Articles: function.
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Chronic postoperative pain after total knee replacement (TKR) is a major clinical problem. It is still unclear if specific inflammatory mediators are associated with long-term postoperative pain complications. The current exploratory study aimed to (1) evaluate a multiplex of inflammatory mediators 5 years after TKR surgery in patients with different degrees of postoperative pain intensities and (2) study any association of the markers with clinical pain intensity, cognitive and functional outcomes. ⋯ This exploratory study evaluated a subset of inflammatory markers and the association to clinical pain intensity, knee function and pain catastrophizing in patients 5 years after total knee replacement surgery. Our results provide insights into the understanding of the underlying mechanisms that may drive the long experience of pain after TKR surgery.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Aug 2024
Association of Early Dexmedetomidine Utilization With Clinical Outcomes After Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an expensive and common public health problem. Management of TBI oftentimes includes sedation to facilitate mechanical ventilation (MV) for airway protection. Dexmedetomidine has emerged as a potential candidate for improved patient outcomes when used for early sedation after TBI due to its potential modulation of autonomic dysfunction. We examined early sedation patterns, as well as the association of dexmedetomidine exposure with clinical and functional outcomes among mechanically ventilated patients with moderate-severe TBI (msTBI) in the United States. ⋯ Dexmedetomidine is being utilized increasingly as a sedative for mechanically ventilated patients with msTBI. Early dexmedetomidine exposure may lead to improved patient outcomes in this population.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effects of virtual reality neuroscience-based therapy on clinical and neuroimaging outcomes in patients with chronic back pain: a randomized clinical trial.
Chronic pain remains poorly managed. The integration of immersive technologies (ie, virtual reality [VR]) with neuroscience-based principles may provide effective pain treatment by targeting cognitive and affective neural processes that maintain pain and therefore potentially changing neurobiological circuits associated with pain chronification and amplification. We tested the effectiveness of a novel VR neuroscience-based therapy (VRNT) to improve pain-related outcomes in n = 31 participants with chronic back pain, evaluated against usual care (waitlist control; n = 30) in a 2-arm randomized clinical trial ( NCT04468074). ⋯ Several secondary clinical outcomes were also improved by VRNT, including disability, quality of life, sleep, and fatigue. In addition, VRNT was associated with increases in dorsomedial prefrontal functional connectivity with the superior somatomotor, anterior prefrontal and visual cortices, and decreased white matter fractional anisotropy in the corpus callosum adjacent to the anterior cingulate, relative to the control condition. Thus, VRNT showed preliminary efficacy in significantly reducing pain and improving overall functioning, possibly through changes in somatosensory and prefrontal brain networks.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Aug 2024
Electroencephalographic Measures of Delirium in the Perioperative Setting: A Systematic Review.
Postoperative delirium (POD) is frequent in older adults and is associated with adverse cognitive and functional outcomes. In the last several decades, there has been an increased interest in exploring tools that easily allow the early recognition of patients at risk of developing POD. The electroencephalogram (EEG) is a widely available tool used to understand delirium pathophysiology, and its use in the perioperative setting has grown exponentially, particularly to predict and detect POD. ⋯ During surgery, the emphasis was primarily on burst suppression (BS) metrics and power spectra, with a link between the frequency and timing of BS, and POD. The EEG patterns observed in POD aligned with those noted in delirium in different contexts, suggesting a reduction in EEG activity. Further research is required to investigate preoperative EEG indicators that may predict susceptibility to delirium.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Aug 2024
ReviewThe enteroendocrine axis and its effect on gastrointestinal function, nutrition, and inflammation.
Gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction limits enteral nutrition (EN) delivery in critical illness and contributes to systemic inflammation. The enteroendocrine (EE) axis plays an integral role in this interface between nutrition, inflammation, and GI function in critical illness. In this review, we present an overview of the EE system with a focus on its role in GI inflammation and function. ⋯ The EE system is key in maintaining GI homeostasis in critical illness, and how it is impacted and contributes to outcomes in the setting of dysbiosis , inflammation and different feeding strategies in critical illness should be considered.