Anesthesiology
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Editorial Comment
Individualized versus Fixed Positive End-expiratory Pressure for Intraoperative Mechanical Ventilation in Obese Patients: A Secondary Analysis.
General anesthesia may cause atelectasis and deterioration in oxygenation in obese patients. The authors hypothesized that individualized positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) improves intraoperative oxygenation and ventilation distribution compared to fixed PEEP. ⋯ This secondary analysis of obese patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery found better oxygenation, lower driving pressures, and redistribution of ventilation toward dependent lung areas measured by electrical impedance tomography using individualized PEEP. The impact on patient outcome remains unclear.
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Lung ultrasound is increasingly used in emergency departments, medical wards, and critical care units-adult, pediatric, and neonatal. In vitro and in vivo studies show that the number and type of artifacts visualized change with lung density. ⋯ However, multiple scoring systems may generate confusion among physicians aiming at introducing lung ultrasound in their clinical practice. This review describes the various lung ultrasound scoring systems and aims to clarify their use in different settings, focusing on technical aspects, validation with reference techniques, and clinical applications.
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Editorial Comment
Postoperative Pulmonary Complications' Association with Sugammadex versus Neostigmine.
Postoperative residual neuromuscular blockade related to nondepolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents may be associated with pulmonary complications. In this study, the authors sought to determine whether sugammadex was associated with a lower risk of postoperative pulmonary complications in comparison with neostigmine. ⋯ Among 10,491 patients at a single academic tertiary care center, the authors found that switching neuromuscular blockade reversal agents was not associated with the occurrence of postoperative pulmonary complications.
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Observational Study
Factors Contributing to Lingering Pain after Surgery: The Role of Patient Expectations.
Pain that lingers beyond the early weeks after the acute postoperative period is an important risk factor for chronic postsurgical pain. This study examined the hypothesis that patients' expectations about their postsurgical pain would be independently associated with lingering postsurgical pain. ⋯ Lingering postsurgical pain is relatively common after diverse surgeries and is associated with both fixed surgical characteristics and potentially modifiable factors like pain expectations and severe acute postoperative pain.
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Deep spinal infection is a devastating complication after epidural injection. This study aimed to investigate the incidence of deep spinal infection primarily after outpatient single-shot epidural injection for pain. Secondarily, this study assessed the national trends of the procedure and risk factors for said infection. ⋯ The incidence of deep spinal infection after outpatient single-shot epidural injections for pain is very rare within 90 days of the procedure (0.01%). The data identify high-risk patients and procedure characteristics that may inform healthcare provider decision-making.