Anaesthesia
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The timing of elective surgery could affect clinical outcome because of diurnal rhythms of patient physiology as well as surgical team performance. Waiting times for elective surgery are increasing in many countries, leading to increasing interest in undertaking elective surgery in the evening or at night. We aimed to systematically review the literature on the effect of the timing of elective (but not urgent or emergency) surgery on mortality, morbidity and other clinical outcomes. ⋯ We found that evening/night-time elective surgery is associated with a higher risk of mortality compared with daytime surgery. However, the quality of evidence was graded as low, and thus, future prospective research should publish individual patient data and standardise outcome measures to allow firm conclusions and facilitate interventions.
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Review Practice Guideline
Intrathecal catheter placement after inadvertent dural puncture in the obstetric population: management for labour and operative delivery. Guidelines from the Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association.
Following inadvertent dural puncture, insertion of an intrathecal catheter can provide both excellent labour analgesia and be used if necessary for caesarean section, however IT catheters carry risks and complexities that anaesthetists must be aware of.
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Observational Study
Relationship between residual gastric content and peri-operative semaglutide use assessed by gastric ultrasound: a prospective observational study.
Semaglutide is a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist known to delay gastric emptying. Despite a growing body of evidence, its peri-operative safety profile remains uncertain, particularly with regard to the risk of increased residual gastric content and aspiration of gastric contents during anaesthesia. We hypothesised that semaglutide interruption of ≤ 10 days before elective surgical procedures is insufficient to reduce or normalise the residual gastric content, despite fasting intervals that comply with current guidelines. ⋯ Pre-operative semaglutide use within 10 days of elective surgical procedures was independently associated with increased risk of residual gastric content on pre-operative gastric ultrasound assessment.