Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Discharge Readiness after Tricompartment Knee Arthroplasty: Adductor Canal versus Femoral Continuous Nerve Blocks-A Dual-center, Randomized Trial.
The authors conducted a randomized, controlled, parallel-arm, superiority study to test the hypothesis that a continuous adductor canal block decreases the time to attain four discharge criteria compared with a continuous femoral nerve block after tricompartment knee arthroplasty. ⋯ Compared with a continuous femoral nerve block, a continuous adductor canal block did not appreciably decrease the time to overall discharge readiness even though it did decrease the time until adequate mobilization, primarily because both groups experienced similar analgesia and intravenous opioid requirements that--in most cases--exceeded the time to mobilization.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Hyperinsulinemic Normoglycemia Does Not Meaningfully Improve Myocardial Performance during Cardiac Surgery: A Randomized Trial.
Glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) administration during cardiac surgery inconsistently improves myocardial function, perhaps because hyperglycemia negates the beneficial effects of GIK. The hyperinsulinemic normoglycemic clamp (HNC) technique may better enhance the myocardial benefits of GIK. The authors extended previous GIK investigations by (1) targeting normoglycemia while administering a GIK infusion (HNC); (2) using improved echocardiographic measures of myocardial deformation, specifically myocardial longitudinal strain and strain rate; and (3) assessing the activation of glucose metabolic pathways. ⋯ Administration of glucose and insulin while targeting normoglycemia during aortic valve replacement did not meaningfully improve myocardial function.
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Review Meta Analysis
N-terminal pro-B-type Natriuretic Peptides' Prognostic Utility Is Overestimated in Meta-analyses Using Study-specific Optimal Diagnostic Thresholds.
N-terminal fragment B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) prognostic utility is commonly determined post hoc by identifying a single optimal discrimination threshold tailored to the individual study population. The authors aimed to determine how using these study-specific post hoc thresholds impacts meta-analysis results. ⋯ Post hoc identification of study-specific prognostic biomarker thresholds artificially maximizes biomarker predictive power, resulting in an amplification or overestimation during meta-analysis of these results. This effect is accentuated in small studies.
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Clinical Trial
Pulse Photoplethysmographic Analysis Estimates the Sympathetic Activity Directed to Heart and Vessels.
Novel pulse photoplethysmographic-derived indices have been proposed as tools to measure autonomic nervous system (ANS) modulation in anesthetized and awake patients, but nowadays their experimental validation is lacking. The authors aimed to investigate the ability of pulse photoplethysmographic amplitude (PPGA), ANS state (ANSS), and ANSS index (ANSSi) to measure changes of ANS modulation in response to sympathetic stimulation. ⋯ In controlled experimental conditions, novel pulse plethysmographic indices seem to estimate the changes of the sympathetic outflow directed to the vessels and the sympathovagal balance modulating heart rate. These indices might be useful in the future to monitor the fluctuation of sympathetic activity in anesthetized patients.