British journal of anaesthesia
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Review Meta Analysis
Does anaesthesia with nitrous oxide affect mortality or cardiovascular morbidity? A systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.
Available evidence does not support the claim that nitrous oxide affects mortality or cardiovascular morbidity.
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Review Meta Analysis
Effects of dexamethasone as a local anaesthetic adjuvant for brachial plexus block: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.
Adjuvant perineural dexamethasone (4-10 mg) prolongs brachial plexus sensory and motor blockade by between 65% and 100% longer.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Evaluation of surgical conditions during laparoscopic surgery in patients with moderate vs deep neuromuscular block.
The routine use of neuromuscular blocking agents reduces the occurrence of unacceptable surgical conditions. In some surgeries, such as retroperitoneal laparoscopies, deep neuromuscular block (NMB) may further improve surgical conditions compared with moderate NMB. In this study, the effect of deep NMB on surgical conditions was assessed. ⋯ Application of the five-point SRS showed that deep NMB results in an improved quality of surgical conditions compared with moderate block in retroperitoneal laparoscopies, without compromise to the patients' peri- and postoperative cardiorespiratory conditions. Trial registration The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov under number NCT01361149.
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Approximately a quarter of a billion people undergo surgery every year hoping that the operation will alleviate symptoms, cure diseases, and improve quality-of-life. A concern has arisen that, despite the benefits of surgery, elderly patients might suffer neurological injury from surgery and general anaesthesia leading to persistent cognitive decline. However, many studies of postoperative cognition have had methodological weaknesses, including lack of suitable control groups, dissociation of cognitive outcomes from surgical outcomes, sub-optimal statistical techniques, and absence of longitudinal preoperative cognitive assessments. ⋯ Postoperative complications, ongoing inflammation, and chronic pain are probably modifiable risk factors for persistent postoperative cognitive decline. When surgery is successful with minimal perioperative physiological perturbations, elderly patients can expect cognition to follow its preoperative course. Furthermore, when surgery alleviates symptoms and enhances quality-of-life, postoperative cognitive improvement is a possible and desirable outcome.