Current opinion in anaesthesiology
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Jun 2019
Reducing breakthrough pain during labour epidural analgesia: an update.
Neuraxial techniques are the current gold standard for labour analgesia, but are associated with up to 25% incidence of breakthrough pain. In this review, we aim to update clinicians on the latest research pertaining to the optimization of neuraxial labour analgesia. ⋯ Recent advances in combined spinal epidural, DPE, automated mandatory bolus, and individualized therapies have advanced our goal of providing effective labour analgesia that is titrated to changing analgesic requirements during labour and delivery and reducing breakthrough pain.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Jun 2019
ReviewTranexamic acid and perioperative bleeding in children: what do we still need to know?
Perioperative bleeding and blood product transfusion are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Prevention and optimal management of bleeding decreases risk and lowers costs. Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an antifibrinolytic agent that reduces bleeding and transfusion in a broad number of adult and pediatric surgeries, as well as in trauma and obstetrics. This review highlights the current pediatric indications and contraindications of TXA. The efficacy and safety profile, given current and evolving research, will be covered. ⋯ Based on TXA pharmacokinetics, the authors recommend a dosing regimen of between 10 to 30 mg/kg loading dose followed by 5 to 10 mg/kg/h maintenance infusion rate for pediatric trauma and surgery. Maximal efficacy and minimal side-effects with this dosage regime will have to be determined in larger prospective trials including high-risk groups. Furthermore, future research should focus on determining the ideal TXA plasma therapeutic concentration for maximum efficacy and minimal side-effects.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Jun 2019
ReviewIs opioid-free general anesthesia for breast and gynecological surgery a viable option?
Opioid-free general anesthesia is a viable anesthetic technique for breast and gynecological surgery.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Jun 2019
ReviewThe malnourished surgery patient: a silent epidemic in perioperative outcomes?
As many as two of every three major surgery patients are malnourished preoperatively - a diagnosis rarely made and treated even less frequently. Unfortunately, perioperative malnutrition is perhaps the least often identified surgical risk factor and is among the most treatable to improve outcomes. ⋯ The recent publication of new surgical nutrition guidelines, the PONS score, and use of LBM assessments will allow better identification and earlier intervention on perioperative malnutrition. It is essential that in the future no patient undergoes elective surgery without nutrition screening and nutrition intervention when malnutrition risk is identified.
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The review is intended to serve as a practical clinical aid for the clinician called to maternal cardiac arrest. ⋯ Maternal cardiac arrest should be managed similarly to other adult cardiac arrests. At the same time its unique reversible causes require a different form of thought regarding diagnosis and treatment during the code.