British journal of anaesthesia
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Sugammadex reversal of neuromuscular block facilitates recovery of neuromuscular function after surgery, but the drug is expensive. We evaluated the effects of sugammadex on hospital costs of care. ⋯ The effects of using sugammadex on costs of care depend on patient risk, defined based on comorbidities and admission status. We observed lower costs of care in patients with lower risk and higher costs of care in hospitalised surgical patients with severe comorbidities.
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The novel synthetic neuroactive steroid (3β,5β,17β)-3-hydroxyandrostane-17-carbonitrile (3β-OH) blocks T-type calcium channels but does not directly modulate neuronal γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) currents like other anaesthetic neurosteroids. As 3β-OH has sex-specific hypnotic effects in adult rats, we studied the mechanism contributing to sex differences in its effects. ⋯ The sex-specific differences in the hypnotic effect of 3β-OH in mice are attributable to differences in its peripheral metabolism into the more potent hypnotic metabolite 3α-OH.
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Editorial Comment
Assessment of haemostatic function in paediatric surgical patients: 'if you prick us, do we not bleed?'.
Healthy babies have ∼50% of adult procoagulant factor levels, but without an increased risk of bruising or bleeding. The preoperative clotting tests, prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time, are frequently performed in infants and children. However, the clinical usefulness of screening coagulation tests remains controversial. ⋯ Enhanced coagulability was previously demonstrated on some viscoelastic testing devices using blood from younger infants. This editorial focuses on several key findings from the paediatric reference range study using a new whole blood viscoelastic coagulation test system, ClotPro® (Haemonetics, Boston, MA, USA). Altered clotting patterns in younger infants, underlying mechanisms of coagulation, and potential clinical implications are discussed.