Anaesthesia
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A randomised controlled trial comparing incentive spirometry with the Acapella(®) device for physiotherapy after thoracoscopic lung resection surgery.
Lung resection surgery has been associated with numerous postoperative complications. Seventy-eight patients scheduled for elective video-assisted thoracoscopic lung resection were randomly assigned to receive standard postoperative care with incentive spirometry or standard care plus positive vibratory expiratory pressure treatment using the Acapella(®) device. ⋯ In addition, 37/39 patients (95%) stated a clear preference for the Acapella device. Postoperative treatment with the Acapella device did not improve pulmonary function after thoracoscopic lung resection surgery compared with incentive spirometry, but it may be more comfortable to use.
-
Thromboelastography is used for assessment of coagulation and to guide administration of blood products peri-operatively. There is currently no method of standardisation in the UK, nor an approved method of proving quality. We investigated the reproducibility of thromboelastography by testing whole blood with no coagulation abnormality in three phases. ⋯ Further examination of the results indicated less variation where analysis was performed on blood taken from the same kaolin vial compared with results from different vials. Our preliminary study indicates that R- and K-times may be highly variable, which we hypothesise may be due to variable mixing of blood and kaolin. We intend to repeat this study in the context of coagulopathy, where variability in results could potentially impact upon transfusion practice.