British journal of anaesthesia
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Comparative Study
Minimally invasive intraoperative estimation of left-ventricular end-systolic elastance with phenylephrine as loading intervention.
Left-ventricular end-systolic elastance (Ees) is an index of cardiac contractility, but the invasive nature of its assessment has limited perioperative application. We explored the feasibility of a minimally invasive method of Ees estimation for perioperative assessment of cardiac function and evaluated the suitability of phenylephrine as a loading intervention. ⋯ It is feasible to determine Ees combining continuous non-invasive arterial pressure measurements and left-ventricular volume determinations with TOE. However, administration of phenylephrine cannot substitute IVCC as a loading intervention, indicating that estimation of Ees in the intraoperative setting remains a challenge.
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Review Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Efficacy of dexmedetomidine compared with midazolam for sedation in adult intensive care patients: a systematic review.
Patients in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) often require sedatives which commonly include midazolam and the more recently developed α2-receptor agonist, dexmedetomidine. It was our aim to compare the sedative and clinical effectiveness of dexmedetomidine vs midazolam in adults admitted to ICU, using an objective appraisal of randomized control trials. Medline, Embase, SCOPUS, Web of Knowledge, Cinhal, the United States National Library of Medicine, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched using keywords: 'dexmedetomidine', 'midazolam', and 'intensive care'. ⋯ A final paper found that, of the eight occasions measured, patients on dexmedetomidine were more often within the target sedation range than patients on midazolam. The sedative benefits of dexmedetomidine vs midazolam remain inconclusive. While some secondary outcomes showed clinical effectiveness of dexmedetomidine, more research is needed to validate the findings of these studies.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Postoperative pain relief after total hip arthroplasty: a randomized, double-blind comparison between intrathecal morphine and local infiltration analgesia.
Periarticular infiltration with ropivacaine and ketorolac provides equivalent and likely superior post-op analgesia to intrathecal morphine after THA.
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Nosocomial infection occurs commonly in intensive care units (ICUs). Although critical illness is associated with immune activation, the prevalence of nosocomial infections suggests concomitant immune suppression. This study examined the temporal occurrence of immune dysfunction across three immune cell types, and their relationship with the development of nosocomial infection. ⋯ Dysfunctions of T-cells, monocytes, and neutrophils predict acquisition of nosocomial infection, and combine additively to stratify risk of nosocomial infection in the critically ill.