British journal of anaesthesia
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Prehabilitation aims to reduce the impact of major surgery by improving the physical and psychological resilience of patients. Although exercise represents one component of prehabilitation, nutritional and psychological support are also critical to its effectiveness, and any benefits are only likely to be realised if the different components are implemented together, ideally in a behaviour change framework. Implementation of prehabilitation in cardiac surgery has not been as widespread as in other types of surgery, despite many randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of single interventions in this setting. ⋯ This was mostly not done for prehabilitation in noncardiac surgery, where programmes were implemented largely without trials of these combined interventions. The most likely chance of an effective prehabilitation programme for cardiac surgery is to combine all the efficacious and implementable single interventions together in one comprehensive evidence-based programme. This should then be tested in an adequately powered multicentre RCT in a representative cardiac surgery population.
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Review Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Comparison of different monitors for measurement of nociception during general anaesthesia: a network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
To avoid underdosing or overdosing of analgesic medications, a variety of nociception monitors that use distinct techniques have been developed to quantify nociception during general anaesthesia. Although prior meta-analyses have examined the behaviour of nociception monitors vs standard care protocols, they did not include the potentially valuable data for monitor-to-monitor comparisons. In order to capture these data fully and compare the behaviour of these monitors, we conducted a systematic search and network meta-analysis. ⋯ Apart from pupillometry, no monitors demonstrated a significant effect on intraoperative opioid consumption. Secondary outcomes indicate limited clinical benefit for patients when using these monitors.
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Etomidate, an intravenous hypnotic used for anaesthesia and critical care, is known for its undesirable side effects, including pain on injection, myoclonus, and adrenocortical depression. Despite its continued clinical use because of its haemodynamic stability and rapid onset and offset of effect, alternatives like propofol, ketamine, and remimazolam offer fewer drawbacks. Recent efforts to improve etomidate through chemical modifications, such as methoxyethyl etomidate hydrochloride (ET-26), have shown limited success, with persistent issues like involuntary muscle movements and adrenocortical suppression. We suggest that it might be time to move on from etomidate and focus on developing new anaesthetic agents.