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Background: Comparisons of peri-operative complications associated with paediatric (≤16 years) and adult anaesthesia are poorly available, especially in which cardiac surgery, organ transplantation and neurosurgery are involved.Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the nature and incidence of peri-operative complications that might be due to anaesthesia and to identify independent risk factors for complications in children and adults, including those undergoing cardiac surgery, organ transplantation and neurosurgery.Design: Retrospective cohort study.Setting: The study was performed at the University Medical Centre Groningen in the 4 years between 1 January 2010 and the 31 December 2013.Main Outcome Measures: Complications and their severity were graded according to the standard complication score (20 items) of the Dutch Society of Anaesthesia. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for the reported complications.Results: A total of 81 267 anaesthetic cases were included. In the paediatric cohort, there were 410 (2.9%) complications and 1675 (2.5%) in the adults. In both cohorts age, American Society of Anaesthesiologists classification and emergency treatment were independent risk factors for complications. With respect to age, infants less than 1 year were at the highest risk, whereas in the adult cohort, increased age was related to a greater number of complications. The incidences of the specific complications were different between both cohorts. Upper airway obstruction was more frequently observed in paediatric patients (26%), whereas in the adults, complications with the highest incidence concerned conversion of regional-to-general anaesthesia (25%) and hypotension (17%).Conclusion: Risk factors for all peri-operative complications were similar for paediatric and adult anaesthesia. However, the incidence of specific complications differed between both age categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bedside thromboelastography is increasingly used, but an assessment of the clinical interchangeability of the 2 major systems, TEG (Hemoscope) and RoTEM (Pentapharm), has not been performed., Methods: We measured blood samples from 46 cardiac surgical patients after induction of anesthesia with kaolin TEG(R) (kaoTEG), native TEG(R) (natTEG), intrinsic RoTEM (inTEM), and extrinsic RoTEM (exTEM). Each measurement consisted of reaction time (R), coagulation time (K), maximum amplitude (MA), and angle (alpha). Bland-Altman plots and mixed-model analysis were used. To assess repeatability, we made 7 replicated measurements in rapid succession in 2 volunteers., Results: One hundred sixty-six measurements were available for analysis. The R time of the kaoTEG (345 + or - 102 seconds, mean + or - sd) was longer than that of the inTEM (179 + or - 74 seconds, P < 0.001) and the exTEM (55 + or - 28 seconds, P < 0.001). The K time of the kaoTEG (78 + or - 18s) was not different from that of the inTEM (75 + or - 52 seconds, P = 0.60) but was longer than the K time of the exTEM (61 + or - 24 seconds, P < 0.003). The MA of the kaoTEG (71 + or - 6.5 mm) was larger than the MA of the inTEM (67 + or - 5.2 mm, P < 0.02) and almost similar to that of the exTEM (69 + or - 6.3 mm). The alpha of the kaoTEG (72 degrees + or - 4.1 degrees ) was not significantly different from that of both the inTEM (76 degrees + or - 7 degrees ) and the exTEM (79 degrees + or - 4.5 degrees ). The variability for MA and alpha was <10%. The repeatability of the R and K times was poor in both devices, whereas the repeatability of the MA and alpha was sufficient for clinical purposes., Conclusions: The TEG and RoTEM measurements demonstrated a close correlation for the MA, but the alpha did not for the R and K variables. The kaoTEG had the best agreement with the exTEM measurement. Therefore TEG and RoTEM measurements are not completely interchangeable, and the clinical interpretation of thromboelastograhic data should be used with caution.

Background: Platelet transfusions have been identified as an independent risk factor for survival after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). In this study, we analyzed the specific causes of mortality and graft loss in relation to platelet transfusions during OLT., Methods: In a series of 449 consecutive adult patients undergoing a first OLT, the causes of patient death and graft failure were studied in patients who did or did not receive perioperative platelet transfusions., Results: Patient and graft survival were significantly reduced in patients who received platelet transfusions, compared with those who did not (74% vs 92%, and 69% vs 85%, respectively at 1 yr; P < 0.001). Lower survival rates in patients who received platelets were attributed to a significantly higher rate of early mortality because of acute lung injury (4.4% vs 0.4%; P = 0.004). There were no significant differences in other causes of mortality between the two groups. The main cause of graft loss in patients receiving platelets was patient death with a functioning graft., Conclusions: These findings suggest that platelet transfusions are an important risk factor for mortality after OLT. The current study extends previous observations by identifying acute lung injury as the main determinant of increased mortality. The higher rate of graft loss in patients receiving platelets is related to the higher overall mortality rate and does not result from specific adverse effects of transfused platelets on the grafted liver.

Background: Intraoperative transfusion of red blood cells (RBC) is associated with adverse outcome after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Although experimental studies have shown that platelets contribute to reperfusion injury of the liver, the influence of allogeneic platelet transfusion on outcome has not been studied in detail. In this study, we evaluate the impact of various blood products on outcome after OLT., Methods: Twenty-nine variables, including blood product transfusions, were studied in relation to outcome in 433 adult patients undergoing a first OLT between 1989 and 2004. Data were analyzed using uni- and multivariate stepwise Cox's proportional hazards analyses, as well as propensity score-adjusted analyses for platelet transfusion to control for selection bias in the use of blood products., Results: The proportion of patients receiving transfusion of any blood component decreased from 100% in the period 1989-1996 to 74% in the period 1997-2004. In uni- and multivariate analyses, the indication for transplantation, transfusion of platelets and RBC were highly dominant in predicting 1-yr patient survival. These risk factors were independent from well-accepted indices of disease, such as the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score and Karnofsky score. The effect on 1-yr survival was dose-related with a hazard ratio of 1.377 per unit of platelets (P = 0.01) and 1.057 per unit of RBC (P = 0.001). The negative impact of platelet transfusion on survival was confirmed by propensity-adjusted analysis., Conclusion: This retrospective study indicates that, in addition to RBC, platelet transfusions are an independent risk factor for survival after OLT. These findings have important implications for transfusion practice in liver transplant recipients.

Background: Estimating blood loss in trauma patients usually involves the determination of hematocrit (Ht) or hemoglobin (Hb). However, in trauma patients, a poorly substantiated habit exists to determine both Ht and Hb in assessing acute blood loss. This suggests that Ht and Hb provide different information. Moreover, a survey of the literature showed a significant association of the subject trauma with the use of Ht. We investigated whether Ht and Hb differ in trauma patients., Methods: Trauma patients with an Injury Severity Score>15 admitted from 1996 to 2004 to the University Medical Center Groningen were analyzed. All blood samples obtained during the first 7 days postinjury in which both Ht and Hb were determined were studied. Ht and Hb were measured with a Coulter Counter. The relation between Ht and Hb was analyzed with linear regression. The potential effect of hemolysis was studied by analyzing lactate dehydrogenase levels., Results: In 671 patients 2,461 paired Ht levels and Hb levels were obtained. The mean Ht was 30.9%+/-6.9% (interquartile range 25.8%-35.8%). The mean concentration of Hb was 10.4+/-2.3 g/dL (interquartile range 8.7-12.1 g/dL). Ht and Hb had a Pearson's R of 0.99 and the following relations applied: Ht (%)=2.953xHb (g/dL) or Hb (g/dL)=0.334xHt (%). Lactate dehydrogenase was not related with Ht and Hb, indicating hemolysis was not relevant., Conclusions: In a large series of trauma patients, Ht and Hb behaved as identical parameters. The idea that Ht is different from or even superior to Hb is a misconception. There is no reason for determining both Ht and Hb in trauma patients.