British journal of anaesthesia
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of celecoxib combined with thoracic epidural analgesia on pain after thoracotomy.
Thoracotomy results in severe postoperative pain potentially leading to chronic pain. We investigated the potential benefits of oral celecoxib on postoperative analgesia combined with thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA). ⋯ Celecoxib improves postoperative analgesia provided by TEA after thoracotomy.
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The Cormack-Lehane (CL) classification is broadly used to describe laryngeal view during direct laryngoscopy. This classification, however, has been validated by only a few studies reporting inconclusive data concerning its reliability. This discrepancy between widespread use and limited evidence prompted us to investigate the knowledge about the classification among anaesthesiologists and its intra- and inter-observer reliability. ⋯ The CL classification is poorly known in detail among anaesthesiologists and reproducibility even in subjects well familiar with this classification is limited.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Use of low-dose pregabalin in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
The objective of this study was to examine the effects of low-dose pregabalin on the analgesic efficacy, side-effects, and recovery profile in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. ⋯ Perioperative administration of pregabalin 75 mg provided limited analgesic benefit in the postoperative period. An updated meta-analysis confirms this finding (see Supplementary material).
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Surgical excision is the mainstay of treatment for potentially curable solid tumours. Metastatic disease is the most important cause of cancer-related death in these patients. The likelihood of tumour metastases depends on the balance between the metastatic potential of the tumour and the anti-metastatic host defences, of which cell-mediated immunity, and natural killer cell function in particular, is a critical component. ⋯ There is particular interest at present in the effect of regional anaesthesia, which appears to be beneficial. Retrospective analyses have shown an outcome benefit for paravertebral analgesia for breast cancer surgery and epidural analgesia for prostatectomy. Blood transfusion, pain, stress, and hypothermia are other potentially important perioperative factors to consider.
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Comparative Study
Patient state index vs bispectral index as measures of the electroencephalographic effects of propofol.
The patient state index (PSI) and the bispectral index (BIS) quantify anaesthetic depth based on the EEG using different algorithms. We compared both indices with regard to the prediction of the depth of propofol anaesthesia. ⋯ The PSI and the BIS monitors performed equally well in predicting depth of propofol anaesthesia. However, PSI was lower than BIS by approximately 10-15 points at high propofol concentrations.