Perfusion index for early identification of regional anesthesia effectiveness: a narrative review.

Regional anesthesia (RA) is a common and irreplaceable technique in clinical, which can be used in different surgery sites and control of acute and chronic pain, especially for outpatients, pediatrics and the elderly. RA demands are increasing during COVID-19 pandemic because many surgeries could be performed under RA to reduce the risk of cross-infection between patients and health care workers. Early and accurate identification of the effects of RA can help physicians make timely decisions about whether to supplement analgesics or switch to general anesthesia, which will save time and improve patient satisfaction in a busy operating room. Perfusion index (PI) is a parameter derived from photoplethysmography (PPG) and represents the ratio of pulsatile and non-pulsatile blood flow at monitoring sites. It reflects local perfusion and is mainly affected by stroke volume and vascular tone. With characteristics of non-invasive, rapid, simple, and objective, PI is widely used in clinical practice, such as fluid responsiveness prediction, nociceptive assessment, etc. Recently, many studies have assessed the accuracy of PI in early prediction of RA success, including brachial plexus block, sciatic nerve block, neuraxial anesthesia, paravertebral block, caudal block and stellate ganglion block. Successful RA often parallels increased PI. In this narrative review, we describe the principles and influencing factors of PI, and introduce the effects of PI on early identification of RA effectiveness.

Intrapandemic regional anesthesia as practice: a historical cohort study in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has markedly increased delays in oncologic surgeries because of the virus's impact on traditional anesthetic management. Novel protocols, developed to protect patients and medical professionals, have altered the ways and instances in which general anesthesia (GA) can be safely performed. To reduce virus exposure related to aerosol-generating procedures, it is now recommended to avoid GA when feasible and promote regional anesthesia instead. At our institution, we observed faster postoperative recovery in patients who received paravertebral blocks for breast cancer surgery instead of GA. This led us to formally evaluate whether regional anesthesia instead of GA helped improve time to hospital discharge. METHODS: We conducted a historical cohort study to retrospectively analyze two cohorts of patients: prepandemic vs intrapandemic. We obtained approval from our institutional ethics committee to review files of consecutive patients who underwent breast cancer surgery between 30 March 2020 and 30 June 2020 (intrapandemic group; N = 106) and consecutive patients-moving backwards-from 28 February 2020 to 6 December 2019 (prepandemic group; N = 104). The primary outcome was the length of time between the end of surgery to readiness for hospital discharge. Secondary outcomes included the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), the need for postoperative analgesia, and the duration of stay in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). RESULTS: The median [interquartile range (IQR)] time to readiness for hospital discharge was significantly lower in patients who received paravertebral blocks for breast cancer surgery compared with GA (intrapandemic group, 119 [99-170] min vs prepandemic group, 191 [164-234] min; P < 0.001) as was the incidence of PONV (3% vs 11%; P = 0.03) and median [IQR] PACU durations of stay (29 [21-39] min vs 46 [37-63] min; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who received paravertebral blocks for breast cancer surgery in the intrapandemic group were ready for hospital discharge earlier, spent less time in the PACU, and experienced less PONV than those who received GA in the prepandemic group. With growing surgical wait times, concerns related to aerosol-generating procedures, and recommendations to avoid GA when feasible, paravertebral blocks as the principal anesthetic modality for breast cancer surgery offered benefits for patients and medical teams.

RéSUMé: CONTEXTE: La pandémie de COVID-19 a considérablement augmenté les retards dans les chirurgies oncologiques en raison de l'impact du virus sur la prise en charge anesthésique traditionnelle. De nouveaux protocoles, mis au point pour protéger les patients et les professionnels de la santé, ont modifié les façons et les cas dans lesquels une anesthésie générale (AG) peut être réalisée en toute sécurité. Afin de réduire l'exposition au virus liée aux interventions génératrices d'aérosols, il est maintenant recommandé d'éviter l'AG lorsque possible et de privilégier l'anesthésie régionale. Dans notre établissement, nous avons observé une récupération postopératoire plus rapide chez les patientes ayant reçu des blocs paravertébraux pour une chirurgie de cancer du sein au lieu d'une AG. Cela nous a menés à évaluer de façon formelle si l'anesthésie régionale au lieu de l'AG avait contribué à réduire les délais jusqu'au congé de l'hôpital. MéTHODE: Nous avons réalisé une étude de cohorte historique afin d'analyser rétrospectivement deux cohortes de patientes : prépandémie vs intrapandémie. Nous avons obtenu l'approbation de notre comité d'éthique institutionnel pour examiner les dossiers de patientes consécutives ayant bénéficié d'une chirurgie de cancer du sein entre le 30 mars 2020 et le 30 juin 2020 (groupe intrapandémie; n = 106) et des patientes consécutives ­ en reculant ­ du 28 février 2020 au 6 décembre 2019 (groupe prépandémie; n = 104). Le critère d'évaluation principal était le délai entre la fin de la chirurgie et le moment où les patientes étaient prêtes à recevoir leur congé de l'hôpital. Les critères d'évaluation secondaires comprenaient l'incidence de nausées et vomissements postopératoires (NVPO), la nécessité d'une analgésie postopératoire et la durée de séjour en salle de réveil (SDR). RéSULTATS: Le délai médian [écart interquartile (ÉIQ)] jusqu'à la disposition au congé de l'hôpital était significativement plus court chez les patientes ayant reçu des blocs paravertébraux pour une chirurgie de cancer du sein plutôt qu'une AG (groupe intrapandémie, 119 [99-170] min vs groupe prépandémie, 191 [164­234] min; P < 0,001), tout comme l'incidence de NVPO (3 % vs 11 %; P = 0,03) et les durées médianes [ÉIQ] de séjour en salle de réveil (29 [21­39] min vs 46 [37­63] min; P < 0,001). CONCLUSION: Les patientes qui ont reçu des blocs paravertébraux pour une chirurgie de cancer du sein dans le groupe intrapandémie étaient prêtes à quitter l'hôpital plus tôt, ont passé moins de temps en salle de réveil et ont ressenti moins de NVPO que celles qui ont reçu une AG dans le groupe prépandémie. Avec des temps d'attente pour accès à la chirurgie de plus en plus longs, des préoccupations liées aux interventions génératrices d'aérosols et les recommandations d'éviter l'AG lorsque possible, les blocs paravertébraux ont offert des avantages aux patientes et aux équipes médicales en tant que principale modalité anesthésique pour la chirurgie de cancer du sein.

