Under the conditions of this study, pulpotomy offered a viable alternative to root canal treatment for teeth with vital pulps in the short term. However, there is insufficient clinical evidence to consider this technique for the treatment of every permanent tooth. Nevertheless, it should be considered as a potential alternative approach to be further developed for future applications.

Ordinal predictors are commonly used in regression models. They are often incorrectly treated as either nominal or metric, thus under‐ or overestimating the information contained. Such practices may lead to worse inference and predictions compared to methods which are specifically designed for this purpose. We propose a new method for modelling ordinal predictors that applies in situations in which it is reasonable to assume their effects to be monotonic. The parameterization of such monotonic effects is realized in terms of a scale parameter b representing the direction and size of the effect and a simplex parameter bold-italicς modelling the normalized differences between categories. This ensures that predictions increase or decrease monotonically, while changes between adjacent categories may vary across categories. This formulation generalizes to interaction terms as well as multilevel structures. Monotonic effects may be applied not only to ordinal predictors, but also to other discrete variables for which a monotonic relationship is plausible. In simulation studies we show that the model is well calibrated and, if there is monotonicity present, exhibits predictive performance similar to or even better than other approaches designed to handle ordinal predictors. Using Stan, we developed a Bayesian estimation method for monotonic effects which allows us to incorporate prior information and to check the assumption of monotonicity. We have implemented this method in the R package brms, so that fitting monotonic effects in a fully Bayesian framework is now straightforward.

Background Extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO 2 R) is a promising technique for the management of acute respiratory failure, but with a limited level of evidence to support its use outside clinical trials and/or data collection initiatives. We report a collaborative initiative in a large metropolis. Methods To assess on a structural basis the rate of utilization as well as efficacy and safety parameters of 2 ECCO 2 R devices in 10 intensive care units (ICU) during a 2-year period. Results Seventy patients were recruited in 10 voluntary and specifically trained centers. The median utilization rate was 0.19 patient/month/center (min 0.04; max 1.20). ECCO 2 R was started under invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) in 59 patients and non-invasive ventilation in 11 patients. The Hemolung Respiratory Assist System (Alung) was used in 53 patients and the iLA Activve iLA kit (Xenios Novalung) in 17 patients. Main indications were ultraprotective ventilation for ARDS patients ( n = 24), shortening the duration of IMV in COPD patients ( n = 21), preventing intubation in COPD patients ( n = 9), and controlling hypercapnia and dynamic hyperinflation in mechanically ventilated patients with severe acute asthma ( n = 6). A reduction in median V T was observed in ARDS patients from 5.9 to 4.1 ml/kg ( p <0.001). A reduction in PaCO 2 values was observed in AE-COPD patients from 67.5 to 51 mmHg ( p < 0.001). Median duration of ECCO 2 R was 5 days (IQR 3–8). Reasons for ECCO 2 R discontinuation were improvement ( n = 33), ECCO 2 R-related complications ( n = 18), limitation of life-sustaining therapies or measures decision ( n = 10), and death ( n = 9). Main adverse events were hemolysis ( n = 21), bleeding ( n = 17), and lung membrane clotting ( n = 11), with different profiles between the devices. Thirty-five deaths occurred during the ICU stay, 3 of which being ECCO 2 R-related. Conclusions Based on a registry, we report a low rate of ECCO 2 R device utilization, mainly in severe COPD and ARDS patients. Physiological efficacy was confirmed in these two populations. We confirmed safety concerns such as hemolysis, bleeding, and thrombosis, with different profiles between the devices. Such results could help to design future studies aiming to enhance safety, to demonstrate a still-lacking strong...

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