Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2013
Review Meta AnalysisSafety of modern starches used during surgery.
Various hydroxyethyl starch (HES) preparations have been used for decades to augment blood volume. There has been concern recently regarding possible adverse outcomes when using HES in the intensive care setting, especially in patients with septic shock. ⋯ Consequently, we assessed the safety of tetrastarches when used during surgery, using a formal search, that yielded 59 primary full publications of studies that met a priori inclusion criteria and randomly allocated 4529 patients with 2139 patients treated with tetrastarch compared with 2390 patients treated with a comparator. There were no indications that the use of tetrastarches during surgery induces adverse renal effects as assessed by change or absolute concentrations of serum creatinine or need for renal replacement therapy (39 trials, 3389 patients), increased blood loss (38 trials, 3280 patients), allogeneic erythrocyte transfusion (20 trials, 2151 patients; odds ratio for HES transfusion 0.73 [95% confidence interval = 0.61-0.87], P = 0.0005), or increased mortality (odds ratio for HES mortality = 0.51 [0.24-1.05], P = 0.079).
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyThe learning curve associated with the epidural technique using the Episure™ AutoDetect™ versus conventional glass syringe: an open-label, randomized, controlled, crossover trial of experienced anesthesiologists in obstetric patients.
The Episure™ AutoDetect™ (spring-loaded) syringe has been observed to successfully identify the epidural space in 2 pilot studies. In this study we evaluated the impact of the spring-loaded syringe on the establishment of successful epidural labor analgesia (primary outcome), elapsed time for catheter placement, and learning curve (cumulative summary analysis, i.e., Cusum) of experienced anesthesiologists. ⋯ When used by experienced obstetric anesthesiologists, the spring-loaded syringe was associated with a similar overall rate for establishing successful epidural labor analgesia, a shorter elapsed time to epidural catheter insertion, particularly when the anesthesiologist was randomized to use the novel syringe first, and a similar Cusum curve when compared with a conventional glass syringe. Attending versus fellow anesthesiologists and an initial technique preference for loss-of-resistance to continuous saline were associated with greater analgesia success with the novel syringe.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialOpioid-sparing effect of preemptive bolus low-dose ketamine for moderate sedation in opioid abusers undergoing extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy: a randomized clinical trial.
Ketamine has been used as part of a multimodal analgesia regime in opioid abusers undergoing general anesthesia. We studied the opioid-sparing effect of a very low-dose bolus of ketamine as part of moderate sedation for opioid abuse patients undergoing extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. ⋯ Preemptive low-dose ketamine (0.1 mg/kg) as a bolus has opioid-sparing effects in opioid abusers undergoing moderate sedation.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2013
ReviewCurrent status of pharmacologic therapies in patient blood management.
Patient blood management(1,2) incorporates patient-centered, evidence-based medical and surgical approaches to improve patient outcomes by relying on the patient's own (autologous) blood rather than allogeneic blood. Particular attention is paid to preemptive measures such as anemia management. ⋯ Patient blood management(3) structures its goals by avoiding blood transfusion(4) with effective use of alternatives to allogeneic blood transfusion.(5) These alternatives include autologous blood procurement, preoperative autologous blood donation, acute normovolemic hemodilution, and intra/postoperative red blood cell (RBC) salvage and reinfusion. Reviewed here are the available pharmacologic tools for anemia and blood management: erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), iron therapy, hemostatic agents, and potentially, artificial oxygen carriers.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2013
Repolarization abnormalities in patients with subarachnoid and intracerebral hemorrhage: predisposing factors and association with outcome.
Electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities are frequent in patients with intracranial insult. In this study, we evaluated the factors predisposing to the repolarization abnormalities, i.e., prolonged corrected QT (QTc) interval, ischemic-like ECG changes and morphologic end-repolarization abnormalities, and examined the prognostic value of these abnormalities in patients with subarachnoid and intracerebral hemorrhages requiring intensive care. ⋯ Each repolarization abnormality has characteristic predisposing factors. Ischemic-like ECG changes are common and are associated with a poorer 1-year functional outcome.