Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Aug 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyChloroprocaine 40 mg produces shorter spinal block than articaine 40 mg in day-case knee arthroscopy patients.
Articaine and chloroprocaine have recently gained interest as short-acting spinal anaesthetics. Based on previous work comparing articaine 60 mg with chloroprocaine 40 mg, we hypothesised that articaine 40 mg and chloroprocaine 40 mg would produce similar spinal anaesthesa regarding block onset, maximal spread, and recovery. ⋯ Both A40 and C40 provided mainly adequate spinal anaesthesia for day-case knee arthroscopy. While onset and maximal spread were comparable, the recovery from motor block was clearly faster with chloroprocaine after equivalent doses of spinal articaine and chloroprocaine.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Aug 2013
ReviewStress ulcer prophylaxis in the intensive care unit: is it indicated? A topical systematic review.
Stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) is regarded as standard of care in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, recent randomized, clinical trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses have questioned the rationale and level of evidence for this recommendation. The aim of the present systematic review was to evaluate if SUP in the critically ill patients is indicated. ⋯ The best intervention for SUP is yet to be settled by balancing efficacy and harm. In essence, it is unresolved if intensive care patients benefit overall from SUP. The following clinically research questions are unanswered: (1) What is the incidence of GI bleeding, and which interventions are used for SUP in general ICUs today?; (2) Which criteria are used to prescribe SUP?; (3) What is the best SUP intervention?; (4) Do intensive care patients benefit from SUP with proton pump inhibitors as compared with other SUP interventions? Systematic reviews of possible interventions and well-powered observational studies and RCTs are needed.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Aug 2013
Multicenter StudyAcute kidney injury in patients with severe sepsis in Finnish Intensive Care Units.
Severe sepsis is one of the leading causes of acute kidney injury (AKI). Patients with sepsis-associated AKI demonstrate high-hospital mortality. We evaluated the incidence of severe sepsis-associated AKI and its association with outcome in intensive care units (ICUs) in Finland. ⋯ More than half of the patients with severe sepsis had AKI according to the KDIGO classification, and AKI stage 3 was independently associated with 90-day mortality.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Aug 2013
ReviewPerioperative glucocorticoids in hip and knee surgery - benefit vs. harm? A review of randomized clinical trials.
Glucocorticoids are frequently used to prevent post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV), and may be part of multimodal analgesic regimes. The objective of this review was to evaluate the overall benefit vs. harm of perioperative glucocorticoids in patients undergoing hip or knee surgery. A wide search was performed in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central to identify relevant randomized clinical trials. ⋯ Due to clinical heterogeneity and poor scientific quality, no meta-analysis was performed. In conclusion, in addition to PONV reduction with low-dose systemic glucocorticoid, this review supports high-dose systemic glucocorticoid to ameliorate post-operative pain after hip and knee surgery. However, large-scale safety and dose-finding studies are warranted before final recommendations.