British journal of anaesthesia
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Determination of reference ranges for the ClotPro® thromboelastometry device in paediatric patients.
A new thromboelastometry analyser (ClotPro®) was developed with advanced diagnostics. The reference ranges of ClotPro® in children ages 0-16 yr have not been reported. ⋯ NCT04190615.
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Whilst the general presumption of the public is that general anaesthesia prevents awareness of any sensory stimuli, Lennertz and colleagues have shown in this issue of the British Journal of Anaesthesia that 11% of young adults were able to respond to auditory commands when neuromuscular blocking drugs were prevented from reaching one arm using the isolated forearm technique. This occurred with anaesthetic regimens that followed usual clinical practice in each of the 10 countries that enrolled patients, and it was significantly more common in women than in men. This high incidence demands attention. Further characterisation of the experience of these patients is essential to our understanding of the state of general anaesthesia.
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Review Meta Analysis
Depth of anaesthesia and mortality after cardiac or noncardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Recent randomised controlled trials have failed to show a benefit in mortality by using processed electroencephalography (pEEG) to guide lighter anaesthesia. We performed a meta-analysis of mortality data from randomised trials of pEEG monitoring to assess the evidence of any protective effect of pEEG-guided light anaesthesia compared with deep anaesthesia in adults aged ≥18 yr. ⋯ CRD42022285195 (PROSPERO).
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Multicenter Study
Connected consciousness after tracheal intubation in young adults: an international multicentre cohort study.
Connected consciousness, assessed by response to command, occurs in at least 5% of general anaesthetic procedures and perhaps more often in young people. Our primary objective was to establish the incidence of connected consciousness after tracheal intubation in young people aged 18-40 yr. The secondary objectives were to assess the nature of these responses, identify relevant risk factors, and determine their relationship to postoperative outcomes. ⋯ Connected consciousness occured after intubation in 11% of young adults, with females at increased risk. Continuous exposure to anaesthesia between induction of anaesthesia and tracheal intubation should be considered to reduce the incidence of connected consciousness. Further research is required to understand sex-related differences in the risk of connected consciousness.
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Epidemiological evidence has highlighted a strong relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and surgical outcomes; specifically, fitter patients possess heightened resilience to withstand the surgical stress response. This narrative review draws on exercise and surgical physiology research to discuss and hypothesise the potential mechanisms by which higher fitness affords perioperative benefit. ⋯ However, the associated adaptations with higher fitness, and the related participation in regular exercise or physical activity, might also underpin the observed perioperative benefit through a process of hormesis, a protective adaptive response to the moderate and intermittent stress of exercise. Potential mediators discussed include greater antioxidant capacity, metabolic flexibility, glycaemic control, lean body mass, and improved mood.