little clinical consequence. This study does not support routine FOCUS as a part of the preoperative patient cardiovascular assessment before vascular surgery. However, larger studies are warranted to further evaluate the relevance of preoperative FOCUS in a larger sample size., Competing Interests: None., (© 2021 The Authors. Health Science Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objectives: This study was performed to investigate whether an intravenous (IV) strategy based on new-generation midline catheters is an efficacious alternative to a conventional IV strategy consisting of peripheral venous catheters and central venous catheters, for patients needing IV therapy exceeding 5 days., Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, controlled study. Patients requiring more than 5 days of IV treatment were randomized to either a midline catheter-based IV strategy or a conventional strategy. The primary endpoint was the composite of the insertion of a central venous catheter (CVC) or the need for four or more peripheral venous catheter (PVC) insertions. The secondary outcomes included catheter dwell times and reasons for premature removal., Results: One hundred and twenty patients were included. The fraction of patients receiving four or more PVCs or having a CVC inserted was 12/58 (21%) in the midline group versus 38/58 (66%) in the conventional group (p <  0.001); the number needed to treat was 2.2. The median overall catheter dwell time was 7 days (range 0-60 days) in the midline group and 4 days (range 0-84 days) in the conventional group (p =  0.002)., Conclusion: In patients requiring more than 5 days of IV therapy, a midline catheter strategy reduced the need for insertion of a CVC or four or more PVCs., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)