Transfusions with cardiac surgery could raise the risk of Infection

Fragile balance between the treatment of anemia, avoiding the side effects of the infusion of red blood cells, according to a study

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

HealthDay Reporter

Thursday, May 30 (HealthDay new) - Les Patients who receive a transfusion of red blood cells during or after heart surgery may be more at risk of infection, according to a new study.

However, the use of platelets during blood transfusion does not seem to pose a similar risk. Limiting the use of red blood cells may result in less post-operative infections, the researchers suggested.

The study is published in the June issue of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

"A problem common to many surgeons, and is thus the balance between the risk of anemia induced by surgery with the increased risk of infection when the use of red blood cell transfusion to correct anemia, the patient," study author Dr. Keith Horvath, at the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, said in a press release from the journal.

"With this study, we hoped to shed light on the problem and to encourage hospitals and surgeons to examine techniques of cell salvage and other alternatives to transfusion [RBC] during and after heart surgery," he said.

The observational study, conducted by the trials cardiothoracic surgery network, involved nearly 5,200 adults who underwent cardiac surgery between February and September 2010.

"Our study part a broad patient population from a number of different institutions that were the subject of any type of cardiac surgery," noted Horvath. "This great set of patient enabled us to better examine the relationship between transfusion and infection in a very diverse population."

Participants of the study, 48% have received a transfusion of red blood cells and platelets of 31 per cent have received.

With transfusions of red blood cells, 84% were held in during a transplant or left ventricular assist device implantation. At the same time, 63% took place during thoracic aortic procedures, 45 percent took place during the derivation of isolated coronary artery graft surgery, and 40% have occurred in isolated valvular surgery.

The study found only 65 days after the surgery, 5 percent of the patients developed at least a major infection, such as pneumonia, colitis c. difficile (a bacterial infection in the colon) and septicemia.

Each unit of transfused red blood cells, there was an increase of 29 percent of risk of infection. On the other hand, transfused platelets with more than four unit of red blood cells has been associated with a lower risk of infection.

"Bit in regulators seized the complex, but actual relations between transfusions of blood cells, infection and... readmissions," Dr. Bruce Spiess, of the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, wrote in a commentary of related journal.

Spiess concluded that improvements in the management of blood in cardiac teams would enhance patient safety, reduce nosocomial infections and reduce the critical blood shortages.

However, the researchers noted that, since it was an observational study, declared associations cannot be considered as a cause and effect relationship.

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Dating game, Narcissists get the girl

Men Self-admiring more easily attract mates, study finds

By Kathleen Doheny

HealthDay Reporter

Thursday, May 30 (new HealthDay) - men with high levels of narcissism - a positive self-esteem coupled unrealistic image with a sense of entitlement - have easier that others attract a partner potential, said new German research.

"Narcissism is linked to mate called in a real life situation," said Michael Dufner, researcher at the Humboldt University of Berlin, who led the study.

The research is published in the July issue of the journal personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Dufner and his team first measured narcissism in 61 men with an average age of 25, who were invited to join in a courtship study in Germany. "We focused on the narcissism as a trait of personality, not the personality disorder," he said. "This means that everyone has a certain level of narcissism - for some, it is higher, for others lower."

Then, the researchers asked the women approach men they did not know the streets and obtain contact information. It could be a phone number, email or Facebook contact.

Research assistants followed men (whose men were aware of), observing interactions. Dufner has decided to focus on the men in this study, because the men of the Court traditionally a potential partner in this way, compared to the generally more subtle approaches of women, like flirting, he said.

"We checked if individuals with higher narcissism scores are more attractive," he said.

On average, the men approached to about 23 women. To rule out the possibility that the more narcissistic men were more selective in whom they approached, researchers analyzed every woman who was raised on his physical attractiveness and how to dress. Narcissists are not more selective.

The narcissistic guys did get the daughter more often. The higher the level of narcissism, the more likely that they should get more contacts.

"The effect was not due to the high esteem self-esteem, but indeed, narcissism," Dufner said. Physical attractiveness and social daring of Narcissists are the two likely reasons for their appeal to women, he said.

Dufner offered some caveats on research, however. "We were not able to directly test causality underlying the association between narcissism and physical attractiveness," he said.

One possibility, he said, is that physical attractiveness can cause partial narcissism, as others have suggested.

Narcissistic - and the women they are looking for - news are not just good, said Dufner. "Narcissists are charming and attractive at first sight, but they are not romantic partners in the long term," he said.

The results of the study confirm what many experts have long suspected, said Jean Twenge, Professor of psychology at San Diego State University who has written about narcissism. "Narcissists are very good at initiating relationships," she says. "First impression, they met as confident and charming. Problems arise later when you realize that he doesn't care actually you - it's him. »

Karl was not involved in the study but reviewed the findings.

Caution is the synonym for those attracted to Narcissists, the two experts have agreed. "In the long term, Narcissists made bad relationship partners," said Karl. They lack empathy and have a hard time taking someone else's point of view."

Karl said that she does not understand why women fall for Narcissists. "The initial call of narcissistic comes from their assertiveness and confidence," she said. "These are traits stereotypically male that many women find attractive."

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