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It is unclear whether physicians and patients have similar concerns and preferences when considering benefit and risks of aspirin and antifibrinolytic therapy for cardiac surgery. We surveyed both groups to ascertain their perceptions and preferences for treatment in this setting. Both preoperative and postoperative cardiac surgical patients and the physician craft groups caring for them (cardiology, surgery, anaesthesia/critical care), were provided with estimates of benefits and risks of aspirin and antifibrinolytic therapy. All study participants were asked to stipulate the minimal absolute risk reduction required for them to agree to such therapy. When compared with the cardiac surgical patients they treat, physicians required a smaller thrombotic risk reduction with aspirin whilst accepting its known increased risk of bleeding. This was significantly different in a high-risk stroke setting (incidence 5%) where the required relative risk reduction with aspirin use for physicians was 20% versus patients 40% (P <0.001); and for myocardial infarction, physicians 20% versus patients 36% (P=0.051). For antifibrinolytic therapy, the tolerated increased relative risk of stroke for physicians was 20% versus patients 10% (P=0.004), and for myocardial infarction, physicians 16.7% versus patients 4.2% (P <0.001). The three physician craft groups had comparable tolerances of thrombotic risk. Patient and physician preferences for perioperative aspirin and antifibrinolytic therapy sometimes differ based on risk benefit analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The POISE Trial was a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind study of the effectiveness of perioperative beta-blockade in preventing cardiac events including death in 8351 patients. Our hypothesis was that knowledge of the results of the POISE Trial would either increase or decrease the use of effective perioperative beta-blockade, depending on the result. Patients presenting for non-cardiac surgery and at risk of perioperative cardiac events were recruited in two cohorts before and after the release of the POISE Trial results. Effective perioperative beta-blockade was defined as heart rate <65 beats per minute for at least 80% of the perioperative period in patients prescribed beta-blockers. Effective perioperative beta-blockade was achieved in 22 (11.5%) of 191 patients prescribed perioperative beta-blockade in the first cohort (n=392) and seven (6%) of 118 patients in the second cohort (n=241) (P=0.10). Effective heart rate control was achieved in 29 (9%) patients prescribed perioperative beta-blockers compared with 10 (3%) patients not prescribed perioperative beta-blockers (P=0.001). The rate of implementation of effective beta-blockade was low before POISE and this did not change significantly after publication. Our finding does not provide reliable evidence of a change in practice as a result of the POISE Trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The ENIGMA trial was a prospective, randomized, multicenter study that evaluated the clinical consequences of including NO in general anesthesia. Patients who were given a NO-free anesthetic when undergoing major surgery for which the expected hospital stay was at least 3 days had lower rates of some postoperative complications. This suggests that, despite a higher consumption of potent inhalational agent, there could be a financial benefit when NO is avoided in such settings. METHODS: A retrospective cost analysis of the 2,050 patients recruited to the ENIGMA trial was performed. We measured costs from the perspective of an implementing hospital. Direct health care costs include the costs for maintaining anesthesia, daily medications, hospitalization, and complications. The primary outcome was the net financial savings from avoiding NO in major noncardiac surgery. Comparisons between groups were analyzed using Student t test and bootstrap methods. Sensitivity analyses were also performed. RESULTS: Rates of some serious complications were higher in the NO group. Total costs in the NO group were $16,203 and in the NO-free group $13,837, mean difference of $2,366 (95% CI: 841-3,891); P = 0.002. All sensitivity analyses retained a significant difference in favor of the NO-free group (all P <= 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Despite NO reducing the consumption of more expensive potent inhalational agent, there were marked additional costs associated with its use in adult patients undergoing major surgery because of an increased rate of complications. There is no cogent argument to continue using NO on the basis that it is an inexpensive drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physiological and pharmacological differences exist between men and women. Women wake faster than men following general anaesthesia. Women also differ from men in their postoperative recovery as reflected by differences in postoperative pain, nausea and vomiting and overall quality of recovery. These gender differences seem to be more pronounced in premenopausal women, suggesting hormonal mechanisms are a major contributing factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endothelial function is impaired with hyperhomocysteinemia. Plasma homocysteine is increased by nitrous oxide anesthesia. The current study was designed to determine whether endothelial function is impaired after surgery and whether this is made worse by exposure to nitrous oxide.Methods: The authors studied 59 patients with cardiovascular disease undergoing noncardiac surgery. Patients were randomly allocated to nitrous oxide-based anesthesia (n = 25) or nitrous oxide-free anesthesia (control, n = 34). Endothelial function was measured by flow-mediated dilation of the