Anesthesia and analgesia
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Frailty is present in more than 30% of individuals older than 65 years of age presenting for anesthesia and surgery, and poses a number of unique issues in the informed consent process. Much attention has been directed at the increased incidence of poor outcomes in these individuals, including postoperative mortality, complications, and prolonged length of stay. These material risks are not generally factored into conventional risk predictors, so it is likely that individuals with frailty are never fully informed of the true risk for procedures undertaken in the hospital setting. ⋯ The informed consent process in the frail elderly poses unique challenges to the busy clinical anesthesiologist. At the very least, an increased time commitment should be recognized. The gap between theoretical goals and actual practice of informed consent should be acknowledged.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2020
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyQuality of Recovery After Breast Surgery: A Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Pectoral Nerves Interfascial Plane (Pectoral Nerves II) Block With Surgical Infiltration.
For non-mastectomy breast surgery the PECS II block is no better than surgical local infiltration.
pearl -
Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2020
ReviewCritical Illness and the Frailty Syndrome: Mechanisms and Potential Therapeutic Targets.
Frailty is a syndrome characterized by decreased reserves across multiple physiologic systems resulting in functional limitations and vulnerability to new stressors. Physical frailty develops over years in community-dwelling older adults but presents or worsens within days in the intensive care unit (ICU) because common mechanisms governing age-related physical frailty are often exacerbated by critical illness. The hallmark of physical frailty is a combined loss of muscle mass, force, and endurance. ⋯ Consistent with complexity underlying frailty, this syndrome is unlikely to result from an excess of a single harmful mediator or deficit of a single protective mediator. Rather, frailty occurs in the presence of an incompletely understood state of multisystem dysregulation. We further describe knowledge gaps that warrant clinical and translational research in frailty and critical care with an overall goal of developing effective frailty treatments in critically ill patients and ICU survivors.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2020
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyEffect of Oral Carbohydrate Intake During Labor on the Rate of Instrumental Vaginal Delivery: A Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2020
ReviewSugammadex Administration in Pregnant Women and in Women of Reproductive Potential: A Narrative Review.
Since its clinical introduction in 2008, sugammadex has demonstrated a high degree of safety and superior effectiveness compared to neostigmine when used to antagonize muscle relaxation produced by steroid nondepolarizing neuromuscular blockers. This includes its use in special populations, such as the elderly, children over 2 years old, and patients with renal, hepatic, or lung disease. In contrast, clinical evidence guiding its use during pregnancy, in women of childbearing potential, and in lactating women, is sparse. ⋯ Finally, many anesthesiologists appear to heed the manufacturer's warning regarding informing women of childbearing potential regarding the risk of hormone contraceptive failure after sugammadex exposure. We provide a medical ethics analysis of the ex post facto counseling commonly reported after sugammadex administration, which favors either preoperative discussion and shared decision making, or the decision by the physician to use neostigmine. This review highlights the disparity in evidence regarding sugammadex use in various contexts of female reproductive health, including current research gaps that prevent this population from sharing in the benefits of sugammadex enjoyed by most perioperative patients.