Articles: operative.
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Although opioids remain the standard therapy for the treatment of postoperative pain, the prevalence of opioid misuse is rising. The extent to which opioid abuse or dependence affects readmission rates and healthcare utilization is not fully understood. It was hypothesized that surgical patients with a history of opioid abuse or dependence would have higher readmission rates and healthcare utilization. ⋯ An online visual overview is available for this article at http://links.lww.com/ALN/B704.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of Ambient Temperature and Forced-air Warming on Intraoperative Core Temperature: A Factorial Randomized Trial.
The effect of ambient temperature, with and without active warming, on intraoperative core temperature remains poorly characterized. The authors determined the effect of ambient temperature on core temperature changes with and without forced-air warming. ⋯ Ambient intraoperative temperature has a negligible effect on core temperature when patients are warmed with forced air. The effect is larger when patients are passively insulated, but the magnitude remains small. Ambient temperature can thus be set to comfortable levels for staff in patients who are actively warmed.