British journal of anaesthesia
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A recent systematic review and meta-analysis by Wang and colleagues in the British Journal of Anaesthesia calls into question the concept that perioperative benzodiazepine administration is associated with development of postoperative delirium in older individuals after anaesthesia and surgery. This editorial focuses on potential bias within the systematic review and addresses major concerns surrounding benzodiazepine use in the older perioperative population.
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Use of sodium-glucose transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors has dramatically increased over the past decade. This medication class predisposes patients to euglycaemic diabetic ketoacidosis, particularly during times of physiologic stress, including fasting and surgery. Beyond case reports and series, a systematic description of perioperative metabolic effects of SGLT2 inhibitors is lacking. ⋯ These findings provide the first evidence that an anion gap acidosis, likely from ketoacids, develops in all patients who do not hold SGLT2 inhibitors before surgery rather than in an idiosyncratic few. If an SGLT2 inhibitor is unable to be stopped, postoperative monitoring of anion gap and serum ketones can help detect clinically significant euglycaemic diabetic ketoacidosis, particularly in those undergoing emergency surgery.
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Editorial Comment
Similarities in consciousness occurring during sleep and sedation.
The subjective experiences of sedation or anaesthesia are underexplored. A recent study by Valli and colleagues (Br J Anaesth 2023; 131: 348-59) found similar frequency and content of recalled experiences after both non-rapid eye movement sleep and target-controlled infusions of propofol or dexmedetomidine titrated to verbal unresponsiveness. The authors find that the phenomenological similarities between consciousness during sleep and sedation mirror their physiological similarities. Intriguingly, in this small sample, conscious experience did not show a dose-dependent response suggesting other factors are important in determining the propensity for consciousness under sedation.