Surgery
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Repeated intraperitoneal instillation of levobupivacaine for the management of pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the treatment of choice for symptomatic cholelithiasis. Postoperative pain, however, can prolong hospital stay and lead to increased morbidity. In the context of a multimodal approach to analgesia, intraperitoneal local anesthetic administration optimizes analgesia and facilitates early postoperative recovery, and it may be associated with a decreased risk of side effects. ⋯ Our study showed that 2 separate doses of intraperitoneally administered levobupivacaine significantly decreased postoperative pain and the need for opioids compared with placebo. This technique is simple, safe, and without adverse effects.
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In recent years, much attention has been paid to the assessment of the quality of health care. This focus has been driven mainly by a desire to improve health care and decrease inequalities within health care systems. As well as addressing key areas such as structure, process, and outcome, which are normally taken from the provider's viewpoint, it is also necessary to address the patient's perspective. ⋯ Therefore, current measures of satisfaction may not be adequate to assess quality of health care. This article aims to provide an overview of the concept of patient satisfaction. It also discusses current methods of patient-reported outcome assessment and suggests methodology to create new instruments to measure patient satisfaction.
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Erythropoietin (EPO) and carbamylated erythropoietin (CEPO) can protect tissue from injury; however, CEPO has its protective effect in the absence of erythropoietic stimulation. The mechanism whereby CEPO protects heart from acute ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury remains unknown. ⋯ A single dose of CEPO at the onset of reperfusion attenuated acute myocardial I/R injury in the mouse. CEPO-induced cardioprotection appears to be mediated through a PI3K/Akt-dependent mechanism.