Anaesthesia
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Surgery and anaesthesia might affect cognition in middle-aged people without existing cognitive dysfunction. We measured memory and executive function in 964 participants, mean age 54 years, and again four years later, by when 312 participants had had surgery and 652 participants had not. Surgery between tests was associated with a decline in immediate memory by one point (out of a maximum of 30), p = 0.013: memory became abnormal in 77 out of 670 participants with initially normal memory, 21 out of 114 (18%) of whom had had surgery compared with 56 out of 556 (10%) of those who had not, p = 0.02. ⋯ Working memory decline was also associated with longer cumulative operations, beta coefficient (SE) -0.01 (0.00), p = 0.028. A reduction in cognitive speed and flexibility was associated with worse ASA physical status, beta coefficient (SE) 0.55 (0.22) and 0.37 (0.17) for ASA 1 and 2 vs. 3, p = 0.035. However, a decline in working memory was associated with better ASA physical status, beta coefficient (SE) -0.48 (0.21) for ASA 1 vs. 3, p = 0.01.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effect of anaesthetic technique during primary breast cancer surgery on neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-lymphocyte ratio and return to intended oncological therapy.
Inflammation and immunosuppression contribute to the pathogenesis of cancer. An increased neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio reflects these processes and is associated with adverse cancer outcomes. Whether anaesthetic technique for breast cancer surgery influences these factors, and potentially cancer recurrence, remains unknown. ⋯ Pre-operative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio was similar in the propofol-paravertebral 2.3 (95%CI 1.8-2.8) and inhalational agent-opioid anaesthesia 2.2 (1.9-3.2) groups, p = 0.72. Postoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio was lower (3.0 (2.4-4.2) vs. 4.0 (2.9-5.4), p = 0.001) in the propofol-paravertebral group. Propofol-paravertebral anaesthesia attenuated the postoperative increase in the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio.
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The Cook staged extubation set (Cook Medical) has been developed to facilitate management of the difficult airway. A guidewire inserted before tracheal extubation provides access to the subglottic airway should re-intubation be required. This prospective cohort study examines patients' tolerance of the guidewire and its impact on clinical status around tracheal extubation in the intensive care unit. ⋯ Nasendoscopy was performed in 11 of these patients and revealed one wire was in the oesophagus. The most common symptom was a mild intermittent cough in 13 patients. There was no impact of the guidewire on nursing care in 16 patients, tolerable impact in five and severe impact necessitating removal of the wire in one patient.