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Medicina Intensiva Apr 2020Given the importance of the management of sedation, analgesia and delirium in Intensive Care Units, and in order to update the previously published guidelines, a new...
Given the importance of the management of sedation, analgesia and delirium in Intensive Care Units, and in order to update the previously published guidelines, a new clinical practice guide is presented, addressing the most relevant management and intervention aspects based on the recent literature. A group of 24 intensivists from 9 countries of the Pan-American and Iberian Federation of Societies of Critical Medicine and Intensive Therapy met to develop the guidelines. Assessment of evidence quality and recommendations was made according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation Working Group. A systematic search of the literature was carried out using MEDLINE, Cochrane Library databases such as the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database and the database of Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS). A total of 438 references were selected. After consensus, 47 strong recommendations with high and moderate quality evidence, 14 conditional recommendations with moderate quality evidence, and 65 conditional recommendations with low quality evidence were established. Finally, the importance of initial and multimodal pain management was underscored. Emphasis was placed on decreasing sedation levels and the use of deep sedation only in specific cases. The evidence and recommendations for the use of drugs such as dexmedetomidine, remifentanil, ketamine and others were incremented.
Topics: Analgesia; Anesthesia; Benzodiazepines; Conscious Sedation; Critical Care; Critical Illness; Delirium; Evidence-Based Medicine; Humans; Hypnotics and Sedatives; Intensive Care Units; Midazolam; Pain Management
PubMed: 31492476
DOI: 10.1016/j.medin.2019.07.013 -
British Journal of Anaesthesia Feb 2023Postoperative delirium (POD) is the most common serious postoperative complication in older adults. It has uncertain aetiology, limited preventative strategies, and poor... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Postoperative delirium (POD) is the most common serious postoperative complication in older adults. It has uncertain aetiology, limited preventative strategies, and poor long-term outcomes. This updated systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the effect of processed electroencephalography (pEEG)-guided general anaesthesia during surgery on POD incidence.
METHODS
We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis by searching OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) electronic databases. Studies of adult patients having general anaesthesia for any surgery where pEEG was used and POD was an outcome measure were included. Full-text reports of RCTs published from database inception until August 28, 2021, were included. Trials were excluded if sedation rather than general anaesthesia was administered, or the setting was intensive care. The primary outcome was POD assessed by validated tools. The study was prospectively registered with PROSPERO.
RESULTS
Nine studies, which included 4648 eligible subjects, were identified. The incidence of POD in the pEEG-guided general anaesthesia or lighter pEEG target group was 19.0% (440/2310) compared with 23.3% (545/2338) in the usual care or deeper pEEG target group (pooled odds ratio=0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.60-1.00; P=0.054). Significant heterogeneity was detected (I=53%).
CONCLUSIONS
Our primary analysis demonstrated a highly sensitive result with a pooled analysis of trials in which the intervention group adhered to manufacturer's recommended guidelines, showing reduced incidence of POD with pEEG guidance. High clinical heterogeneity limits inferences from this and any future meta-analyses.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
CRD42020199404 (PROSPERO).
Topics: Humans; Aged; Emergence Delirium; Anesthesia, General; Postoperative Complications; Electroencephalography
PubMed: 35183345
DOI: 10.1016/j.bja.2022.01.006 -
British Journal of Anaesthesia Sep 2019Evidence-based international expert consensus regarding anaesthetic practice in hip/knee arthroplasty surgery is needed for improved healthcare outcomes. (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Anaesthetic care of patients undergoing primary hip and knee arthroplasty: consensus recommendations from the International Consensus on Anaesthesia-Related Outcomes after Surgery group (ICAROS) based on a systematic review and meta-analysis.
BACKGROUND
Evidence-based international expert consensus regarding anaesthetic practice in hip/knee arthroplasty surgery is needed for improved healthcare outcomes.
METHODS
The International Consensus on Anaesthesia-Related Outcomes after Surgery group (ICAROS) systematic review, including randomised controlled and observational studies comparing neuraxial to general anaesthesia regarding major complications, including mortality, cardiac, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, renal, genitourinary, thromboembolic, neurological, infectious, and bleeding complications. Medline, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library including Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, NHS Economic Evaluation Database, from 1946 to May 17, 2018 were queried. Meta-analysis and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach was utilised to assess evidence quality and to develop recommendations.
