Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2014
ReviewStrategies for net cost reductions with the expanded role and expertise of anesthesiologists in the perioperative surgical home.
The Perioperative Surgical Home is a model adopted by the American Society of Anesthesiologists to increase quality and patient safety and to decrease costs. This Special Article is about the latter topic. Using narrative review, we show that there are two principal opportunities for net cost reduction. ⋯ These two are the same as the principal ways that a positive return on investment can be achieved from use of an anesthesia information management system. Three other opportunities are much less likely to achieve as large (if any) net cost reduction among all patients but may at some hospitals. These are to reduce cancellations, operating room times, and/or hospital postoperative lengths of stay.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2014
Cognitive dysfunction after fast-track hip and knee replacement.
Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is reported to occur after major surgery in as many as 20% of patients, elderly patients may especially experience problems in the weeks and months after surgery. Recent studies vary greatly in methods of evaluation and diagnosis of POCD, and the pathogenic mechanisms are still unclear. We evaluated a large uniform cohort of elderly patients in a standardized approach, after major joint replacement surgery (total hip and knee replacement). Patients were in an optimized perioperative approach (fast track) with multimodal opioid-sparing analgesia, early mobilization, and short length of stay (LOS ≤3 days) and discharged to home. ⋯ The incidence of POCD early after total hip and knee replacement seems to be lower after a fast-track approach than rates previously reported for these procedures, but late POCD occurred with an incidence similar to that in previous studies of major noncardiac elective surgery. No association between early and late POCD could be verified.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Observational StudyA novel method for ultrasound-guided radial arterial catheterization in pediatric patients.
Radial arterial catheterization in pediatric patients is occasionally difficult despite ultrasound guidance. We therefore assessed the factors affecting catheterization and tested an intervention designed to improve its success. ⋯ Ultrasound-guided radial artery catheterization in pediatric patients was fastest and most reliable when the artery was 2 to 4 mm below the skin surface. For arteries located <2 mm below the skin surface, increasing the depth to 2 to 4 mm by subcutaneous saline injection reduced catheterization time and improved the success rate.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2014
TEG® Functional Fibrinogen Analysis May Overestimate Fibrinogen Levels.
Fibrinogen is of crucial importance in patients with ongoing bleeding. In this study, we compared fibrinogen concentration measured by thrombelastography (TEG®) with fibrinogen plasma concentration determined by Clauss. ⋯ Similar patterns were observed when patients and healthy controls were analysed separately. The fibrinogen level may be overestimated when assessed using TEG® compared with the fibrinogen plasma concentration measured by the conventional method.