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pearl
1
Current evidence is too limited to conclude any significant difference between phenylephrine and noradrenaline for managing CS hypotension due to spinal anaesthesia.
Heesen M, Hilber N, Rijs K et al. A systematic review of phenylephrine vs. noradrenaline for the management of hypotension associated with neuraxial anaesthesia in women undergoing caesarean section. Anaesthesia. 2020 Jun 1; 75 (6): 800-808.
  Daniel Jolley
summary
1
Fascinating introspection from an experienced psychiatrist on the ways the pandemic has subtly (and perhaps not-so-subtly) changed his interactions with patients and his perspective on his role as caregiver.
"...among the many unknown — and potentially positive — outcomes of the pandemic, one may be the more widespread realization that “acting like a doctor” ideally involves less acting and more authenticity."
Kahn MW. Pandemic and Persona. N. Engl. J. Med. 2020 Jul 2; 383 (1): e1.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
1
Automated robotic intubation of the trachea is feasible.
Biro P, Hofmann P, Gage D et al. Automated tracheal intubation in an airway manikin using a robotic endoscope: a proof of concept study. Anaesthesia. 2020 Jul 1; 75 (7): 881-886.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
1
Pre-operative anaemia is associated with increased mortality, prolonged hospital stay and return to theatre in patients having emergency laparotomy.
Boyd-Carson H, Shah A, Sugavanam A et al. The association of pre-operative anaemia with morbidity and mortality after emergency laparotomy. Anaesthesia. 2020 Jul 1; 75 (7): 904-912.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
1
Intraoperative intravenous lidocaine infusion reduces early catheter-related bladder pain and 24 hour opioid requirements in patients having transurethral resection of bladder tumours.
Kim DH, Park JY, Yu J et al. Intravenous Lidocaine for the Prevention of Postoperative Catheter-Related Bladder Discomfort in Male Patients Undergoing Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumors: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Trial. Anesth. Analg. 2020 Jul 1; 131 (1): 220-227.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
1
Ketamine, propofol and volatile anaesthetic agents appear to have antidepressant effects.
Tadler SC Mickey BJ. Emerging evidence for antidepressant actions of anesthetic agents. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2018 Aug 1; 31 (4): 439-445.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
1
Epidural analgesia can no longer be routinely recommended as standard of care as part of abdominal surgery ERAS protocols.
Wagemans MF, Scholten WK, Hollmann MW et al. Epidural anesthesia is no longer the standard of care in abdominal surgery with ERAS. What are the alternatives? Minerva Anestesiol. 2020 Oct 1; 86 (10): 1079-1088.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
1
Epidural analgesia offers only modest analgesic improvement over IV PCA following abdominal surgery, and is unlikely to be clinically significant.
Salicath JH, Yeoh EC, Bennett MH. Epidural analgesia versus patient-controlled intravenous analgesia for pain following intra-abdominal surgery in adults. Cochrane Db Syst Rev. 2018 Aug 30; 8: CD010434.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
1
Anti-contagion policies such as lockdowns averted roughly 530 million coronavirus infections across China, South Korea, Italy, Iran, France and the US.
Hsiang S, Allen D, Annan-Phan S et al. The effect of large-scale anti-contagion policies on the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature. 2020 Aug 1; 584 (7820): 262-267.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
1
Non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as lockdowns, have had a large effect on reducing coronavirus transmission through European countries.
Flaxman S, Mishra S, Gandy A et al. Estimating the effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 in Europe. Nature. 2020 Aug 1; 584 (7820): 257-261.
  Daniel Jolley