Post-discharge after surgery Virtual Care with Remote Automated Monitoring-1 (PVC-RAM-1) technology versus standard care: randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if virtual care with remote automated monitoring (RAM) technology versus standard care increases days alive at home among adults discharged after non-elective surgery during the covid-19 pandemic. DESIGN: Multicentre randomised controlled trial. SETTING: 8 acute care hospitals in Canada. PARTICIPANTS: 905 adults (≥40 years) who resided in areas with mobile phone coverage and were to be discharged from hospital after non-elective surgery were randomised either to virtual care and RAM (n=451) or to standard care (n=454). 903 participants (99.8%) completed the 31 day follow-up. INTERVENTION: Participants in the experimental group received a tablet computer and RAM technology that measured blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, temperature, and body weight. For 30 days the participants took daily biophysical measurements and photographs of their wound and interacted with nurses virtually. Participants in the standard care group received post-hospital discharge management according to the centre's usual care. Patients, healthcare providers, and data collectors were aware of patients' group allocations. Outcome adjudicators were blinded to group allocation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was days alive at home during 31 days of follow-up. The 12 secondary outcomes included acute hospital care, detection and correction of drug errors, and pain at 7, 15, and 30 days after randomisation. RESULTS: All 905 participants (mean age 63.1 years) were analysed in the groups to which they were randomised. Days alive at home during 31 days of follow-up were 29.7 in the virtual care group and 29.5 in the standard care group: relative risk 1.01 (95% confidence interval 0.99 to 1.02); absolute difference 0.2% (95% confidence interval -0.5% to 0.9%). 99 participants (22.0%) in the virtual care group and 124 (27.3%) in the standard care group required acute hospital care: relative risk 0.80 (0.64 to 1.01); absolute difference 5.3% (-0.3% to 10.9%). More participants in the virtual care group than standard care group had a drug error detected (134 (29.7%) v 25 (5.5%); absolute difference 24.2%, 19.5% to 28.9%) and a drug error corrected (absolute difference 24.4%, 19.9% to 28.9%). Fewer participants in the virtual care group than standard care group reported pain at 7, 15, and 30 days after randomisation: absolute differences 13.9% (7.4% to 20.4%), 11.9% (5.1% to 18.7%), and 9.6% (2.9% to 16.3%), respectively. Beneficial effects proved substantially larger in centres with a higher rate of care escalation. CONCLUSION: Virtual care with RAM shows promise in improving outcomes important to patients and to optimal health system function. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04344665.

Persistent postoperative opioid use after total hip or knee arthroplasty: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: To identify the proportion of patients with continued opioid use after total hip or knee arthroplasty. METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis searched Embase, MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts for articles published from January 1, 2009, to May 26, 2021. The search terms (opioid, postoperative, hospital discharge, total hip or knee arthroplasty, and treatment duration) were based on 5 key concepts. We included studies of adults who underwent total hip or knee arthroplasty, with at least 3 months postoperative follow-up. RESULTS: There were 30 studies included. Of these, 17 reported on outcomes of total hip arthroplasty and 19 reported on outcomes of total knee arthroplasty, with some reporting on outcomes of both procedures. In patients having total hip arthroplasty, rates of postoperative opioid use at various time points were as follows: at 3 months, 20% (95% CI, 13%-26%); at 6 months, 17% (95% CI, 12%-21%); at 9 months, 19% (95% CI, 13%-24%); and at 12 months, 16% (95% CI, 15%-16%). In patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty, rates of postoperative opioid use were as follows: at 3 months, 26% (95% CI, 19%-33%); at 6 months, 20% (95% CI, 17%-24%); at 9 months, 23% (95% CI, 17%-28%); and at 12 months, 21% (95% CI, 12%-29%). Opioid naïve patients were less likely to have continued postoperative opioid use than those who were opioid tolerant preoperatively. CONCLUSION: Over 1 in 5 patients continued opioid use for longer than 3 months after total hip or knee arthroplasty. Clinicians should be aware of this trajectory of opioid consumption after surgery.