Editor's Note A restrictive blood transfusion strategy (HGB <7.5 g/dL) was equivalent to a liberal strategy (HGB <9.5 g/dL in the OR or ICU and HGB<8.5 g/dL in the non-ICU ward) with regard to mortality and major disability in cardiac surgery patients who had a moderate-to-high risk of death, this…

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Editor's Note Electronic mandatory incident reporting system data entry and an initiative to understand and address reporting barriers and motivators were associated with sustained increases in adverse event reporting by pediatric anesthesiologists, in this study. Of 72,384 pediatric anesthetics analyzed, there were 2,689 adverse events. A subgroup of 54,469 cases…

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Editor's Note Elderly hip fracture patients were less likely to die or return to the emergency department (ED) after discharge if they received care under the Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) model of care, finds this study presented October 21 at the Anesthesiology 2017 annual meeting in Boston. PSH patients also…

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Editor's Note Opioid use in total hip and knee patients decreased by one-third between 2006 and 2014, which reflects success in the use of a multimodal approach (ie, opioids plus additional pain management methods, such as peripheral nerve blocks and acetaminophen) to pain management, finds this study presented October 21…

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Editor's Note Administering acetaminophen (Tylenol) during surgery may help reduce the incidence of postoperative shivering, finds a study presented October 21 at the Anesthesiology 2017 annual meeting in Boston. A total of 37 patients scheduled for gynecologic surgery were randomly assigned to receive IV acetaminophen or a placebo after general…

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Editor's Note Most elderly hip fractures occur during warm months, and a greater number happen indoors rather than out, finds this study presented October 23 at the Anesthesiology 2017 annual meeting in Boston. In this analysis of 544 hip fracture patients treated at The Hospital of Central Connecticut from 2013…

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Editor's Note Eliminating opioids from general anesthesia is safe and effective and significantly decreases postoperative nausea, finds this study presented October 23 at the Anesthesiology 2017 annual meeting in Boston. Of 1,009 patients who received general anesthesia without opioids, only 11% experienced postoperative nausea--typically 50% to 80% of patients have…

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Editor's Note In patients 85 years of age and older, surgical complexity and certain geriatric variables (malnutrition, frailty), which are overlooked in American Society of Anesthesiologists and most other scores, were relevant in predicting postoperative outcomes and mortality, finds this study. Of 127 patients who completed follow-up, 30-day mortality was…

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Editor's Note This meta-analysis found that patients at higher risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), as determined by preoperative STOP-Bang screening, had a higher risk of postoperative adverse events and longer length of hospital stay, compared with lower risk-OSA patients. The analysis included 10 studies with 23,609 patients (7,877 high-risk…

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Organizations that have adopted the perioperative surgical home (PSH) model of patient care have reaped the benefits of improved outcomes and a healthier bottom line. In particular, the PSH has a proven track record for colorectal surgery and orthopedic surgery. In part 1 of this two-part series (OR Manager, August…

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