Impact of right-handedness on anaesthetic sensitivity, intra-operative awareness and postoperative mortality.

Anatomical, neurological and behavioural research has suggested differences between the brains of right- and non-right-handed individuals, including differences in brain structure, electroencephalogram patterns, explicit memory and sleep architecture. Some studies have also found decreased longevity in left-handed individuals. We therefore aimed to determine whether handedness independently affects the relationship between volatile anaesthetic concentration and the bispectral index, the incidence of definite or possible intra-operative awareness with explicit recall, or postoperative mortality. We studied 5585 patients in this secondary analysis of data collected in a multicentre clinical trial. There were 4992 (89.4%) right-handed and 593 (10.6%) non-right-handed patients. Handedness was not associated with (a) an alteration in anaesthetic sensitivity in terms of the relationship between the bispectral index and volatile anaesthetic concentration (estimated effect on the regression relationship -0.52 parallel shift; 95% CI -1.27 to 0.23, p = 0.17); (b) the incidence of intra-operative awareness with 26/4992 (0.52%) right-handed vs 1/593 (0.17%) non-right-handed (difference = 0.35%; 95% CI -0.45 to 0.63%; p = 0.35); or (c) postoperative mortality rates (90-day relative risk for non-right-handedness 1.19, 95% CI 0.76-1.86; p = 0.45). Thus, no change in anaesthetic management is indicated for non-right-handed patients.

Early rehospitalization after kidney transplantation: assessing preventability and prognosis.

Early rehospitalization after kidney transplantation (KT) is common and may predict future adverse outcomes. Previous studies using claims data have been limited in identifying preventable rehospitalizations. We assembled a cohort of 753 adults at our institution undergoing KT from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2007. Two physicians independently reviewed medical records of 237 patients (32%) with early rehospitalization and identified (1) primary reason for and (2) preventability of rehospitalization. Mortality and graft failure were ascertained through linkage to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. Leading reasons for rehospitalization included surgical complications (15%), rejection (14%), volume shifts (11%) and systemic and surgical wound infections (11% and 2.5%). Reviewer agreement on primary reason (85% of cases) was strong (kappa = 0.78). Only 19 rehospitalizations (8%) met preventability criteria. Using logistic regression, weekend discharge (odds ratio [OR] 1.59, p = 0.01), waitlist time (OR 1.10, p = 0.04) and longer initial length of stay (OR 1.42, p = 0.03) were associated with early rehospitalization. Using Cox regression, early rehospitalization was associated with mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.55; p = 0.03) but not graft loss (HR 1.33; p = 0.09). Early rehospitalization has diverse causes and presents challenges as a quality metric after KT. These results should be validated prospectively at multiple centers to identify vulnerable patients and modifiable processes-of-care.

Predictors of having a potential live donor: a prospective cohort study of kidney transplant candidates.

The barriers to live donor transplantation are poorly understood. We performed a prospective cohort study of individuals undergoing renal transplant evaluation. Participants completed a questionnaire that assessed clinical characteristics as well as knowledge and beliefs about transplantation. A participant satisfied the primary outcome if anyone contacted the transplant center to be considered as a live donor for that participant. The final cohort comprised 203 transplant candidates, among whom 80 (39.4%) had a potential donor contact the center and 19 (9.4%) underwent live donor transplantation. In multivariable logistic regression, younger candidates (OR 1.65 per 10 fewer years, p < 0.01) and those with annual income >or=US$ 15 000 (OR 4.22, p = 0.03) were more likely to attract a potential live donor. Greater self-efficacy, a measure of the participant's belief in his or her ability to attract a donor, was a predictor of having a potential live donor contact the center (OR 2.73 per point, p < 0.01), while knowledge was not (p = 0.56). The lack of association between knowledge and having a potential donor suggests that more intensive education of transplant candidates will not increase live donor transplantation. On the other hand, self-efficacy may be an important target in designing interventions to help candidates find live donors.