Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 2016
Review Meta AnalysisXenon Anesthesia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Xenon anesthesia has been studied for decades. However, no meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on xenon anesthesia has been conducted. The aim of this study was to systematically review all available evidence from RCTs comparing xenon and other inhaled and IV anesthetics on anesthetic outcomes. Our meta-analysis attempted to quantify the effects of xenon anesthesia on clinical outcomes in relation to other anesthetics. ⋯ Xenon anesthesia provides relatively more stable intraoperative blood pressure, lower heart rate, and faster emergence from anesthesia than volatile and propofol anesthesia. However, xenon is associated with a higher incidence of PONV.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 2016
Review Comparative StudyLimitations of Significance Testing in Clinical Research: A Review of Multiple Comparison Corrections and Effect Size Calculations with Correlated Measures.
Modern clinical research commonly uses complex designs with multiple related outcomes, including repeated-measures designs. While multiple comparison corrections and effect size calculations are needed to more accurately assess an intervention's significance and impact, understanding the limitations of these methods in the case of dependency and correlation is important. In this review, we outline methods for multiple comparison corrections and effect size calculations and considerations in cases of correlation and summarize relevant simulation studies to illustrate these concepts.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialSaline Flush After Rocuronium Bolus Reduces Onset Time and Prolongs Duration of Effect: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Circulatory factors modify the onset time of neuromuscular-blocking drugs. Therefore, we hypothesized that infusion of a saline flush immediately after rocuronium administration would shorten the onset time without influencing the duration of the rocuronium effect. ⋯ Administering a 20-mL saline flush immediately after infusion of 0.6 mg/kg rocuronium in 10 mL normal saline shortened the onset time and prolonged the recovery phase of neuromuscular blockade.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 2016
ReviewDecreasing the Hours That Anesthesiologists and Nurse Anesthetists Work Late by Making Decisions to Reduce the Hours of Over-Utilized Operating Room Time.
In this special article, we evaluate how to reduce the number of hours that anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists work beyond the end of their scheduled shifts. We limit consideration to surgical suites where the hours of cases in each operating room (OR) average 8 hours or more per day. Let "allocated hours" refer to the hours into which cases are scheduled, calculated months in advance for each combination of service and day of the week. ⋯ Such decisions include increasing the number of first case starts and planning staffing for turnovers and lunch breaks during the busiest times of the day. However, most decisions substantively influencing Over-Utilized OR time are made within 1 workday before the day of surgery and on the day of surgery, because only then are ORs sufficiently full that changes can be made to minimize Over-Utilized time. Decisions to reduce Over-Utilized time on the day of surgery include targeting ORs with expected Over-Utilized time and taking steps to reduce it, including making effective staff assignments and appropriately scheduling add-on cases.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 2016
ReviewPharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Drugs Commonly Used in Pregnancy and Parturition.
The majority of pregnant women will be treated with a medication other than a vitamin supplement during their pregnancy. Almost half of these medications will be category C or D according to the former US Food and Drug Administration classification system, indicating a lack of human studies with animal studies suggesting adverse fetal effects (category C) or evidence of risk in humans (category D). ⋯ For other drugs, recent studies demonstrate major pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic changes that require dose adjustment in pregnancy, but current dosing guidelines do not reflect these data. In this review, we address the principles that underlie changes in pharmacology and physiology in pregnancy and provide information on drugs that anesthesiologists commonly encounter in treating pregnant patients.