RESULTS
The analysis of 94 studies revealed that neuraxial anaesthesia was associated with lower odds or no difference in virtually all reported complications, except for urinary retention. Excerpt of complications for neuraxial vs general anaesthesia in hip/knee arthroplasty, respectively: mortality odds ratio (OR): 0.67, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.57-0.80/OR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.60-1.15; pulmonary OR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.52-0.80/OR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.58-0.81; acute renal failure OR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.59-0.81/OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.65-0.82; deep venous thrombosis OR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.42-0.65/OR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.64-0.93; infections OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.67-0.79/OR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.76-0.85; and blood transfusion OR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.82-0.89/OR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.82-0.87.
CONCLUSIONS
Recommendation: primary neuraxial anaesthesia is preferred for knee arthroplasty, given several positive postoperative outcome benefits; evidence level: low, weak recommendation.
RECOMMENDATION
neuraxial anaesthesia is recommended for hip arthroplasty given associated outcome benefits; evidence level: moderate-low, strong recommendation. Based on current evidence, the consensus group recommends neuraxial over general anaesthesia for hip/knee arthroplasty.
TRIAL REGISTRY NUMBER
PROSPERO CRD42018099935.
Topics: Anesthesia, Epidural; Anesthesia, General; Anesthesia, Spinal; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee; Evidence-Based Medicine; Humans; Postoperative Complications; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 31351590
DOI: 10.1016/j.bja.2019.05.042 -
Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Feb 2022Opioid-based treatment is used to manage stress responses during surgery and postoperative pain. However, opioids have both acute and long-term side effects, calling for... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Total opioid-free general anaesthesia can improve postoperative outcomes after surgery, without evidence of adverse effects on patient safety and pain management: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
BACKGROUND
Opioid-based treatment is used to manage stress responses during surgery and postoperative pain. However, opioids have both acute and long-term side effects, calling for opioid-free anaesthetic strategies. This meta-analysis compares adverse events, postoperative recovery, discharge time from post-anaesthesia care unit, and postoperative pain, nausea, vomiting, and opioid consumption between strict opioid-free and opioid-based general anaesthesia.
METHODS
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched PubMed, Embase, Cinahl, Cochrane Library, selected reference lists, and Google Scholar. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published between January 2000 and February 2021 with at least one opioid-free study arm, i.e. no opioids administered preoperatively, during anaesthesia induction, before skin closure, or before emergence from anaesthesia.
RESULTS
The study comprised 1934 patients from 26 RCTs. Common interventions included laparoscopic gynaecological surgery, upper gastrointestinal surgery, and breast surgery. There is firm evidence that opioid-free anaesthesia significantly reduced adverse postoperative events (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.46, I = 56%, p < 0.00001), mainly driven by decreased nausea (OR 0.27, (0.17 to 0.42), p < 0.00001) and vomiting (OR 0.22 (0.11 to 0.41), p < 0.00001). Postoperative opioid consumption was significantly lower in the opioid-free group (-6.00 mg (-8.52 to -3.48), p < 0.00001). There was no significant difference in length of post-anaesthesia care unit stay and overall postoperative pain between groups.
CONCLUSIONS
Opioid-free anaesthesia can improve postoperative outcomes in several surgical settings without evidence of adverse effects on patient safety and pain management. There is a need for more evidence-based non-opioid anaesthetic protocols for different types of surgery as well as postoperative phases.
Topics: Analgesics, Opioid; Anesthesia, General; Humans; Pain, Postoperative; Patient Safety
PubMed: 34724195
DOI: 10.1111/aas.13994 -
Journal of Clinical Nursing May 2023To identify the most accurate postoperative delirium screening tools for detecting postoperative delirium among patients who underwent general anaesthesia surgery in... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
To identify the most accurate postoperative delirium screening tools for detecting postoperative delirium among patients who underwent general anaesthesia surgery in general wards.
BACKGROUND
The lack of detection of postoperative delirium can negatively affect the patient's condition, along with their postoperative treatment and rehabilitation, and it can prolong their hospitalisation, persists cognitive dysfunction and increases mortality. Screening for postoperative delirium in hospitalised patients as nursing assessment is routine clinical practice for early detection.
