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Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS), an all-encompassing perioperative care approach, has been demonstrated to enhance surgical results, mitigate postoperative issues, and decrease the length of hospital stay (LOS) in diverse surgical specialties. In this retrospective study, our objective was to examine the influence of muscle relaxant selection on LOS and perioperative results in adult patients undergoing open spine surgery. Specifically, we compared 201 patients who received cisatracurium and neostigmine with 201 patients who received rocuronium and sugammadex, after 1:1 propensity score matching. The utilization of the rocuronium and sugammadex combination in anesthesia for open spinal surgery did not lead to a reduction in the LOS but was associated with a decreased incidence of postoperative chest radiographic abnormalities, including infiltration, consolidation, atelectasis, or pneumonia (p = 0.027). In our secondary analysis, multivariate analysis revealed multiple determinants influencing the prolonged LOS (>7 days) during open spine surgery. Bispectral index-guided anesthesia emerged as a protective factor, while variables such as excessive intraoperative blood loss and fluid administration as well as postoperative chest radiographic abnormalities independently contributed to prolonged LOS.

Supermicrosurgical lymphaticovenous anastomosis (LVA) is a minimally invasive surgical technique that creates bypasses between lymphatic vessels and veins, thereby improving lymphatic drainage and reducing lymphedema. This retrospective single-center study included 137 patients who underwent non-intubated LVA in southern Taiwan. A total of 119 patients were enrolled and assigned to two study groups: the geriatric (age ≥ 75 years, n = 23) and non-geriatric groups (age < 75 years, n = 96). The primary outcome was to investigate and compare the arousal and maintenance of the propofol effect-site concentration (Ce) using an electroencephalographic density spectral array (EEG DSA) in both groups. The results showed that the geriatric group required less propofol (4.05 [3.73–4.77] mg/kg/h vs. 5.01 [4.34–5.92] mg/kg/h, p = 0.001) and alfentanil (4.67 [2.53–5.82] μg/kg/h vs. 6.68 [3.85–8.77] μg/kg/h, p = 0.047). The median arousal Ce of propofol among the geriatric group (0.6 [0.5–0.7] μg/mL) was significantly lower than that in patients aged ≤ 54 years (1.3 [1.2–1.4] μg/mL, p < 0.001), 55–64 years (0.9 [0.8–1.0] μg/mL, p < 0.001), and p < 0.001). In summary, the combined use of EEG DSA provides the objective and depth of adequate sedation for extensive non-intubated anesthesia in late-elderly patients who undergo LVA without perioperative complications.

The use of rocuronium/sugammadex in otorhinolaryngologic surgery improves intubation conditions and surgical rating scales. This study primarily aimed to evaluate the effect of the combination of rocuronium and sugammadex on intraoperative anesthetic consumption. The secondary outcomes were the intraoperative and postoperative morphine milligram equivalent (MME) consumption, duration of intraoperative hypertension, extubation time, incidence of delayed extubation and postoperative nausea and vomiting, pain score, and length of stay. A total of 2848 patients underwent otorhinolaryngologic surgery at a tertiary medical center in southern Taiwan. After applying the exclusion criteria, 2648 of these cases were included, with 167 and 2481 in the rocuronium/sugammadex and cisatracurium/neostigmine groups, respectively. To reduce potential bias, 119 patients in each group were matched by propensity scores for sex, age, body weight, and type of surgery. We found that the rocuronium/sugammadex group was associated with significant preservation of the intraoperative sevoflurane and MME consumption, with reductions of 14.2% (p = 0.009) and 11.8% (p = 0.035), respectively. The use of the combination of rocuronium and sugammadex also significantly increased the dose of intraoperative labetalol (p = 0.002), although there was no significant difference in intraoperative hypertensive events between both groups. In conclusion, our results may encourage the use of the combination of rocuronium and sugammadex as part of volatile-sparing and opioid-sparing anesthesia in otorhinolaryngologic surgery.

ObjectivesAngiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) improve the survival rates of patients with various cancers. However, it remains unclear whether ARBs confer a survival benefit on patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Here, we assessed the associations between ARB use and survival in patients with OSCC of different stages.Materials and methodsThis was a 10-year retrospective cohort study of OSCC patients. We enrolled 7,558 patients diagnosed with oral cancer between January 2007 and December 2017 whose details had been entered into the Chang Gung Research Database. Seven hundred and fourteen patients were recruited from the Chang Gung Research Database after performing 1:1 propensity score-matching between ARB users and non-users. Cox's regression models with adjusted covariates were employed to detect factors influencing the survival rates of patients with OSCC.ResultsKaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the overall survival (OS) rate of 180-day ARB users increased (p = 0.038). Cox's regression models indicated that ARB use, younger patients, early-stage OSCC, and patients without diabetes mellitus were independently prognostic of improved OS. Increased OS was more prominent in 180-day ARB users in stage III, Iva, and IVb categories.ConclusionsARB use for more than 180 days is associated with an increased survival rate and is a positive, independent prognostic factor in patients with OSCC. A further two-arm study should be conducted to confirm the clinical usefulness of ARBs in OSCC patients.