Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jan 2015
ReviewSugammadex: what do we know and what do we still need to know? A review of the recent (2013 to 2014) literature.
Since its launch in 2008, sugammadex has been considered one of the most significant developments in anaesthesia-related pharmacology. With almost 500 sugammadex-related publications and over nine million patient exposures worldwide, user experience and scientific data have grown exponentially. However, several important questions are yet to be answered. This article reviews the sugammadex-related literature in 2013 and 2014 to determine which of these questions have been answered more fully over the last 18 months and which questions require more information and research.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jan 2015
ReviewPatient-level interventions to prevent the acquisition of resistant gram-negative bacteria in critically ill patients: a systematic review.
The rising incidence of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial (MDR-GNB) infections acquired in intensive care units has prompted a variety of patient-level infection control efforts. However, it is not known whether these measures are effective in reducing colonisation and infection. The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the efficacy of patient-level interventions for the prevention of colonisation with MDR-GNB and whether these interventions are associated with a reduction in the rate of infection due to MDR-GNB in the intensive care unit. ⋯ We identified a significant reduction in MDR-GNB colonisation and infection through the use of patient-level interventions. This effect was mostly accounted for by selective digestive decontamination. However, given the limitations of the analysed trials, adequately powered controlled studies are needed to further explore the effects of patient-level interventions on colonisation and infection with MDR-GNB.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Nov 2014
ReviewTracheal cuff pressure monitoring in the ICU: a literature review and survey of current practice in Queensland.
The application of tracheal cuff pressure monitoring is likely to vary between institutions. The aim of this study was therefore to review current evidence concerning this intervention in the intensive care unit (ICU) and to appraise regional practice by performing a state-wide survey. Publications for review were identified through searches of PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane (1977 to 2014). ⋯ Our results indicate that many ICUs across Queensland routinely measure tracheal cuff function, with most utilising pressure monitoring devices. Consistent with existing literature, the optimum cuff pressure remains uncertain. Most, however, considered that this should be a routine part of ICU care.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Sep 2014
ReviewCosts and consequences: a review of discharge opioid prescribing for ongoing management of acute pain.
Over recent years there has been a growing need for patients to be sent home from hospital with prescribed opioids for ongoing management of their acute pain. Increasingly complex surgery is being performed on a day-stay or 23-hour-stay basis and inpatients after major surgery and trauma are now discharged at a much earlier stage than in the past. However, prescription of opioids to be self-administered at home is not without risk. ⋯ Concerns about the potential for harm arising from prescription of opioids for ongoing acute pain management after discharge are relatively recent. However, at a time when serious problems resulting from the non-medical use of opioids have reached epidemic proportions in the community, all doctors must be aware of the potential risks and be able to identify and appropriately manage patients where there might be a risk of prolonged opioid use or misuse. Anaesthetists are ideally placed to exercise stewardship over the use of opioids, so that these drugs can maintain their rightful place in the post-discharge analgesic pharmacopoeia.