DESIGN
A systematic review and meta-analysis.
METHODS
MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, KoreaMed and Cochrane electronic databases were searched using the key words delirium, postoperative, assessment or screening, and adult for articles published up to April 2020, with no limit on the year of publishing. Only prospective cohort studies reporting sensitivity and specificity values were included. We followed the recommendations of the Cochrane Handbook of Diagnostic Test Accuracy Reviews and the PRISMA checklist. The Quality Assessment of the Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool was used for data extraction and quality assessment, while a bivariate random-effects meta-analysis model was used for pooling and comparing diagnostic accuracy and providing a summary of evidence.
RESULTS
Six delirium assessment tools were evaluated from nine papers including 3088 patients. Due to the limited number of papers, the meta-analysis included the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) and its variants, Delirium Detection Score (DDS) and Nurses' Delirium Screening Checklist (NuDESC). Overall, NuDESC demonstrated higher sensitivity than CAM or DDS, while all showed high specificity (0.90 or greater).
CONCLUSION
This review suggested that NuDESC can be employed as an accurate screening tool with high specificity for assessing postoperative delirium during routine checkups. However, it is necessary to consider suitable cut-off values, which is the reference point, in accordance with the clinical setting and the patients' condition.
RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
NuDESC reported the best evidence of diagnostic accuracy, and we recommend clinical nurses to employ this easy-to-use and validated tool for daily screening of postoperative delirium in general wards to facilitate its early detection and the accurate estimation of its prevalence.
Topics: Humans; Adult; Emergence Delirium; Delirium; Prospective Studies; Anesthetics; Anesthesia, General
PubMed: 34881476
DOI: 10.1111/jocn.16157 -
International Journal of Molecular... Feb 2023The use of neuraxial procedures, such as spinal and epidural anaesthesia, has been linked to some possible complications. In addition, spinal cord injuries due to... (Review)
Review
The use of neuraxial procedures, such as spinal and epidural anaesthesia, has been linked to some possible complications. In addition, spinal cord injuries due to anaesthetic practice (Anaes-SCI) are rare events but remain a significant concern for many patients undergoing surgery. This systematic review aimed to identify high-risk patients summarise the causes, consequences, and management/recommendations of SCI due to neuraxial techniques in anaesthesia. A comprehensive search of the literature was conducted in accordance with Cochrane recommendations, and inclusion criteria were applied to identify relevant studies. From the 384 studies initially screened, 31 were critically appraised, and the data were extracted and analysed. The results of this review suggest that the main risk factors reported were extremes of age, obesity, and diabetes. Anaes-SCI was reported as a consequence of hematoma, trauma, abscess, ischemia, and infarction, among others. As a result, mainly motor deficits, sensory loss, and pain were reported. Many authors reported delayed treatments to resolve Anaes-SCI. Despite the potential complications, neuraxial techniques are still one of the best options for opioid-sparing pain prevention and management, reducing patients' morbidity, improving outcomes, reducing the length of hospital stay, and pain chronification, with a consequent economic benefit. The main findings of this review highlight the importance of careful patient management and close monitoring during neuraxial anaesthesia procedures to minimise the risk of spinal cord injury and complications.
Topics: Humans; Anesthesia, Spinal; Anesthesia, Epidural; Spinal Cord Injuries; Pain
PubMed: 36902095
DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054665 -
Anesthesia and Analgesia Apr 2022Despite several clinical index tests that are currently applied for airway assessment, unpredicted difficult laryngoscopy may still represent a serious problem in... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Despite several clinical index tests that are currently applied for airway assessment, unpredicted difficult laryngoscopy may still represent a serious problem in anesthesia practice. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate whether preoperative airway ultrasound can predict difficult direct laryngoscopy in adult patients undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia.
METHODS
We searched the Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science databases from their inception to December 2020. The population of interest included adults who required tracheal intubation for elective surgery under general anesthesia without clear anatomical abnormalities suggesting difficult laryngoscopy. A bivariate model has been used to assess the accuracy of each ultrasound index test to predict difficult direct laryngoscopy.
