BMC anesthesiology
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NMB facilitates intubating conditions in general anesthesia. However, it is associated with significant residual postoperative paralysis and morbidity. ⋯ The rate of residual NMB was 29.9 to 49.1%, depending on the criteria used (TOFR < 0.91 and < 1.00, respectively). Patients above 65 years old had an increased risk of residual NMB (6.08 OR) and clinical symptoms related to residual NMB (11.75 OR). We recommend future research aiming to provide a specific surveillance protocol for patients above 65 years old, including shorter-action NMB, early reversal, and prolonged surveillance using the TOFR criteria of < 1.00 to identify patients at risk of residual NMB readily.
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Perioperative evaluation of the left ventricular systolic function is essential information to help diagnose and manage life-threatening perioperative emergencies. Although quantifying the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is recommended to determine the left ventricular function, it may not always be feasible in emergency perioperative settings. This study compared the visual estimation of LVEF (eyeballing) by noncardiac anesthesiologists with the quantitative LVEF measured using a modified Simpson's biplane method. ⋯ Visual estimation of LVEF in perioperative TEE has acceptable accuracy in untrained echocardiographers and can be used for rescue TEE.