British journal of anaesthesia
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A key aspect of the practice of anaesthesia is the ability to perform practical procedures efficiently and safely. Decreased working hours during training, an increasing focus on patient safety, and greater accountability have resulted in a paradigm shift in medical education. The resulting international trend towards competency-based training demands robust methods of evaluation of all domains of learning. ⋯ The current best evidence for a gold standard for assessment of procedural skills in anaesthesia consists of a combination of previously validated checklists and global rating scales, used prospectively by a trained observer, for a procedure performed in an actual patient. Future research should include core assessment parameters to ensure methodological rigor and facilitate robust comparisons with other studies: (i) reliability, (ii) validity, (iii) feasibility, (iv) cost-effectiveness, and (v) comprehensiveness with varying levels of difficulty. Simulation may become a key part of the future of formative and summative skills assessment in anaesthesia; however, research is required to develop and test simulators that are realistic enough to be suitable for use in high-stakes evaluation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Cardiovascular reflex responses to temporal reduction in arterial pressure during dexmedetomidine infusion: a double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled study.
The low and moderate doses of dexmedetomidine reduce arterial pressure and heart rate (HR), suggesting attenuation of sympathetic activity and dominance of cardiac-vagal activity. These autonomic responses under dexmedetomidine sedation may attenuate cardiovascular reflex responses to temporal reduction in arterial pressure, inducing a severe hypotension. We therefore investigated the effects of dexmedetomidine on cardiovascular reflex responses to temporal reduction in arterial pressure induced by the thigh cuff method. ⋯ The present results indicated that dexmedetomidine weakens arterial pressure preservation and HR responses after thigh cuff deflation, suggesting attenuated cardiovascular reflexes. Therefore, it must be cautioned that dexmedetomidine can lead to further and sustained reduction in arterial pressure during transient hypotension induced by postural changes, haemorrhage, and/or other stresses.
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There is little evidence that short-acting opioids as rescue medication for breakthrough pain is an optimal long-term treatment strategy in chronic non-malignant pain. We compared clinical studies of long-acting opioids that allowed short-acting opioid rescue medication with those that did not, to determine the impact of opioid rescue medication use on the analgesic efficacy and tolerability of chronic opioid therapy in patients with chronic non-malignant pain. ⋯ We found no evidence that rescue medication with short-acting opioids for breakthrough pain affects analgesic efficacy of long-acting opioids or the incidence of common opioid-related side-effects among chronic non-malignant pain patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Controlled hypotension for middle ear surgery: a comparison between remifentanil and magnesium sulphate.
This prospective, randomized study was designed to compare remifentanil and magnesium sulphate during middle ear surgery in terms of postoperative pain and other complications. ⋯ Both magnesium sulphate and remifentanil when combined with sevoflurane provided adequate controlled hypotension and proper surgical conditions for middle ear surgery. However, patients administered magnesium sulphate had a more favourable postoperative course with better analgesia and less shivering and PONV.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Influence of different remifentanil concentrations on the performance of the surgical stress index to detect a standardized painful stimulus during sevoflurane anaesthesia.
Although measurement of cerebral hypnotic drug effect and muscle relaxation is common clinical routine during anaesthesia, a reliable measurement of the neurophysiological effects evoked by a painful stimulus is still missing. Recently, the surgical stress index (SSI) has been introduced as a surrogate measure of 'nociception'. The present study aimed to examine the influence of increasing remifentanil concentrations on the ability of SSI to detect a standardized painful stimulus during sevoflurane anaesthesia. ⋯ The SSI response to tetanic stimulation was dependent on the remifentanil concentration.