Anaesthesia
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Review Meta Analysis
Intra-articular infiltration analgesia for arthroscopic shoulder surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Phrenic-sparing analgesic techniques for shoulder surgery are desirable. Intra-articular infiltration analgesia is one promising phrenic-sparing modality, but its role remains unclear because of conflicting evidence of analgesic efficacy and theoretical concerns regarding chondrotoxicity. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the benefits and risks of intra-articular infiltration in arthroscopic shoulder surgery compared with systemic analgesia or interscalene brachial plexus block. ⋯ Compared with interscalene brachial plexus block, there was no difference in opioid consumption, but patients receiving interscalene brachial plexus block had better pain scores at 2, 4 and 24 h postoperatively. There was no difference in opioid- or block-related adverse events, and none of the trials reported chondrotoxic effects. Compared with systemic analgesia, intra-articular infiltration provides superior pain control, reduces opioid consumption and enhances patient satisfaction, but it may be inferior to interscalene brachial plexus block patients having arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
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Despite increasing numbers of women entering anaesthesia, they remain persistently under-represented within academic anaesthesia and research. Gender discordance is seen across multiple aspects of research, including authorship, editorship, peer review, grant receipt, speaking and leading. Women are also under-represented at higher faculty ranks and in department chair positions. ⋯ Peers and leaders alike, of all genders, can act as upstanders and speak up on behalf of targets of discrimination, both in the moment or after the fact. Gender inequities have persisted for far too long and can no longer be ignored. Diversifying the anaesthesia research community is essential to the future of the field.
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Multicenter Study
Decision-making around admission to intensive care in the UK pre-COVID-19: a multicentre ethnographic study.
Predicting who will benefit from admission to an intensive care unit is not straightforward and admission processes vary. Our aim was to understand how decisions to admit or not are made. We observed 55 decision-making events in six NHS hospitals. ⋯ They were rarely explicit in balancing burdens and benefits of intensive care for patients, so consistency and equity cannot be judged. The use of a framework for intensive care admission decisions that reminds doctors to seek patient or family views and encourages explicit balancing of burdens and benefits could improve decision-making. However, a supportive, adequately resourced context is also needed.
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Over the last three decades, advances in early diagnosis of fetal anomalies, imaging and surgical techniques have led to a huge expansion in fetal surgery. A small number of specialist centres perform fetal surgery, which involves high-risk anaesthesia for the mother and fetus. ⋯ The underlying fetal pathology, surgical management, anaesthetic considerations and risks for both the mother and fetus are described for each. Fundamental to this is the understanding that clear communication and collaboration between all team members is vital to ensure successful outcomes of patients, the mother and the fetus.
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In the UK, the proportion of female medical students has remained static over the last decade, at around 55%; however, at consultant level, only 36.6% of doctors are women. The reasons for this drop in numbers are not clear. ⋯ It explores how gender stereotypes and implicit gender bias can affect the way women are perceived in the workplace, especially in leadership positions, and discusses health issues particular to the female medical workforce. While the issues in this article may not affect all women, the cumulative effect of being subject to gender stereotypes within a workplace not designed to accommodate the health needs of women may contribute to a work environment that may promote the attrition of women from our specialties.