British journal of anaesthesia
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Comparative Study
A prospective cohort study comparing early opioid requirement between Chinese from Hong Kong and Caucasian Australians after major abdominal surgery.
The relationship between ethnicity and early opioid consumption is not well understood. Our prospective cohort study tested whether Chinese patients in Hong Kong require less opioid after major abdominal surgery compared with Caucasian patients in Australia. ⋯ Chinese patients in Hong Kong required less opioid and experienced greater pain intensity and pruritus than Caucasian patients. Clinicians should consider differences in the side-effect profile of morphine and patient expectations related to pain control when planning postoperative analgesia for patients of Chinese ethnicity.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Cost-effectiveness of ultrasound vs nerve stimulation guidance for continuous sciatic nerve block.
This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of ultrasound (US) vs nerve stimulation (NS) guidance for continuous sciatic nerve block in Danish elective patients undergoing major foot and ankle surgery. ⋯ In this trial, US was cost-effective. Assuming that the results are fairly generalizable, US should be the preferred catheter insertion technique in larger anaesthesia departments.
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Airway problems continue to occur in intensive care setting. Management strategies, staffing, and availability of equipment can all have an influence. ⋯ There remains room for improvement in airway management strategies and resources in ICUs in the UK.
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Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is used to assess perioperative risk in surgical patients. While previous studies have looked at short-term outcomes, this paper explores the ability of CPET to predict 5 yr survival after major surgery. ⋯ Multivariate analysis and model generation techniques can be applied to CPET data to predict 5 yr survival after major surgery more accurately than is possible with single variable analysis.