RESULTS
Fifteen studies have been considered for quantitative analysis of summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC). The sensitivity for distance from skin to epiglottis (DSE), distance from skin to hyoid bone (DSHB), and distance from skin to vocal cords (DSVC) was 0.82 (0.74-0.87), 0.71 (0.58-0.82), and 0.75 (0.62-0.84), respectively. The specificity for DSE, DSHB, and DSVC was 0.79 (0.70-0.87), 0.71 (0.57-0.82), and 0.72 (0.45-0.89), respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) for DSE, DSHB, DSVC, and ratio between the depth of the pre-epiglottic space and the distance from the epiglottis to the vocal cords (Pre-E/E-VC) was 0.87 (0.84-0.90), 0.77 (0.73-0.81), 0.78 (0.74-0.81), and 0.71 (0.67-0.75), respectively. Patients with difficult direct laryngoscopy have higher DSE, DSVC, and DSHB values than patients with easy laryngoscopy, with a mean difference of 0.38 cm (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.17-0.58 cm; P = .0004), 0.18 cm (95% CI, 0.01-0.35 cm; P = .04), and 0.23 cm (95% CI, 0.08-0.39 cm; P = .004), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
Our study demonstrates that airway ultrasound index tests are significantly different between patients with easy versus difficult direct laryngoscopy, and the DSE is the most studied index test in literature to predict difficult direct laryngoscopy. However, it is not currently possible to reach a definitive conclusion. Further studies are needed with better standardization of ultrasound assessment to limit all possible sources of heterogeneity.
Topics: Adult; Anesthesia, General; Humans; Intubation, Intratracheal; Laryngoscopy; Respiratory System; Ultrasonography
PubMed: 34914641
DOI: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000005839 -
Anaesthesia Jul 2021Postoperative nausea and vomiting is a common adverse effect of anaesthesia. Although dozens of different anti-emetics are available for clinical practice, there is... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Postoperative nausea and vomiting is a common adverse effect of anaesthesia. Although dozens of different anti-emetics are available for clinical practice, there is currently no comparative ranking of efficacy and safety of these drugs to inform clinical practice. We performed a systematic review with network meta-analyses to compare, and rank in terms of efficacy and safety, single anti-emetic drugs and their combinations, including 5-hydroxytryptamine , dopamine-2 and neurokinin-1 receptor antagonists; corticosteroids; antihistamines; and anticholinergics used to prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting in adults after general anaesthesia. We systematically searched for placebo-controlled and head-to-head randomised controlled trials up to November 2017 (updated in April 2020). We assessed how trustworthy the evidence was using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) and Confidence In Network Meta-Analysis (CINeMA) approaches for vomiting within 24 h postoperatively, serious adverse events, any adverse event and drug class-specific side-effects. We included 585 trials (97,516 participants, 83% women) testing 44 single drugs and 51 drug combinations. The studies' overall risk of bias was assessed as low in only 27% of the studies. In 282 trials, 29 out of 36 drug combinations and 10 out of 28 single drugs lowered the risk of vomiting at least 20% compared with placebo. In the ranking of treatments, combinations of drugs were generally more effective than single drugs. Single neurokinin-1 receptor antagonists were as effective as other drug combinations. Out of the 10 effective single drugs, certainty of evidence was high for aprepitant, with risk ratio (95%CI) 0.26 (0.18-0.38); ramosetron, 0.44 (0.32-0.59); granisetron, 0.45 (0.38-0.54); dexamethasone, 0.51 (0.44-0.57); and ondansetron, 0.55 (0.51-0.60). It was moderate for fosaprepitant, 0.06 (0.02-0.21) and droperidol, 0.61 (0.54-0.69). Granisetron and amisulpride are likely to have little or no increase in any adverse event compared with placebo, while dimenhydrinate and scopolamine may increase the number of patients with any adverse event compared with placebo. So far, there is no convincing evidence that other single drugs effect the incidence of serious, or any, adverse events when compared with placebo. Among drug class specific side-effects, evidence for single drugs is mostly not convincing. There is convincing evidence regarding the prophylactic effect of at least seven single drugs for postoperative vomiting such that future studies investigating these drugs will probably not change the estimated beneficial effect. However, there is still considerable lack of evidence regarding safety aspects that does warrant investigation.
