Articles: postoperative-complications.
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Postoperative delirium is a common syndrome that is often mistaken for other psychiatric conditions, particularly depression. Numerous investigators have found a clear convincing association between delirium and increased morbidity and mortality. ⋯ Lastly, areas demanding immediate further investigation are identified. In particular, outcome studies with particular emphasis on the role of age and prior drug exposure are urgently needed.
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Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Jan 1991
Review[Noninvasive monitoring of rejection in heart transplant patients. An overview of current status and use at a small transplant center].
In view of the numerous techniques known for noninvasive rejection monitoring for heart transplant recipients, it is important, especially for small transplant centres, to select suitable parameters for routine monitoring. We verified the methods for rejection monitoring and on the basis of the good results after orthotopic heart transplantation in our unit (33 patients, 78% overall survival, no death later than 6 months after transplantation), consider the following parameters useful for small transplant centres: heart/thorax ratio, echocardiography and neopterin. The Fast-Fourier analysis should prove of great value for small transplant units, given the availability of suitable apparatuses.
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Review Comparative Study
A comparison of general anesthesia and regional anesthesia as a risk factor for deep vein thrombosis following hip surgery: a critical review.
We evaluated the evidence in support of the suggestion that the risk of deep vein thrombosis after hip surgery is lower with regional than with general anesthesia. A literature search was performed to retrieve all articles which reported on the incidence of postoperative thrombosis in both fractured and elective hip surgery. Articles were included if the method of anesthesia used was reported and if they used mandatory venography. ⋯ All studies showed a statistically significantly lower incidence of postoperative deep vein thrombosis with regional anesthesia (relative risk reductions of 46-55%). There were no direct comparative studies in patients who received prophylaxis. However, between study comparisons did not show even a trend towards to lower incidence of postoperative thrombosis with regional anesthesia.
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Seventy percent of all postoperative patients--over 14 million cases annually- suffer from hypothermia, which is caused by the combination of the anesthetics preventing thermal homeostasis and the cold operating room environment. Therapeutic goals are to treat shivering, prevent the severe discomfort of hypothermia, maximize rewarming rate to shorten PACU time, and maximize patient safety. Traditional warming therapies do not actively heat the patient nor do they prevent the continued loss of endogenously produced heat. Convective warming therapy is a new technology that clinical studies have demonstrated to be effective in preventing intraoperative or treating postoperative hypothermia.