Anesthesiology
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Editorial Comment Review
Fast track cardiac surgery pathways: early extubation, process of care, and cost containment.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A comparison of the posterior versus lateral approaches to the block of the sciatic nerve in the popliteal fossa.
The main disadvantage of the posterior approach to the block of the sciatic nerve in the popliteal fossa (popliteal block [PB]) is the need to place the patient in the prone position. In this study, the authors examined the clinical utility of a recently described lateral approach to PB that is performed with the patient in the supine position, and they compared its ability to provide reliable surgical anesthesia with that of the posterior approach. ⋯ Although blockade using the lateral approach took longer to accomplish, both techniques resulted in clinically acceptable anesthesia in the distribution of the sciatic nerve.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Effects of oral clonidine on heart rate changes after neostigmine-atropine administration.
Clonidine reduces heart rate (HR) responses to atropine, whereas neostigmine causes bradycardia. This study was designed to determine whether clonidine premedication would reduce tachycardia after neostigmine-atropine administration. ⋯ Premedication with 5 microg/kg oral clonidine attenuates the initial increases in HR without subsequent decreases in HR.
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Early tracheal extubation is an important component of the "fast track" cardiac surgery pathway. Factors associated with time to extubation in the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) population are unknown. The authors determined associations of preoperative risk and intraoperative clinical process variables with time to extubation in this population. ⋯ In this population, early tracheal extubation was accomplished in 48% of patients. Intraoperative clinical process variables are important factors to be considered in the timing of postoperative extubation after fast track cardiac surgery.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Do shorter-acting neuromuscular blocking drugs or opioids associate with reduced intensive care unit or hospital lengths of stay after coronary artery bypass grafting? CABG Clinical Benchmarking Data Base Participants.
The authors hypothesized that shorter-acting opioid and neuromuscular blocking drugs would be associated with reductions in duration of intubation, length of stay (LOS) in the intensive care unit (ICU) after tracheal extubation, or postoperative (exclusive of ICU) LOS, and that shorter durations of intubation would be associated with reduced ICU LOS after extubation and postoperative (exclusive of ICU) LOS. ⋯ The LOS measures varied considerably among the institutions. Use of shorter-acting opioid and neuromuscular blocking drugs had no association with ICU LOS after tracheal extubation or with postoperative (exclusive of ICU) LOS. Only when the duration of intubation exceeded threshold values was it associated with increased LOS measures.