[Utilization of a post-anesthetic recovery index]. / Utilización de un índice de recuperación postanestésica.

OBJECTIVES: 1. To introduce use of the postanesthesia recovery score (assessing consciousness, mobility, ventilation, hemodynamics and blood analysis) as a good method for evaluating and classifying recovery from anesthesia in the postoperative care unit. 2. To determine overall patient progress and assess the influence of various patient, anesthetic and surgical factors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a multicenter study of 1,227 patients. We excluded all patients who were to be transferred to intensive care units after surgery. A score of 10 or more, with no single item score equal to 0, was considered optimal for discharge from the postanesthesia care unit. RESULTS: The lowest score upon admission to the unit was among patients who had undergone high abdominal surgery (16.4%). Scores over 9 belonged to patients who had undergone lower abdominal and perineal surgery (87.5 and 95.3%, respectively). Scores were < or = 9 in patients who received inhaled anesthetics (42%). Intravenous anesthesia patients (84.4%) had scores over 9. The local-regional anesthetic procedures with the best scores were axilar blocks and local infiltrations. Patients staying longer in the recovery unit were those classified as ASA III, those whose procedures lasted longer than 120 minutes, those undergoing surgery on the upper abdomen or on extremities, those receiving isoflurane and pancuronium, and those suffering adverse events during and after the procedure. Factors influencing perioperative events were age, duration of procedure and history of intraoperative events.

Effects of abstinence on sex hormone profile in alcoholic patients without liver failure.

Excessive ethanol ingestion induces hypoandrogenism in male subjects. To confirm its presence and to study its relationship with the degree of liver damage and alcohol abstinence, plasma sex hormones were measured in alcoholic patients without liver failure, after two different abstinence periods. Patients were 30 male chronic alcoholics admitted to the Alcoholism Ward for treatment of their addiction. On admission, we measured: testosterone (T), estradiol (E), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG). A liver biopsy was also performed. These measurements were repeated at discharge and were also done in 15 normal volunteers. On admission (mean abstinence 1.9 +/- 1.7 days) total T was similar to controls, FSH was lower (p < 0.02) and high levels of SHBG were found (3.5 fold increase, as compared to controls). Histologically, 9 patients had normal liver; 14 had moderate alterations and 7 showed marked alterations. Hormonal values were not different in these 3 groups. At discharge, 11.1 +/- 4.7 days after admission, T, E and FSH did not show significant changes but LH decreased (8.2 +/- 5.2 mIU/ml vs 12.9 +/- 4.1, p < 0.001); SHBG also decreased (65.4 +/- 21.6 nmol/l vs 117.2 +/- 33.3, p < 0.001) to values that still were twice those of controls. It is concluded that alcoholic patients without clinical signs of liver failure have normal plasma testosterone levels, irrespective of their histologic liver alterations and high plasma SHBG levels that decreased significantly after a short abstinence. The concomitant LH decrease suggests that hypoandrogenism is likely in these patients. Fast changes in SHBG levels rise the possibility that this protein is candidate marker of alcoholism.