Journal of anesthesia
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Journal of anesthesia · Jun 2017
ReviewPrevention of chronic post-surgical pain: the importance of early identification of risk factors.
Chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP) is currently an inevitable surgical complication. Despite the advances in surgical techniques and the development of new modalities for pain management, CPSP can affect 15-60% of all surgical patients. The development of chronic pain represents a burden to both the patient and to the community. ⋯ Unfortunately, evidence about any effective actions to reduce this condition is limited. This review will focus on providing context to the challenging problem of CPSP. The possible role of both the surgeon and anesthesiologist in reducing the incidence of this problem will be explored.
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Journal of anesthesia · Jun 2017
Randomized Controlled TrialAnalgesia and side effects of the addition of 10 or 20 µg fentanyl to articaine in spinal anesthesia for knee arthroscopy: a randomized and observer-blinded study.
Articaine, a popular and rapidly acting local anesthetic in dentistry, has been also found to be beneficial in ambulatory spinal anesthesia. Analgesia in the intraoperative and immediate postoperative period may be further improved by adding fentanyl to the local anesthetic solution for spinal anesthesia. The aim was to evaluate dose-dependency of analgesia and side effects associated with intrathecal fentanyl additive to articaine for spinal anesthesia in knee arthroscopy patients. ⋯ Fentanyl 10 or 20 µg as additive to articaine for spinal anesthesia prolonged the duration of sensory block significantly and similarly. Fentanyl 20 µg was more often associated with pruritus than fentanyl 10 µg.
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Journal of anesthesia · Jun 2017
ReviewPerioperative risk factors for death among patients with symptomatic pulmonary thromboembolism.
Perioperative pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is a fatal complication that may occur in patients who are undergoing surgery. This study aimed to identify risk factors for PTE-related death. This study evaluated data for the most recent 5-year period (2007-2011) from the Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists' database of patients who experienced perioperative PTE. ⋯ Logistic regression analyses revealed that male sex, an age of ≥ 80 years, bedridden status, heart failure, and the non-use of anticoagulant therapy were independent risk factors for PTE-related death. We found that male sex, an age of ≥ 80 years, bedridden status, heart failure, and the non-use of anticoagulant therapy were independent risk factors for perioperative PTE-related death. Therefore, appropriate interventions for bedridden patients and thromboprophylaxis using anticoagulants may help reduce the incidence of perioperative PTE-related mortality.
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Journal of anesthesia · Jun 2017
Comparative StudyPoint-of-care testing for coagulation function: CoaguChek(®) XS System versus standard laboratory testing in pediatric patients with normal and abnormal coagulation function.
Intraoperative abnormalities of coagulation function may occur for various reasons. In most scenarios, treatment is directed by laboratory parameters. Unfortunately, standard laboratory testing may take 1-2 h. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate a point-of-care testing device (CoaguChek®XS System) in pediatric patients. ⋯ INR values obtained from CoaguChek®XS showed a moderate correlation with reference laboratory values within the normal range. However, in the presence of coagulopathy, the discrepancy was significantly greater, thereby making the CoaguChek®XS clinically unreliable.