British journal of anaesthesia
-
Review Meta Analysis
Benefits and risks of epidural analgesia in cardiac surgery†.
Epidural analgesia reduces all-cause mortality after cardiac surgery, at the cost of a 1 in 3,500 risk of epidural hematoma.
pearl -
Multicenter Study Clinical Trial Observational Study
Predictors for postoperative nausea and vomiting after xenon-based anaesthesia.
The incidence of post-operative nausea and vomiting is about 30% lower following xenon anesthesia compared with traditional volatile anesthesia.
pearl -
Review
'Fit to fly': overcoming barriers to preoperative haemoglobin optimization in surgical patients†.
In major surgery, the implementation of multidisciplinary, multimodal and individualized strategies, collectively termed Patient Blood Management, aims to identify modifiable risks and optimise patients' own physiology with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes. Among the various strategies utilized in Patient Blood Management, timely detection and management of preoperative anaemia is most important, as it is in itself a risk factor for worse clinical outcome, but also one of the strongest predisposing factors for perioperative allogeneic blood transfusion, which in turn increases postoperative morbidity, mortality and costs. ⋯ We have reviewed a number of these misconceptions, which we unanimously consider should be promptly abandoned by health care providers and replaced by evidence-based strategies such as detection, diagnosis and proper treatment of preoperative anaemia. We believe that this approach to preoperative anaemia management may be a viable, cost-effective strategy that is beneficial both for patients, with improved clinical outcomes, and for health systems, with more efficient use of finite health care resources.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of subanaesthetic ketamine on plasma and saliva cortisol secretion.
The commonality between chronic conditions that are treated with low-dose ketamine, such as specific chronic pain conditions, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, can be found in relation to the stress system, particularly the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. In this study we assess the effect of ketamine on the stress system by measuring plasma and saliva cortisol production during and following exposure to low-dose ketamine. ⋯ This study was registered in the Dutch Trial Register under number NTR2717 at www.trialregister.nl.