Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2018
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyInfluence of Depth of Hypnosis on Pupillary Reactivity to a Standardized Tetanic Stimulus in Patients Under Propofol-Remifentanil Target-Controlled Infusion: A Crossover Randomized Pilot Study.
Pupillometry allows the measurement of pupillary diameter variations in response to nociceptive stimuli. This technique has been used to monitor the balance between analgesia and nociception. Under general anesthesia, the amplitude of pupillary dilation is related to the amount of administered opioids. The objective of this study was to determine whether at a constant infusion rate of opioids, the pupillary response was influenced by depth of hypnosis assessed by the bispectral index (BIS). ⋯ In patients receiving a constant infusion of remifentanil at a target concentration of 1 ng/mL, pupillary dilation after a standardized tetanic stimulation was influenced by depth of hypnosis assessed by the BIS.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2018
Study Design Rigor in Animal-Experimental Research Published in Anesthesia Journals.
Lack of reproducibility of preclinical studies has been identified as an impediment for translation of basic mechanistic research into effective clinical therapies. Indeed, the National Institutes of Health has revised its grant application process to require more rigorous study design, including sample size calculations, blinding procedures, and randomization steps. We hypothesized that the reporting of such metrics of study design rigor has increased over time for animal-experimental research published in anesthesia journals. ⋯ Our hypothesis that reported metrics of rigor in animal-experimental studies in anesthesia journals have increased during the past decade was confirmed. More consistent reporting, or explicit justification for absence, of sample size calculations, blinding techniques, and randomization procedures could better enable readers to evaluate potential sources of bias in animal-experimental research manuscripts. Future studies should assess whether such steps lead to improved translation of animal-experimental anesthesia research into successful clinical trials.