Anesthesia and analgesia
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Despite substantial advances in anesthesia safety within the past decades, perioperative mortality remains a prevalent problem and can be considered among the top causes of death worldwide. Acute organ failure is a major risk factor of morbidity and mortality in surgical patients and develops primarily as a consequence of a dysregulated inflammatory response and insufficient tissue perfusion. Neurological dysfunction, myocardial ischemia, acute kidney injury, respiratory failure, intestinal dysfunction, and hepatic impairment are among the most serious complications impacting patient outcome and recovery. ⋯ Therefore, understanding the underlying mechanisms of organ dysfunction is essential to identify novel treatment strategies to improve perioperative care and outcomes for surgical patients. This review focuses on recent knowledge of pathophysiological and molecular pathways leading to perioperative organ injury. Additionally, we highlight potential therapeutic targets relevant to the network of events that occur in clinical settings with organ failure.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Dec 2020
ReviewPerioperative Renoprotection: General Mechanisms and Treatment Approaches.
In the perioperative setting, acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication, and AKI itself is associated with adverse outcomes such as higher risk of chronic kidney disease and mortality. Various risk factors are associated with perioperative AKI, and identifying them is crucial to early interventions addressing modifiable risk and increasing monitoring for nonmodifiable risk. ⋯ Some renoprotective strategies and treatments have proven to be useful, some are no longer recommended because they are ineffective or even harmful, and some strategies are still under investigation to identify the best timing, setting, and patients for whom they could be beneficial. With this review, we aim to provide an overview of recent findings from studies examining epidemiology, risk factors, and mechanisms of perioperative AKI, as well as different renoprotective strategies and treatments presented in the literature.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Dec 2020
Observational StudyAssociation of Anesthesiologist Handovers With Short-Term Outcomes for Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery.
Complete handover of anesthesia care to a second anesthesiologist has been demonstrated to be associated with worse short-term adverse outcomes among cardiac surgery patients, but little information from multi-institutional studies is available. ⋯ Cardiac surgery patients in New York who had complete anesthesia handovers experienced higher short-term mortality rates, but there were no meaningful differences in other outcomes. Unnecessary handovers should be carefully monitored.