Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Optimal oxygen concentration during induction of general anesthesia.
The use of 100% oxygen during induction of anesthesia may produce atelectasis. The authors investigated how different oxygen concentrations affect the formation of atelectasis and the fall in arterial oxygen saturation during apnea. ⋯ During routine induction of general anesthesia, 80% oxygen for oxygenation caused minimal atelectasis, but the time margin before unacceptable desaturation occurred was significantly shortened compared with 100% oxygen.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Preoperative cardiac events in elderly patients with hip fracture randomized to epidural or conventional analgesia.
Perioperative myocardial ischemia occurs in 35% of unselected elderly patients undergoing hip fracture surgery. Perioperative epidural analgesia may reduce the incidence of adverse cardiac events. ⋯ The authors' data indicate that compared with conventional analgesia, early administration of continuous epidural analgesia is associated with a lower incidence of preoperative adverse cardiac events in elderly patients with hip fracture who have or are at risk for coronary artery disease. Preoperative epidural analgesia may be advantageous for this surgical population.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Effects of preemptive analgesia on pain and cytokine production in the postoperative period.
The postoperative period is associated with increased production of proinflammatory cytokines, which are known to augment pain sensitivity, among other effects. In a previous study, the authors found that patients treated with patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) exhibited attenuated proinflammatory cytokine response in the postoperative period. In the present study, the authors examined whether preemptive analgesia continued with PCEA may further attenuate the proinflammatory cytokine response and reduce pain sensitivity in the postoperative period. They compared cytokine production in two groups of patients, one receiving PCEA, the other receiving preemptive epidural analgesia continued by PCEA. ⋯ Proinflammatory cytokines are key mediators of illness symptoms, including hyperalgesia. The present results suggest that preemptive epidural analgesia is associated with reduced postoperative pain and attenuated production of proinflammatory cytokines.
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Many healthcare professionals are trained in direct laryngoscopic tracheal intubation (LEI), which is a potentially lifesaving procedure. This study attempts to determine the number of successful LEI exposures required during training to assure competent performance, with special emphasis on defining competence itself. ⋯ This study determined that traditional LEI teaching for nonanesthesia personnel using manikin alone is inadequate. A reevaluation of current standards in LEI teaching for nonanesthesia is required.
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Variability inherent in the duration of surgical procedures complicates surgical scheduling. Modeling the duration and variability of surgeries might improve time estimates. Accurate time estimates are important operationally to improve utilization, reduce costs, and identify surgeries that might be considered outliers. Surgeries with multiple procedures are difficult to model because they are difficult to segment into homogenous groups and because they are performed less frequently than single-procedure surgeries. ⋯ The authors recommend use of the lognormal model for estimating surgical times for surgeries with two component procedures. Their results help legitimize the use of log transforms to normalize surgical procedure times prior to hypothesis testing using linear statistical models. Multiple-procedure surgeries may be modeled using the longest (statistically most important) component procedure and type of anesthesia.