Articles: operative.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Predicting Death or Disability after Surgery in the Older Adult.
Older patients are vulnerable to developing new or worsening disability after surgery. Despite this, patient or surgical characteristics predisposing to postoperative disability are poorly defined. The aim of the study was to develop and validate a model, subsequently transformed to point-score form, to predict 6-month death or disability in older patients after surgery. ⋯ The authors developed and validated a point score model to predict death or disability in older patients after surgery.
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Pain after craniotomy can be intense and its management is often suboptimal. ⋯ The analgesic regimen for craniotomy should include paracetamol, NSAIDs, intravenous dexmedetomidine infusion and a regional analgesic technique (either incision-site infiltration or scalp nerve block), with opioids as rescue analgesics. Further RCTs are required to confirm the influence of the recommended analgesic regimen on postoperative pain relief.
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Observational Study
Intra-operative electroencephalogram frontal alpha-band spectral analysis and postoperative delirium in cardiac surgery: A prospective cohort study.
Postoperative delirium (POD) remains a frequent complication after cardiac surgery, with pre-operative cognitive status being one of the main predisposing factors. However, performing complete pre-operative neuropsychological testing is challenging. The magnitude of frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) α oscillations during general anaesthesia has been related to pre-operative cognition and could constitute a functional marker for brain vulnerability. ⋯ A lower intra-operative frontal α-band power is associated with a higher incidence of POD after cardiac surgery. Intra-operative measures of α power could constitute a means of identifying patients at risk of this complication.