Anaesthesia
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Peri-operative allogeneic red blood cell transfusion is hypothesised to increase the risk of cancer recurrence following cancer surgery. However, previous data supporting this association are limited by residual confounding. We conducted an umbrella review (i.e. a systematic review of systematic reviews) to synthesise and evaluate the evidence between red blood cell transfusion and cancer recurrence. ⋯ Currently available evidence describes an association between peri-operative red blood cell transfusion and cancer recurrence, but this is mostly of low to critically low quality, with minimal control for residual confounding. Further research, at low risk of bias, is required to provide definitive evidence and inform practice.
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Radiotherapy is currently used in approximately one-third of children with cancer. Treatments are typically received as weekday outpatient appointments over 3-6 weeks. The treatment is painless but requires a still, co-operative patient who can lie alone in set positions, facilitated by the use of immobilisation devices, for up to 1 h. ⋯ The requirement for anaesthesia for paediatric radiotherapy is typically confined to younger children. Patients may be unwell, with several specific considerations related to their cancer diagnosis and the impact of various treatments including surgery and chemotherapy, in addition to the radiotherapy. A multidisciplinary team approach to all aspects of care is imperative in this group of high-risk patients.
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Peri-operative medicine is becoming increasingly relevant in the context of managing frail patients with cancer. This paper outlines how demographic shifts in populations are affecting cancer incidence and frailty rates, the relevance this holds to the management of cancer care, and the outcome measures that should be used to gauge best clinical practice to ensure patient-centred care. ⋯ There is need for a greater emphasis on quality-of-life measures alongside mortality and patient-reported outcome measures. We argue that holistic care approaches should play a greater role in enabling the measurement of outcome states beyond simply dead or alive.
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Review Meta Analysis
Peri-operative mental health interventions for surgical oncology patients: a narrative synthesis and meta-analysis.
Oncologic surgeries are common and rates of depression and anxiety are high in the peri-operative period, potentially interfering with successful recovery. ⋯ Psychological and pharmacological interventions are effective at reducing pre-operative anxiety and immediate postoperative depression scores in patients having oncological surgery, but these benefits do not persist postoperatively. Hence, future research efforts should focus on development and testing of interventions that are effective and implementable within the peri-operative context.
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Review
Optimisation of the patient having oncological surgical through prehabilitation: a narrative review.
Prehabilitation aims to improve physiological reserve and psychological resilience, enabling patients to better tolerate the physiological stress of major surgery, thereby reducing the risk of complications and improving surgical outcomes. In this review, we provide an update of the development of prehabilitation in patients having cancer surgery. ⋯ Prehabilitation has the potential to improve surgical outcomes for patients undergoing cancer surgery. Further evidence is needed to understand how and what we provide to patients as optimal exercise, nutrition and psychological interventions as part of their surgical care, and how we improve long-term lifestyle using behaviour change methodology. Digital technology offers the opportunity for scaling and greater personalisation of prehabilitation but needs to be deliberately fashioned to ensure equitable access.