Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Sep 2017
Lack of Association Between the Use of Nerve Blockade and the Risk of Persistent Opioid Use Among Patients Undergoing Shoulder Arthroplasty: Evidence From the Marketscan Database.
Persistent opioid use following surgery has received increasing attention from policymakers, researchers, and clinicians. Perioperative nerve blockade has been hypothesized to decrease the risk of persistent opioid use. We examined whether nerve blockade was associated with a decreased risk of persistent opioid use among patients undergoing shoulder arthroplasty, a procedure with high rates of persistent postoperative pain. ⋯ Although the use of perioperative nerve blockade may offer short-term benefits, in this study, it was not associated with a reduction in the risk of persistent opioid use for patients undergoing shoulder arthroplasty.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Sep 2017
Observational StudyLack of Association Between the Use of Nerve Blockade and the Risk of Postoperative Chronic Opioid Use Among Patients Undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty: Evidence from the Marketscan Database.
Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is associated with high rates of prolonged opioid use after surgery (10%-34%). By decreasing opioid use in the immediate postoperative period, perioperative nerve blockade has been hypothesized to decrease the risk of persistent opioid use. ⋯ Although the use of perioperative nerve blockade for TKA may improve short-term outcomes, the analyzed types of blocks do not appear to decrease the risk of persistent opioid use in the longer term.
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Safe anesthesia and surgical care are not available when needed for 5 billion of the world's 7 billion people. There are major deficiencies in the specialist surgical workforce in many parts of the world, and specific data on the anesthesia workforce are lacking. ⋯ The World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists Global Anesthesia Workforce Survey is the most comprehensive study of the global anesthesia workforce to date. It is the first step in a process of ongoing data collection and longitudinal follow-up. The authors recommend an interim goal of at least 5 specialist physician anesthesia providers (anesthesiologists) per 100,000 population. A marked increase in training of PAPs and NPAPs will need to occur if we are to have any hope of achieving safe anesthesia for all by 2030.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Sep 2017
Organizational Contributors to the Variation in Red Blood Cell Transfusion Practices in Cardiac Surgery: Survey Results From the State of Michigan.
While large volumes of red blood cell transfusions are given to preserve life for cardiac surgical patients, indications for lower volume transfusions (1-2 units) are less well understood. We evaluated the relationship between center-level organizational blood management practices and center-level variability in low volume transfusion rates. ⋯ We did not identify meaningful differences in organizational practices between low- and high-rate intraoperative transfusion centers. While a larger sample size may have been able to identify differences in organizational practices, efforts to reduce variation in 1- to 2-unit, intraoperative transfusions may benefit from evaluating other determinants, including organizational culture and provider transfusion practices.