brachial artery before and 24 h after surgery. In addition, blood was drawn at both time points for the measurements of plasma homocysteine, folate, L-arginine, L-citrulline, asymmetric dimethylarginine, and nitrate concentrations.Results: The median duration of general anesthesia was 4.5 h. Patients had significantly lower flow-mediated dilation after surgery (5.1 +/- 3.3 to 3.0 +/- 4.1%; P = 0.001). Duration of anesthesia affected endothelial function. In the nitrous oxide group, there was an inverse correlation with flow-mediated dilation (r = -0.60, P = 0.004), but in the control group, there was a positive correlation (r = 0.61, P < 0.001). When compared with control, nitrous oxide exposure was associated with a significant increase in postoperative homocysteine (mean difference, 4.9 microm; 95% confidence interval, 2.8-7.0 microm; P < 0.0005) and decrease in flow-mediated dilation (3.2%; 95% confidence interval, 0.1-5.3%; P = 0.001). Nitrous oxide exposure was not associated with change in nitric oxide substrates.Conclusions: Nitrous oxide-based anesthesia increased plasma homocysteine and significantly impaired endothelial function in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. Nitrous oxide-based anesthesia could be a risk factor for postoperative cardiovascular morbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unplanned intensive care unit admission within 24 hours of a procedure with an anaesthetist in attendance (UIA) is a recommended clinical indicator It is designed to identify preventable iatrogenic complications. Often understood as a specific anaesthetic outcome, its value has been repeatedly questioned. Iatrogenic complications however often result from successive mishaps. In the specific context of an UIA these complications can be related both to anaesthesia and surgery. UIA is therefore probably more a global indicator of the safety of surgical care (anaesthetic and surgical) rather than a specific anaesthetic outcome. Its utility as such is however unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess the value of UIA as a global measure of avoidable iatrogenic complications in surgical patients. Using computerised patient records and medical charts, all patients with an UIA over a study period of five years were identified. The proportion, cause and preventability of iatrogenic complications amongst these patients were assessed. A total of 188 UIA patients were identified by peer reviewers. Of these, 87% to 92% had a complication caused by anaesthesia and/or surgery. Anaesthesia was found to be responsible for 24% to 31% of iatrogenic complications. All other cases related to the combination of anaesthesia and surgery or surgery alone. Of these, 74% to 92% of complications were found to be preventable. Despite intrinsic limitations of the retrospective chart review method, UIA can be considered as a valuable tool to detect avoidable iatrogenic complications related to both surgical and anaesthetic care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical indicators are increasingly developed and promoted by professional organizations, governmental agencies, and quality initiatives as measures of quality and performance. To clarify the number, characteristics, and validity of indicators available for anesthesia care, the authors performed a systematic review. They identified 108 anesthetic clinical indicators, of which 53 related also to surgical or postoperative ward care. Most were process (42%) or outcome (57%) measures assessing the safety and effectiveness of patient care. To identify possible quality issues, most clinical indicators were used as part of interhospital comparison or professional peer-review processes. For 60% of the clinical indicators identified, validity relied on expert opinion. The level of scientific evidence on which prescriptive indicators ('how things should be done') were based was high (1a-1b) for 38% and low (4-5) for 62% of indicators. Additional efforts should be placed into the development and validation of anesthesia-specific quality indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a risk score for 30-day postoperative mortality: the Perioperative Mortality risk score. We used a derivation cohort from a previous study of surgical patients aged 70 years or more at three large metropolitan teaching hospitals, using the significant risk factors for 30-day mortality from multivariate analysis. We summed the risk score for each of six factors creating an overall Perioperative Mortality score. We included 1012 patients and the 30-day mortality was 6%. The three preoperative factors and risk scores were ("three A's"): 1) age, years: 70 to 79 = 1, 80 to 89 = 3, 90+ = 6; 2) ASA physical status: ASA I or II = 0, ASA III = 3, ASA IV = 6, ASA V = 15; and 3) preoperative albumin < 30 g/l = 2.5. The three postoperative factors and risk scores were ("three I's") 1) unplanned intensive care unit admission = 4.0; 2) systemic inflammation = 3; and 3) acute renal impairment = 2.5. Scores and mortality were: < 5 = 1%, 5 to 9.5 = 7% and > or = 10 = 26%. We also used a preliminary validation cohort of 256 patients from a regional hospital. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (C-statistic) for the derivation cohort was 0.80 (95% CI 0.74 to 0.86) similar to the validation C-statistic: 0.79 (95% CI 0.70 to 0.88), P = 0.88. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test (P = 0.35) indicated good calibration in the validation cohort. The Perioperative Mortality score is straightforward and may assist progressive risk assessment and management during the perioperative period. Risk associated with surgical complexity and urgency could be added to this baseline patient factor Perioperative Mortality score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]