Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Influence of nitrous oxide anesthesia, B-vitamins, and MTHFR gene polymorphisms on perioperative cardiac events: the vitamins in nitrous oxide (VINO) randomized trial.
Nitrous oxide causes an acute increase in plasma homocysteine that is more pronounced in patients with the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T or A1298C gene variant. In this randomized controlled trial, the authors sought to determine whether patients carrying the MTHFR C677T or A1298C variant had a higher risk for perioperative cardiac events after nitrous oxide anesthesia and whether this risk could be mitigated by B-vitamins. ⋯ Neither MTHFR C677T and A1298C gene variant, nor acute homocysteine increase are associated with perioperative cardiac troponin increase after nitrous oxide anesthesia. B-vitamins blunt nitrous oxide-induced homocysteine increase but have no effect on cardiac troponin I increase.
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Recent clinical trials indicate that probiotic administration in critical illness has potential to reduce nosocomial infections and improve clinical outcome. However, the mechanism(s) of probiotic-mediated protection against infection and sepsis remain elusive. The authors evaluated the effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) and Bifidobacterium longum (BL) on mortality, bacterial translocation, intestinal epithelial homeostasis, and inflammatory response in experimental model of septic peritonitis. ⋯ Our data demonstrate that probiotic administration at initiation of sepsis can improve survival in pediatric experimental sepsis. The mechanism of this protection involves prevention of systemic bacteremia, perhaps via improved intestinal epithelial homeostasis, and attenuation of the local and systemic inflammatory responses.
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Comparative Study
Effects of volatile anesthetic choice on hospital length-of-stay: a retrospective study and a prospective trial.
Volatile anesthetic prices differ substantially. But differences in drug-acquisition cost would be inconsequential if hospitalization were prolonged by more soluble anesthetics. The authors tested the hypothesis that the duration of hospitalization is prolonged with isoflurane anesthesia. ⋯ Results of the propensity-matched retrospective analysis suggested that avoiding isoflurane significantly reduced the duration of hospitalization. In contrast, length-of-stay was comparable in our prospective trial. Volatile anesthetic choice should not be based on concerns about the duration of hospitalization. These studies illustrate the importance of following even the best retrospective analysis with a prospective trial.
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Editorial Comment
Low-dose sugammadex reversal: there is no such thing as a free lunch.