British journal of anaesthesia
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of isotonic versus hypotonic maintenance fluid therapy on urine output, fluid balance, and electrolyte homeostasis: a crossover study in fasting adult volunteers.
Daily and globally, millions of adult hospitalized patients are exposed to maintenance i.v. fluid solutions supported by limited scientific evidence. In particular, it remains unclear whether fluid tonicity contributes to the recently established detrimental effects of fluid, sodium, and chloride overload. ⋯ ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02822898) and EudraCT (2016-001846-24).
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Perioperative anaemia is common. Physicians believe that patients at increased cardiac risk do not tolerate anaemia and, consequently, these patients receive transfusions earlier and more often. This practice runs counter to a growing body of evidence that perioperative red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is harmful The aims of this study were as follows: (i) to assess the effects of transfusion at moderate to severely low ranges of postoperative haemoglobin concentrations; and (ii) to assess whether transfusion was beneficial in patients at high cardiac risk within these haemoglobin ranges. ⋯ High cardiac risk was associated with increased incidence of anaemia, transfusion, and mortality. Red blood cell transfusion is associated with reduced mortality only in high cardiac risk patients with nadir postoperative haemoglobin concentration <80 g litre -1 . Transfusion, the main treatment for postoperative anaemia, does not appear to be associated with reduced postoperative mortality at higher nadir haemoglobin ranges.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Predictive performance of the modified Marsh and Schnider models for propofol in underweight patients undergoing general anaesthesia using target-controlled infusion.
: In our preliminary study, the modified Marsh (M-Marsh) model caused an inadvertent underdosing of propofol in underweight patients. However, the predictive performance of the M-Marsh and Schnider models incorporated in commercially available target-controlled infusion (TCI) pumps was not evaluated in underweight patients. ⋯ KCT0001502.
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An innovative approach to choosing hospital equipment is to consider the environmental costs in addition to other costs and benefits. ⋯ For an Australian hospital with six operating rooms, converting from single-use to reusable anaesthetic equipment saved more than AUD$30 000 (£18 000) per annum, but increased the CO 2 emissions by almost 10%. The CO 2 offset is highly dependent on the power source mix, while water consumption is greater for reusable equipment.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Use of an anaesthesia workstation barrier device to decrease contamination in a simulated operating room.
Strategies to achieve reductions in perioperative infections have focused on hand hygiene among anaesthestists but have been of limited efficacy. We performed a study in a simulated operating room to determine whether a barrier covering the anaesthesia workstation during induction and intubation might reduce the risk of contamination of the area and possibly, by extension, the patient. ⋯ The results of this study suggest that application of a barrier device to the anaesthesia workstation during induction and intubation might reduce contamination of the intraoperative environment.