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Aim: To measure skin autofluorescence in youth (<18 y.o.) and adults (≥18 y.o.) and to assess its relationship with type 1 diabetes, chronic complications and smoking. Methods: In a cross‐sectional study (n = 383) skin autofluorescence was measured in 269 people with type 1 diabetes (67 with vascular complications) and 114 people without diabetes, covering eight decades of age. Associations of skin autofluorescence with demographics and traditional risk factors were assessed. Results: Skin autofluorescence increased with age in people with diabetes: for those with complications it increased by a mean ± se of 0.029 ± 0.003 arbitrary units per year (r = 0.76) and, for those without complications, it increased by 0.028 ± 0.002 arbitrary units (r = 0.77). These increases were higher than for people without diabetes, whose skin autofluorescence increased by 0.022 ± 0.002 arbitrary units (r = 0.78) per year (p = 0.004). Mean ±se age‐adjusted skin autofluorescence was higher in people with diabetes complications vs people without diabetes complications (1.85 ± 0.04 vs 1.66 ± 0.02 arbitrary units) and people without diabetes (1.48 ± 0.03 arbitrary units; all P < 0.0001). Age‐adjusted skin autofluorescence was higher in current smokers and recent ex‐smokers vs non‐smokers and longer‐term ex‐smokers (1.86 ± 0.06 vs 1.63 ± 0.02 arbitrary units; P = 0.0005). Skin autofluorescence area under the receiver‐operating characteristic curve was 0.89 (95% CI 0.85–0.94) for retinopathy and 0.56 (95% CI 0.47–0.65) for nephropathy. Conclusions: Skin autofluorescence increases with age, but faster in people with diabetes, particularly in those with complications and in smokers, consistent with accelerated aging. Skin autofluorescence may facilitate complication screening and prediction. Longitudinal studies are merited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refractory intra-operative cardiac arrest is a challenging issue for anaesthetists. In this study, we analysed the outcomes of adult patients who received extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation for refractory intra-operative cardiac arrest between 2005 and 2016, using data from our institutional extracorporeal membrane oxygenation registry. We defined refractory intra-operative cardiac arrest as the failure of a return of spontaneous circulation after 30 min of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The primary outcome measure was neurologically intact survival with a cerebral performance category score of 1 or 2 at hospital discharge. Between 2005 and 2016, extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation was used to treat 23 patients who experienced refractory cardiac arrest in the operating room. The survival rates of neurologically-intact subjects were 9/23 (39%) and 6/23 (26%) at 24 h postoperatively and at hospital discharge, respectively. The main cause of refractory-intra-operative cardiac arrest was haemorrhagic shock in 13 out of 23 (57%) patients, and the neurologically-intact survival rate in these patients was 3/13 (23%) at discharge. Our study showed that approximately a quarter of patients with refractory intra-operative cardiac arrest caused by haemorrhage would receive survival benefit from extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Therefore, extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation may be a possible option in this clinically-challenging situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To test the hypothesis that non-invasive skin autofluorescence, a measure of advanced glycation end products, would provide a surrogate measure of long-term glycaemia and be associated with early markers of microvascular complications in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. Methods Forearm skin autofluorescence (arbitrary units) was measured in a cross-sectional study of 135 adolescents with Type 1 diabetes [mean ± sd age 15.6 ± 2.1 years, diabetes duration 8.7 ± 3.5 years, HbA1c 72 ± 16 mmol/mol (8.7 ± 1.5%)]. Retinopathy, assessed using seven-field stereoscopic fundal photography, was defined as ≥1 microaneurysm or haemorrhage. Cardiac autonomic function was measured by standard deviation of consecutive RR intervals on a 10-min continuous electrocardiogram recording, as a measure of heart rate variability. Results Skin autofluorescence was significantly associated with age ( R2 = 0.15; P < 0.001). Age- and gender-adjusted skin autofluorescence was associated with concurrent HbA1c ( R2 = 0.32; P < 0.001) and HbA1c over the previous 2.5-10 years ( R2 = 0.34-0.43; P < 0.002). Age- and gender-adjusted mean skin autofluorescence was higher in adolescents with retinopathy vs those without retinopathy [mean 1.38 (95% CI 1.29, 1.48) vs 1.22 (95% CI 1.17, 1.26) arbitrary units; P = 0.002]. In multivariable analysis, retinopathy was significantly associated with skin autofluorescence, adjusted for duration ( R2 = 0.19; P = 0.03). Cardiac autonomic dysfunction was also independently associated with skin autofluorescence ( R2 = 0.11; P = 0.006). Conclusions Higher skin autofluorescence is associated with retinopathy and cardiac autonomic dysfunction in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. The relationship between skin autofluorescence and previous glycaemia may provide insight into metabolic memory. Longitudinal studies will determine the utility of skin autofluorescence as a non-invasive screening tool to predict future microvascular complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To examine QT intervals corrected for heart rate ( QTc) in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes compared with control subjects, and to determine associations with metabolic control and autonomic function. Methods Resting electrocardiogram recordings of 142 adolescents with Type 1 diabetes [mean ( sd) age 15.3 (2.0) years, diabetes duration 9.0 (3.5) years, HbA1c 71 (17) mmol/mol or 8.7 (1.6)%] and 125 control subjects [mean ( sd) age 15.7 (2.5) years] were used to calculate QTc duration and derive mean heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) values. Linear and logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between QTc, metabolic control and autonomic function (HRV and pupillary function). Results QTc duration was not significantly different between subjects with Type 1 diabetes and control subjects (mean duration 392 vs 391 ms; P = 0.65). In the Type 1 diabetes group, QTc was positively associated with HbA1c [β = 4 (95% CI 2, 6); P < 0.001] and inversely associated with severe hypoglycaemic events [β = -10 (95% CI -20,-2); P = 0.01], less insulin/kg [β = -12 (95% CI -22, -2); P = 0.024] and less HRV. In the Type 1 diabetes group, QTc in the highest quintile (≥409 ms) vs quintiles 1-4 had more pupillary abnormalities (83 vs 56%; P = 0.03), lower pupillary maximum constriction velocity (4.8 vs 5.3 mm/s; P = 0.04), higher heart rate (78 vs 72 beats per min; P = 0.02) and lower HRV (standard deviation of mean NN intervals 4.0 vs 4.3 ms, P = 0.004 and root-mean-square difference of successive NN intervals 3.7 vs 4.1 ms; P = 0.004). Conclusions Although there are concerns about hypoglycaemia in general in people with Type 1 diabetes, chronic hyperglycaemia, rather than intermittent hypoglycaemia, appears to be more deleterious to autonomic cardiac function, even in adolescence. Longer QTc was associated with higher HbA1c concentration, lower risk of hypoglycaemia and autonomic dysfunction. Longitudinal studies are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]