British journal of anaesthesia
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of sugammadex on incidence of postoperative residual neuromuscular blockade: a randomized, controlled study.
Reversal with sugammadex may dramatically reduce the incidence of post-operative residual paralysis.
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Meta Analysis
The Effect of inotropes and vasopressors on mortality: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.
Inotropes and vasopressors are frequently administered to critically ill patients in order to improve haemodynamic function and restore adequate organ perfusion. However, some studies have suggested a possible association between inotrope administration and increased mortality. We therefore performed a meta-analysis of randomized trials published in the last 20 yr to investigate the effect of these drugs on mortality. ⋯ Our systematic review found that inotrope/vasopressor therapy is not associated with differences in mortality in the overall population and in the majority of subsettings.
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We have evaluated the pitfalls in reporting sample size calculation in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in the 10 highest impact factor anaesthesia journals. Superiority RCTs published in 2013 were identified and checked for the basic components required for sample size calculation and replication. The difference between the reported and replicated sample size was estimated. ⋯ Studies using data derived from pilot studies for sample size calculation were associated with the smallest Δ gaps (P=0.008). Sample size calculation is frequently reported in anaesthesia journals, but the details of basic elements for calculation are not consistently provided. In almost one-third of RCTs, the reported and replicated sample sizes were not identical and the assumptions for the expected effect size and variance were not supported by relevant literature or pilot studies.