Anesthesiology
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Perioperative metoprolol increases postoperative stroke. Animal studies indicate that the mechanism may be related to attenuated β(2)-adrenoreceptor-mediated cerebral vasodilatation. The authors therefore conducted a cohort to study whether the highly β(1)-specific β-blocker (bisoprolol) was associated with a reduced risk of postoperative stroke compared with less selective β-blockers (metoprolol or atenolol). ⋯ The use of metoprolol and atenolol is associated with increased risks of postoperative stroke, compared with bisoprolol. These findings warrant confirmation in a pragmatic randomized trial.
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After gastric aspiration events, patients are at risk of pulmonary dysfunction and the development of severe acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome, which may contribute to the development of an inflammatory reaction. The authors' aim in the current study was to investigate the role of the spatial distribution of pulmonary blood flow in the pathogenesis of pulmonary dysfunction during the early stages after acid aspiration. ⋯ The data suggest that 10 min after acid aspiration, damaged areas are characterized by increased pulmonary blood flow. The results may impact further treatment strategies, such as drug targeting.
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Risk stratification is essential for both clinical risk prediction and comparative audit. There are a variety of risk stratification tools available for use in major noncardiac surgery, but their discrimination and calibration have not previously been systematically reviewed in heterogeneous patient cohorts. Embase, MEDLINE, and Web of Science were searched for studies published between January 1, 1980 and August 6, 2011 in adult patients undergoing major noncardiac, nonneurological surgery. ⋯ The Portsmouth-Physiology and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality and the Surgical Risk Scale were demonstrated to be the most consistently accurate tools that have been validated in multiple studies; however, both have limitations. Future work should focus on further evaluation of these and other parsimonious risk predictors, including validation in international cohorts. There is also a need for studies examining the impact that the use of these tools has on clinical decision making and patient outcome.