British journal of anaesthesia
-
Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Effectiveness of platelet inhibition on major adverse cardiac events in non-cardiac surgery after percutaneous coronary intervention: a prospective cohort study.
Platelet inhibition is mandatory therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Withdrawal of oral antiplatelet agents has been linked to increased incidence of postoperative adverse cardiac events in post-PCI patients having non-cardiac surgery (NCS). There is limited knowledge of temporal changes in platelet inhibition in this high-risk surgical population. We therefore performed a multicentre prospective cohort study evaluating perioperative platelet function and its association with postoperative major adverse cardiac events (MACE). ⋯ NCT 01707459 (registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov).
-
Review Meta Analysis
Are neuromuscular blocking agents being misused in laboratory pigs?
The literature (2012-4) describing experimental pig surgery was reviewed to estimate the extent to which neuromuscular block (NMB) is used, to examine methods for ensuring unconsciousness, and to identify the rationale for use of NMB and establish the anaesthetist's training. In the first stage of a two-stage review, NMB use was estimated using Web of Knowledge to identify articles describing NMB during pig surgeries. In the second stage, PubMed and Google Scholar were used to increase the number of articles for determining measures taken to prevent accidental awareness during general anaesthesia (AAGA). ⋯ Medical or veterinary anaesthetists supervised anaesthesia in 70% of studies; non-anaesthetists provided NMB, unsupervised, in 23. Nine respondents prioritized experimental expediency over pig welfare. In laboratory pig studies, AAGA may be prevalent; reported details of its attempted prevention are woefully inadequate.
-
Peripheral nerve stimulation is commonly used for nerve localization in regional anaesthesia, but recommended stimulation currents of 0.3-0.5 mA do not reliably produce motor activity in the absence of intraneural needle placement. As this may be particularly true in patients with diabetic neuropathy, we examined the stimulation threshold in patients with and without diabetes. ⋯ NCT01488474.
-
Ten percent of elective surgical patients have diabetes. These patients demonstrate excess perioperative morbidity and mortality. National guidance on the management of adults with diabetes undergoing surgery was published in 2011. We present a region-wide audit of adherence to this guidance across the North Western Deanery. ⋯ National perioperative guidelines were not adhered to in a substantial proportion of patients with diabetes undergoing elective surgery. This study represents a template for future trainee networks.