Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Postoperative modulation of central nervous system prostaglandin E2 by cyclooxygenase inhibitors after vascular surgery.
The clinical availability of injectable cyclooxygenase inhibitors allows examination of the importance of cyclooxygenase 1 and 2 after surgery. The authors hypothesize that spinal prostaglandin E2 increases with lower extremity vascular surgery and that spinal prostaglandin E2 decreases with intravenous postsurgical administration of either a mixed cyclooxygenase 1/2 inhibitor (ketorolac) or a cyclooxygenase 2 selective inhibitor (parecoxib). ⋯ Cerebrospinal fluid prostaglandin E2 is elevated in patients after lower extremity vascular surgery. Postsurgical intravenous administration of the cyclooxygenase 1/2 inhibitor ketorolac, and especially the cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitor parecoxib, reduces cerebrospinal fluid prostaglandin E2 concentration and postoperative pain.
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Patient simulators possess features for performance assessment. However, the concurrent validity and the "added value" of simulator-based examinations over traditional examinations have not been adequately addressed. The current study compared a simulator-based examination with an oral examination for assessing the management skills of senior anesthesia residents. ⋯ Variance in participant scores suggests that the examination is able to perform as expected in terms of discriminating among test takers. The rather large participant-by-modality interaction, along with the pattern of correlations, suggests that an examinee's performance varies based on the testing modality and a trainee who "knows how" in an oral examination may not necessarily be able to "show how" in a simulation laboratory. Simulation may therefore be considered a useful adjunct to the oral examination.
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The study aimed to determine predictive factors for postcesarean pain and analgesia using an assessment of pain threshold and suprathreshold thermal stimuli as well as degree of somatization and anxiety. ⋯ The authors' results suggest a meaningful combination of preoperative patient responses from physical and psychological tests yields a valid multifactorial predictive model for postoperative pain and analgesic requirement with significant improvements over individual predictive variables.