Articles: analgesia.
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Cao and colleagues present a follow-up analysis of a previous RCT among >1200 older adults (mean age 72 yr) undergoing cancer surgery, originally designed to evaluate the effect of propofol or sevoflurane general anaesthesia on delirium, here to evaluate the effect of anaesthetic technique on overall survival and recurrence-free survival. Neither anaesthetic technique conferred an advantage on oncological outcomes. We suggest that although it is entirely plausible that the observed results are truly robust neutral findings, the present study could be limited, like most published studies in the field, by its heterogeneity and understandable absence of underlying individual patient-specific tumour genomic data. We argue for a precision oncology approach to onco-anaesthesiology research that recognises that cancer is not one but rather many diseases and that tumour genomics (and multi-omics) is a fundamental determinant relating drugs to longer-term outcomes.
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Editorial Comment
Regional analgesia for total hip arthroplasty and Schwartz's paradox.
Enhanced recovery after total hip arthroplasty aims to facilitate return to function and early hospital discharge, but the role of novel fascial plane block techniques in such pathways is uncertain. A randomised trial by Kukreja and colleagues describes superior quality of recovery after hip arthroplasty in patients receiving a pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block. We discuss the trial findings in the context of ongoing uncertainty regarding best analgesic practice for this surgical procedure.
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The erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is one of seven 'Plan A' blocks proposed by Regional Anaesthesia UK, covering the key areas of commonly encountered surgeries and acute pain. Unlike the other six blocks, the ESPB can be performed at all levels of the spine and provides analgesia to most regions of the body, leading to the argument that the ESPB is the ultimate Plan A block. Current studies show a high level of evidence supporting use in thoracoabdominal surgery but a lack of benefit in upper and lower limb surgery compared with local infiltration and other Plan A blocks. Thus, there is insufficient evidence to support the claim that the erector spinae plane block is the ultimate Plan A block.