British journal of anaesthesia
-
Review
Risk assessment tools validated for patients undergoing emergency laparotomy: a systematic review.
Emergency laparotomies are performed commonly throughout the world, but one in six patients die within a month of surgery. Current international initiatives to reduce the considerable associated morbidity and mortality are founded upon delivering individualised perioperative care. However, while the identification of high-risk patients requires the routine assessment of individual risk, no method of doing so has been demonstrated to be practical and reliable across the commonly encountered spectrum of presentations, co-morbidities and operative procedures. ⋯ APACHE II demonstrated the most consistent discrimination of individual outcome across a variety of patient groups undergoing emergency laparotomy when used either preoperatively or postoperatively (area under the curve 0.76-0.98). While APACHE systems were designed for use in critical care, the ability of APACHE II to generate individual risk estimates from objective, exclusively preoperative data items may lead to better-informed shared decisions, triage and perioperative management of patients undergoing emergency laparotomy. Future endeavours should include the recalibration of APACHE II and P-POSSUM in contemporary cohorts, modifications to enable prediction of morbidity and assessment of the impact of adoption of these tools on clinical practice and patient outcomes.
-
Perioperative acute kidney injury (AKI) is not uncommon and is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Recently, several definition systems for AKI were proposed, incorporating both small changes of serum creatinine and urinary output reduction as diagnostic criteria. Novel biomarkers are under investigation as fast and accurate predictors of AKI. ⋯ Thus, fluids should not be given in excess for the sole purpose of avoiding or treating oliguria. Use of hydroxyethyl starch needs to be reconsidered. Recent evidence indicates a beneficial effect of administering low-chloride solutions.
-
This review examines the recent evidence of an impact of regional anaesthesia on important clinical outcomes. Evidence was obtained from a variety of studies, with increasing numbers of analyses of large databases being prominent. The benefits and limitations of these approaches are considered in order to provide a context for interpretation of the data they generate. ⋯ There are even some data consistent with a hypothesis that general anaesthesia may be protective against postoperative cognitive dysfunction. In conclusion, there is probably no generally applicable benefit in long-term outcomes with regional anaesthesia. More likely is an interaction between patient factors, the surgical procedure, and the relative capability of the anaesthetist to manage different types of anaesthesia.
-
Cancer treatment is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Surgery is a mainstay of treatment for many tumours, and anaesthetists care for cancer patients on a daily basis. ⋯ Retrospective studies have hinted that regional anaesthesia can play a protective role in cancer surgery, but many of these studies are small and subject to bias. We eagerly await the results of several large, randomized controlled trials examining the impact of regional anaesthesia and analgesia on cancer recurrence and survival.
-
Review
Challenges in postdischarge function and recovery: the case of fast-track hip and knee arthroplasty.
This narrative review updates the recent advances in our understanding of the multifactorial pathogenesis for reduced postdischarge physical and cognitive function after fast-track surgery, using total hip and knee arthroplasty as surgical models. Relevant factors discussed include the surgical stress responses and potential methods for controlling postsurgical inflammation, pain, and cognitive dysfunction. ⋯ The need for the development of effective physiotherapy programmes on a patient-specific basis is discussed, along with the need for optimal assessment of postoperative function to guide rehabilitation. Other relevant factors discussed include the role of orthostatic intolerance, sleep disturbances, and blood management, and specific patient populations at risk for adverse outcomes, including psychiatric disorders, to identify and guide future interventions for optimizing functional postdischarge outcomes after fast-track surgery.