Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
-
Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Nov 2024
Duration of peripheral nerve blocks in opioid-tolerant individuals: A study protocol.
Peripheral nerve blocks effectively alleviate postoperative pain. Animal studies and human research suggest that opioid tolerance may reduce the effectiveness of local analgesics. The reduced effectiveness has been observed in opioid-tolerant humans and animals undergoing spinal and infiltration anaesthesia with both lidocaine and bupivacaine. However, the impact on peripheral nerve blocks in humans has not been evaluated. This study aims to assess the onset time and duration of a radial nerve block in opioid-tolerant individuals compared to opioid-naive individuals. We hypothesise that peripheral nerve blocks may be less effective in producing sensory and motor blockades in opioid-tolerant individuals compared to their opioid-naive counterparts. ⋯ This study will compare the effectiveness of a peripheral nerve block between opioid-tolerant and opioid-naïve individuals. Any found differences could support a specific postoperative protocol for opioid-tolerant individuals regarding the use of peripheral nerve blocks.
-
Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Nov 2024
Antibiotic stewardship with multiplex PCR for pneumonia in intensive care patients: A retrospective study.
Early initiation of targeted antibiotic therapy is important to achieve the best patient outcomes in intubated patients with pneumonia in the intensive care unit (ICU). This study aimed to investigate the applicability of multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in an ICU by comparing the test results to the results of conventional microbiological methods to assess the possible impact on antibiotic therapy. ⋯ In ICU patients with suspected pneumonia, multiplex PCR identified a higher number of pathogens compared to CMM. A retrospective assessment indicates that the use of multiplex PCR could potentially have prompted the de-escalation of antibiotic therapy in nearly half of the patients. Therefore, multiplex PCR may serve as a supplement to CMM in guiding antibiotic stewardship.
-
Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Nov 2024
Prokinetic agents in adult intensive care unit patients (PATIENCE)-An international inception cohort study protocol.
Feeding intolerance is common in critically ill patients and can lead to malnutrition. Prokinetic agents may be used to enhance the uptake of nutrition. However, the evidence on the effectiveness and safety of prokinetic agents is sparse, and there is a lack of data on their use in intensive care units (ICU). ⋯ The outlined international cohort study will provide valuable epidemiological data on the use of prokinetic agents in adult, acutely admitted ICU patients.
-
Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Nov 2024
Helicopter emergency medical services in Iceland between 2018 and 2022-A retrospective study.
Helicopter emergency services (HEMS) are widely used to bring medical assistance to individuals that cannot be reached by other means or individuals that have time-critical medical conditions, such as chest pain, stroke or severe trauma. It is a very expensive resource whose use and importance depends on local conditions. The aim of this study was to describe flight and patient characteristics in all HEMS flights done in Iceland, a geographically isolated, mountainous and sparsely populated country, over a 5-year course. ⋯ In Iceland, the number of transports is lower but activation and flight times for HEMS flights are considerably longer than in other Nordic countries, likely due to geographical features and the structure of the service including utilizing helicopters both for HEMS and search and rescue operations. The transport times for some time-sensitive conditions are not within standards set by international studies and guidelines.