Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Aug 2016
Comparative StudyThe Accuracy of 6 Inexpensive Pulse Oximeters Not Cleared by the Food and Drug Administration: The Possible Global Public Health Implications.
Universal access to pulse oximetry worldwide is often limited by cost and has substantial public health consequences. Low-cost pulse oximeters have become increasingly available with limited regulatory agency oversight. The accuracy of these devices often has not been validated, raising questions about performance. ⋯ Many low-cost pulse oximeters sold to consumers demonstrate highly inaccurate readings. Unexpectedly, the accuracy of some low-cost pulse oximeters tested here performed similarly to more expensive, ISO-cleared units when measuring hypoxia in healthy subjects. None of those tested here met World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists standards, and the ideal testing conditions do not necessarily translate these findings to the clinical setting. Nonetheless, further development of accurate, low-cost oximeters for use in clinical practice is feasible and, if pursued, could improve access to safe care, especially in low-income countries.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Aug 2016
Observational StudyPostoperative Cognitive Dysfunction and the Change of Regional Cerebral Oxygen Saturation in Elderly Patients Undergoing Spinal Surgery.
In this study, we examined the relationship between postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) and intraoperative regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) in elderly patients undergoing spinal surgery. ⋯ This study showed that the duration of decline in rSO2 <60% during lumbar spinal surgery was correlated with the development of POCD at the seventh postoperative day in elderly patients.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Aug 2016
Comparative StudyEffect of Individual Surgeons and Anesthesiologists on Operating Room Time.
Variability in operating room (OR) time causes overutilization and underutilization of the available ORs. There is evidence that for a given type of procedure, the surgeon is the major source of variability in OR time. The primary aim was to quantify the variability between surgeons and anesthesiologists. As illustration, the value of modeling the individual surgeons and anesthesiologist for OR time prediction was estimated. ⋯ In comparison with the type of procedure, differences between surgeons account for a small part of OR time variability. The impact of differences between anesthesiologists on OR time is negligible. A prediction model incorporating the individual surgeons and anesthesiologists has an increased precision, but improvements are likely too marginal to have practical consequences for OR scheduling.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Aug 2016
Observational StudyThe Association Between Progesterone, Estradiol, and Oxytocin and Heat Pain Measures in Pregnancy: An Observational Cohort Study.
Hormonal action has been implicated as a possible mechanism for pregnancy-induced analgesia. Previous investigators have reported an increase in heat pain tolerance during labor compared with nonpregnant controls and postulated it was because of the hormonal changes during pregnancy. However, these previous reports did not include measurement of hormonal values. The purpose of our study was to quantitatively test if changes in pregnancy hormone concentrations correlated with changes in temperature ratings. ⋯ Our findings show that amounts of estradiol and progesterone changed significantly between the term and the postpartum visit; however, the thermal pain tolerance did not significantly change. In summary, we did not observe an association between hormonal changes and changes in pain threshold measures. This finding argues against the concept of simple progesterone- or estrogen-induced analgesia in humans.