A World Health Organization (WHO) survey used to measure general disability can accurately gauge the specific challenges that many patients face postoperatively, a multinational team of researchers has reported. The finding is important because there has been no universal way to assess the level of disability that patients may experience postoperatively. Fully 20% of elderly […]
Read MoreAlthough other indices of adiposity have gained momentum in terms of their ability to diagnose children who may develop perioperative respiratory complications, a study from the University of Michigan has found that body mass index (BMI) actually outperforms its competitors. This finding is buoyed by the fact that BMI is easier to calculate than the […]
Read MoreGeneral anesthesia may cause unintended side effects in some infants, studies have found. Regional anesthesia may therefore be the better option. In a study published in Pediatrics (2015;136:e1-e12, doi:10.1542/peds.2014-3526), researchers found that children who received general anesthesia before 4 years of age had a lower IQ, decreased brain matter density and slower language comprehension than a comparator […]
Read MoreAuthors: Mira D Franken; Jan Meulenbelt; Wilton A van Klei; Dylan W de Lange BMC Anesthesiol. 2015;15(65) Background: Non-traumatic coma (NTC) is a serious condition requiring swift medical or surgical decision making upon arrival at the emergency department. Knowledge of the most frequent etiologies of NTC and associated mortality might improve the management of these patients. Here, […]
Read MoreAuthors: Singh S et al., Gastroenterology 2015 Jun 5; Postoperative mortality is higher for emergent versus elective surgery in both ulcerative colitis and Crohn disease. In the current meta-analysis, researchers evaluated postoperative mortality following intestinal resection in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Twenty-one studies (18 articles and 3 abstracts) met the search criteria and involved 67,057 […]
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