Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Residual neuromuscular blockade affects postoperative pulmonary function.
Residual neuromuscular blockade (RNMB) is known to be associated with respiratory complications in the postoperative period after muscle relaxant usage. The authors hypothesized that RNMB causes reductions in pulmonary function test (PFT) parameters in the immediate postoperative period. ⋯ RNMB results in reductions in forced vital capacity and peak expiratory flow in the immediate postoperative period indicating impaired respiratory muscle function.
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It has been suggested that predicting difficult tracheal intubation is useless because of the poor predictive capacity of individual signs and scores. The authors tested the hypothesis that an accurate prediction of difficult tracheal intubation using simple clinical signs is possible using a computer-assist model. ⋯ Computer-assisted models using complex interaction between variables enable an accurate prediction of difficult tracheal intubation with a low proportion of patients in the inconclusive zone. An external validation of the model is now required.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Can changes in arterial pressure be used to detect changes in cardiac output during volume expansion in the perioperative period?
Cardiac output (CO) is rarely monitored during surgery, and arterial pressure remains the only hemodynamic parameter for assessing the effects of volume expansion (VE). However, whether VE-induced changes in arterial pressure accurately reflect changes in CO has not been demonstrated. The authors studied the ability of VE-induced changes in arterial pressure and in pulse pressure variation to detect changes in CO induced by VE in the perioperative period. ⋯ Only changes in pulse pressure variation accurately detect VE-induced changes in CO and have a potential clinical applicability.