Topics: Adult; Anesthesia, General; Antiemetics; Female; Humans; Male; Network Meta-Analysis; Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 33170514
DOI: 10.1111/anae.15295 -
Anaesthesia Jan 2021Regional anaesthesia in children has evolved rapidly in the last decade. Although it previously consisted of primarily neuraxial techniques, the practice now...
Regional anaesthesia in children has evolved rapidly in the last decade. Although it previously consisted of primarily neuraxial techniques, the practice now incorporates advanced peripheral nerve blocks, which were only recently described in adults. These novel blocks provide new avenues for providing opioid-sparing analgesia while minimising invasiveness, and perhaps risk, associated with older techniques. At the same time, established methods, such as infant spinal anaesthesia, under-utilised in the last 20 years, are experiencing a revival. The impetus has been the concern regarding the potential long-term neurocognitive effects of general anaesthesia in the young child. These techniques have expanded from single shot spinal anaesthesia to combined spinal/epidural techniques, which can now effectively provide surgical anaesthesia for procedures below the umbilicus for a prolonged period of time, thereby avoiding the need for general anaesthesia. Continuous 2-chloroprocaine infusions, previously only described for intra-operative regional anaesthesia, have gained popularity as a means of providing prolonged postoperative analgesia in epidural and continuous nerve block techniques. The rapid, liver-independent metabolism of 2-chloroprocaine makes it ideal for prolonged local anaesthetic infusions in neonates and small infants, obviating the increased risk of local anaesthetic systemic toxicity that occurs with amide local anaesthetics. Debate continues over certain practices in paediatric regional anaesthesia. While the rarity of complications makes comparative analyses difficult, data from large prospective registries indicate that providing regional anaesthesia to children while under general anaesthesia appears to be at least as safe as in the sedated or awake patient. In addition, the estimated frequency of serious adverse events demonstrates that regional blocks in children under general anaesthesia are no less safe than in awake adults. In infants, the techniques of direct thoracic epidural placement or caudal placement with cephalad threading each have distinct advantages and disadvantages. As the data cannot support the safety of one technique over the other, the site of epidural insertion remains largely a matter of anaesthetist discretion.
Topics: Adolescent; Anesthesia, Conduction; Child; Child, Preschool; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Pediatrics
PubMed: 33426659
DOI: 10.1111/anae.15283 -
Anaesthesia May 2022Neuraxial anaesthesia is widely utilised for elective caesarean section, but the prevalence of inadequate intra-operative anaesthesia is unclear. We aimed to determine... (Review)
Review
Neuraxial anaesthesia is widely utilised for elective caesarean section, but the prevalence of inadequate intra-operative anaesthesia is unclear. We aimed to determine the prevalence of inadequate neuraxial anaesthesia for elective caesarean section; prevalence of conversion from neuraxial anaesthesia to general anaesthesia following inadequate neuraxial anaesthesia; and the effect of mode of anaesthesia. We searched studies reporting inadequate neuraxial anaesthesia that used ≥ ED95 doses (effective dose in 95% of the population) of neuraxial local anaesthetic agents. Our primary outcome was the prevalence of inadequate neuraxial anaesthesia, defined as the need to convert to general anaesthesia; the need to repeat or abandon a planned primary neuraxial technique following incision; unplanned administration of intra-operative analgesia (excluding sedatives); or unplanned epidural drug supplementation. Fifty-four randomised controlled trials were included (3497 patients). The overall prevalence of requirement for supplemental analgesia or anaesthesia was 14.6% (95%CI 13.3-15.9%); 510 out of 3497 patients. The prevalence of general anaesthesia conversion was 2 out of 3497 patients (0.06% (95%CI 0.0-0.2%)). Spinal/combined spinal-epidural anaesthesia was associated with a lower overall prevalence of inadequate neuraxial anaesthesia than epidural anaesthesia (10.2% (95%CI 9.0-11.4%), 278 out of 2732 patients vs. 30.3% (95%CI 26.5-34.5%), 232 out of 765 patients). Further studies are needed to identify risk factors, optimise detection and management strategies and to determine long-term effects of inadequate neuraxial anaesthesia.
Topics: Anesthesia, Epidural; Anesthesia, General; Anesthesia, Obstetrical; Anesthesia, Spinal; Cesarean Section; Female; Humans; Pregnancy
PubMed: 35064923
DOI: 10.1111/anae.15657