Articles: postoperative.
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Anaesthetic care of neurosurgical patients increasingly involves management issues that apply not only to 'asleep patients', but also to 'awake and waking-up patients' during and after intracranial operations. On one hand, awake brain surgery poses unique anaesthetic challenges for the provision of awake brain mapping, which requires that a part of the procedure is performed under conscious patient sedation. Recent case reports suggest that local infiltration anaesthesia combined with sedative regimens using short-acting drugs and improved monitoring devices have assumed increasing importance. ⋯ Recent data do not advocate a delay in extubating patients when neurological impairment is the only reason for prolonged intubation. An appropriate choice of sedatives and analgesics during mechanical ventilation of neurosurgical patients allows for a narrower range of wake-up time, and weaning protocols incorporating respiratory and neurological measures may improve outcome. In conclusion, despite a lack of key evidence to request 'fast-tracking pathways' for neurosurgical patients, innovative approaches to accelerate recovery after brain surgery are needed.
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The fascia iliaca nerve block provides excellent postoperative pain relief after knee surgery. It is easy to perform, needle insertion is not directly next to nerves or vessels, and it is associated with minimal side effects. Instructive case reports as well as a description and discussion of the technique are presented.
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The exacerbation of chronic lung disease, bronchospasm, atelectasis, pneumonia, and respiratory failure with prolonged mechanical ventilation are considered to be clinically relevant postoperative pulmonary complications associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Careful history taking and a thorough physical examination are the most sensitive ways to identify patients at risk. Lung function tests serve as management tools for optimizing preoperative therapy and to assess postoperative lung function and individual risk in lung resection candidates. ⋯ The cessation of smoking, optimizing nutritional status and physiotherapy serve to prevent postoperative pulmonary complications. Moreover, medical therapy is recommended, especially for patients with obstructive airway diseases. In the absence of controlled clinical trials, medical therapy along the respective guidelines, with the primary goals of minimizing symptoms and improving lung function to the optimum seems to be a reasonable approach.
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The relative efficacy of antiemetics for the treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is poorly understood. ⋯ Of 100 vomiting surgical patients receiving a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, 20 to 30 will stop vomiting who would not have done so had they received a placebo; less will profit from the anti-nausea effect. There is a lack of evidence for a clinically relevant dose-response; minimal effective doses may be used. There is a discrepancy between the plethora of trials on prevention of PONV and the paucity of trials on treatment of established symptoms. Valid data on the therapeutic efficacy of classic antiemetics, which have been used for decades, are needed.
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General anaesthesia is still the most common anaesthetic technique in the ambulatory surgery setting. With the introduction of propofol, total intravenous anaesthesia gained widespread acceptance. Recently, the combination with remifentanil, an ultra-short acting opioid analgesic, allowed even more control over the duration of the anaesthetic. ⋯ No differences have so far been demonstrated in respect to long-term recovery, discharge from the post-anaesthesia care unit and discharge from the ambulatory care centre. Currently the anaesthesiologist has the possibility to choose his preferred anaesthetic technique based on individual patient needs, the surgery performed and the side-effects each technique may have. However, in contrast to the situation at the beginning of the 1990s total intravenous anaesthesia is not the technique that fits all needs but balanced anaesthesia presents an alternative.