Anesthesiology
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Multicenter Study
Covert perioperative strokes in older patients having non-cardiac surgery (PRECISION): a prospective cohort analysis.
Perioperative strokes may promote postoperative neurocognitive dysfunction. This study thus evaluated the incidence of postoperative strokes and the association between strokes and postoperative neurocognitive outcomes in older patients recovering from noncardiac surgery. ⋯ Among patients aged 60 yr and older who had major noncardiac surgery, mainly intracranial, one in nine patients experienced a perioperative covert stroke. Covert strokes more than doubled the risk of postoperative delirium and long-term neurocognitive decline. Covert perioperative strokes are common and clinically meaningful.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of Sub-Anesthetic Oro-Mucosal Dexmedetomidine on Sleep in Humans: A Randomized, Controlled Pharmacokinetics-Pharmacodynamics Study.
The locus coeruleus noradrenergic system may provide a potential new target for pharmacologic insomnia treatment, particularly in patients suffering from elevated distress. The selective α 2 -noradrenergic agonist dexmedetomidine attenuates locus coeruleus activity in subanesthetic doses, yet no adequate nonparental delivery systems of dexmedetomidine are currently available. To examine the feasibility of oromucosal dexmedetomidine administration, the authors developed two distinct-one sublingual and one buccal-oromucosal, fast-disintegrating dexmedetomidine formulas tailored for self-administration. Here, the authors established the formulas' pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles. ⋯ The favorable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of oromucosal dexmedetomidine delivery warrants further dose-finding and clinical studies to establish the exact roles of α 2 receptor agonism in pharmacologic sleep enhancement and as a possible novel mechanism to alleviate stress-related insomnia.