BMC anesthesiology
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The revised-Risk Analysis Index (RAI-rev) can accurately predict postoperative mortality risk. However, the association of RAI-rev with composite outcome of major morbidity and mortality (MMM) among older surgical patients is largely unknown. This study investigated the association between RAI-rev and postoperative MMM in older patients undergoing abdominal surgery. It also assessed the predictive value of RAI-rev combined with other preoperative risk factors. ⋯ Higher RAI-rev scores were independently associated with increased risk of MMM. When combined with age, gender, ASA classification, operative stress, and urgency status of surgery, RAI-rev had improved performance in predicting the risk of MMM, particularly the life-threatening complications and mortality.
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In patients with end stage liver disease (ESLD) scheduled for liver transplantation (LT), an intraoperative incidental finding of elevated mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) may be observed. Its association with patient outcome has not been evaluated. We aimed to estimate the effects of an incidental finding of a mPAP > 20 mmHg during LT on the incidence of pulmonary complications. ⋯ Incidental finding of elevated mPAP was highly prevalent during LT, but it was not associated with a higher risk of postoperative complications.
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Recent evidence suggests that ultrasound measurements of carotid and brachial artery corrected flow time (FTc) and respirophasic variation in blood flow peak velocity (ΔVpeak) are valuable for predicting fluid responsiveness in mechanical ventilated patients. We performed the study to reveal the performance of ultrasonic measurements of radial artery FTc and ΔVpeak for predicting fluid responsiveness in mechanical ventilated patients undergoing gynecological surgery. ⋯ Ultrasound measurement of radial artery FTc and ΔVpeak are the feasible and reliable methods for predicting fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients.
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Intravenous dantrolene is often prescribed for hypermetabolic syndromes other than the approved indication of malignant hyperthermia (MH). To clarify the extent of and indications for dantrolene use in conditions other than MH, we sought to document current practices in the frequency, diagnoses, clinical characteristics and outcomes associated with dantrolene treatment in critical care settings. ⋯ In over 95% of cases, dantrolene administration was associated with diagnoses other than MH in critically-ill patients with hypermetabolic symptoms and medical and psychiatric comorbidities. Exploratory survey data suggested that the efficacy and safety of dantrolene in preventing mortality in hypermetabolic syndromes other than MH remain uncertain. However, randomized and controlled studies using standardized criteria between groups matched for severity are essential to guide practice in using dantrolene.
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The Anesthesia Quality Institute (AQI) promotes improvements in clinical care outcomes by managing data entered in the National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry (NACOR). Each case included in NACOR is classified as "performance met" or "performance not met" and expressed as a percentage for a length of time. ⋯ Traditional approaches for interpreting statistical process control (SPC) charts depend on data points above and below a center line, which may not provide adequate characterizations of a QI process with a low failure rate, or few possible data points below the center line. This article demonstrates the limitations associated with the use of binary datasets to evaluate the quality of care at an individual organization with QI measures, describes a method for characterizing binary data with continuous variables and presents a solution to analyze rare QI events using g charts.