Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Oct 2013
Direct Pulse Oximetry Within the Esophagus, on the Surface of Abdominal Viscera, and on Free Flaps.
Pulse oximetry is a noninvasive photometric technique that provides information about arterial blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) and heart rate and has widespread clinical applications. This is accomplished via peripheral pulse oximetry probes mainly attached to the finger, toe, or earlobe. The direct application of pulse oximetry to an organ, such as the esophagus, liver, bowel, stomach or free flap, might provide an indication of how well perfused an organ or a free flap is. Also, the placement of a pulse oximetry probe at a more central site, such as the esophagus, might be more reliable at a time when conventional peripheral pulse oximetry fails. ⋯ The technological developments and the measurements presented in this work pave the way to a new era of pulse oximetry where direct and continuous monitoring of blood oxygen saturation of internal organs and tissues (esophagus, bowel, liver, stomach, free flaps) could be possible.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Oct 2013
Maternal Sepsis Mortality and Morbidity During Hospitalization for Delivery: Temporal Trends and Independent Associations for Severe Sepsis.
Sepsis is currently the leading cause of direct maternal death in the United Kingdom. In this study, we aimed to determine frequency, temporal trends, and independent associations for severe sepsis during hospitalization for delivery in the United States. ⋯ Maternal severe sepsis and sepsis-related deaths are increasing in the United States. Severe sepsis often occurs in the absence of a recognized risk factor and underscores the need for developing systems of care that increase sensitivity for disease detection across the entire population. Physicians should enhance surveillance in patients with congestive heart failure, chronic liver disease, chronic renal disease, and systemic lupus erythematous and institute early treatment when signs of sepsis are emerging.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Oct 2013
Sevoflurane End-Tidal to Effect-Site Equilibration in Women Determined by Response to Laryngeal Mask Airway Insertion.
End-tidal concentrations (CET) have been used to guide delivery of inhaled anesthetic drugs for many years. Effect-site concentrations (Ceff) are a frequently used guide to therapy with IV drugs and should also be of benefit with inhaled drugs, especially during periods of rapid change. For Ceff to be useful, the appropriate levels required for any given end point, and the delay between central compartment and effect, need to be defined. In this study, we explored these relationships for the effect of response to insertion of the classic laryngeal mask airway (cLMA) and compared the utility of CET and Ceff-guided cLMA insertion. ⋯ This study confirmed that real-time calculation and display of Ceff based on measured CET values are feasible. We determined the optimum t(1/2)ke0 for sevoflurane for the effect of cLMA insertion as 2.25 minutes, similar to that determined for loss of consciousness using the raw electroencephalogram. We also showed that Ceff is a more reliable (P < 0.05) guide to successful cLMA insertion than CET.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Oct 2013
Rescheduling of Previously Cancelled Surgical Cases Does Not Increase Variability in Operating Room Workload When Cases Are Scheduled Based on Maximizing Efficiency of Use of Operating Room Time.
Conceptually, cancelling a case close to the scheduled day of surgery increases variability in operating room (OR) workload (i.e., total hours of scheduled cases plus turnovers), creating managerial problems. However, in our recent study of an OR scheduling office, cancellations (slightly) reduced variability in workload among days. If a relatively low incidence of cancellations does not cause increased variability in workload, this would be a useful finding when focusing strategic OR management initiatives. However, the previous study considered only the effect on the schedule for the day the cancelled case originally was scheduled to be performed, not the future date on which the case was performed. ⋯ Rescheduled cancelled cases did not increase variability in OR workload. This finding is useful combined with our recent finding that cancellation slightly reduces variability in OR workload on the date of cancellation. Cancellations should not be interpreted as a system failure that increases variability in surgical workload. We recommend that anesthesiologists aim to reduce cancellation rates if above benchmarked averages, but otherwise focus on more strategically beneficial initiatives. We recommend also that these results be considered if cancellation rates are used in assessing anesthesiology group performance.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Oct 2013
The Association of Preoperative Statin Use and Acute Kidney Injury After Noncardiac Surgery.
Our objective was to examine the association between preoperative statin therapy and the incidence of postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing elective noncardiac surgery. ⋯ Our data did not support the hypothesis that preoperative statin therapy in doses routinely used to treat hypercholesterolemia is associated with a change in the incidence of AKI, postoperative dialysis, or hospital mortality in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery.