British journal of anaesthesia
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Importance of intraoperative oliguria during major abdominal surgery: findings of the Restrictive Versus Liberal Fluid Therapy in Major Abdominal Surgery trial.
The association between intraoperative oliguria during major abdominal surgery and the subsequent development of postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) remains poorly defined. We hypothesised that, in such patients, intraoperative oliguria would be an independent predictor of subsequent AKI. ⋯ NCT01424150.
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Analgesic design and evaluation have been driven by the desire to create high-affinity high-selectivity mu (μ)-opioid peptide (MOP) receptor agonists. Such ligands are the mainstay of current clinical practice, and include morphine and fentanyl. Advances in this sphere have come from designing pharmacokinetic advantage, as in rapid metabolism for remifentanil. ⋯ Recent development has been to move towards low-selectivity multifunctional 'mixed ligands', such as cebranopadol, or ligand mixtures, such as Targinact®. Moreover, the observation that β-arrestin coupling underlies the side-effect profile for MOP ligands (from knockout animal studies) led to the discovery of biased (to G-protein and away from β-arrestin intracellular signalling) MOP ligands, such as oliceridine. There is sufficient excitement in the opioid field to suggest that opioid analgesics without significant side-effects may be on the horizon, and the 'opioid Holy Grail' might be in reach.
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The drug-induced, reversible coma of anaesthesia requires three clinical outcomes: unconsciousness, immobility, and the control of autonomic nervous system (ANS) responses to surgical stimulation. Producing the anaesthetised state with a single anaesthetic agent, such as an inhaled vapour or propofol, is challenging, primarily because suppressing ANS responses requires very high anaesthetic concentrations, resulting in haemodynamic depression and prolonged recovery. The antinociceptive effects of opioids (i.e. minimum alveolar concentration reduction) are thus central to the well-entrenched 'balanced anaesthesia' concept. ⋯ But there is a paucity of data on how intraoperative opioid usage patterns may be contributing to persistent opioid use after surgery. There are cogent reasons to moderate perioperative opioid use, including intraoperative opioids, but whether these changes in practice integral to the multimodal general anaesthesia concept will improve anaesthesia outcomes, including persistent opioid use after surgery, is unknown. Studies investigating these issues are an important research priority.
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Gestational changes in coagulation factor concentrations include elevations in fibrinogen, Factor VIII, and von Willebrand factor (vWF). We hypothesised that blood samples from term pregnant (TP) subjects are less prone to coagulation disturbances from haemodilution compared with those from non-pregnant (NP) females. ⋯ Our in vitro model showed relative resistance of TP blood to dilutional coagulation changes with respect to platelet adhesion, fibrin polymerisation, and thrombin generation. Careful therapeutic monitoring for different pro-haemostatic agents in pregnant women is warranted.