Preoperative versus postoperative ultrasound-guided rectus sheath block for acute postoperative pain relief after laparoscopy: A retrospective cohort study.

Although rectus sheath block (RSB) is routinely used in laparoscopic surgeries to reduce mid-abdominal pain, whether RSB should be performed before or after surgery remains unclear. Herein, the optimal timing for RSB in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery was investigated. This retrospective cohort study analyzed the data of patients who underwent RSB during laparoscopic procedures at our hospital between January 2013 and December 2018. The primary outcome was the time to rescue analgesia within 24 hours postanesthesia. The patients were divided into preoperative (pre-) and postoperative (post-) RSB groups. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the time to rescue analgesia in the unmatched and propensity score (PS)-matched patient populations. In total, 609/14,284 patients were included (pre-RSB group, 227 patients; post-RSB group, 382 patients). After PS matching, 97 patients were assigned to both groups. Although the time from extubation to the first analgesic request was not significantly different between the 2 groups (322 vs 294 minutes, P = .57), the patients in the pre-RSB group showed a lower risk of postoperative first analgesic administration after PS matching (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.71; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.95; P = .023). Among patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery, those in the pre-RSB group tended to have a longer time to the first analgesic request and had a lower risk of analgesic administration within the first 24 hours than those in the post-RSB group. Thus, performing RSB preoperatively may be preferable.

Indwelling catheters increase altered mental status and urinary tract infection risk: A retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Although indwelling urinary catheters (IUCs) are used intraoperatively and may cause complications (e.g., delirium), only few robust studies have investigated the association between intraoperative IUC use and complications. We hypothesized that IUC use might increase the postoperative incidence of altered mental status and/or urinary catheter infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective single-center cohort study, we analyzed the data of adult patients undergoing surgery at our facility between January 2013 and December 2018. The primary endpoint was altered mental status and/or incidence of urinary catheter infections. The patients were divided into IUC and control groups. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify the predictors of postoperative complications, and a multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze hospital discharge in unmatched and inverse propensity-weighted patients. RESULTS: Of the 14,284 patients that were reviewed, we analyzed 5112 patients (control group, 44.0%; IUC group, 56.0%). Almost all procedures comprised less invasive surgeries. The prevalence of postoperative altered mental status and postoperative urinary catheter infection were 3.56% and 0.04%, respectively. After inverse propensity weighting, all baseline characteristics were similar between the two groups. However, patients with IUCs had a higher risk of postoperative complications (adjusted odds ratio, 1.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.50-2.59) and prolonged hospital stays (hazard ratio, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.80-0.89). CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing less invasive surgery, IUCs may be associated with a relatively high risk of altered mental status or urinary catheter infection. These data may facilitate preoperative discussions regarding the perioperative use of IUCs.

Intraoperative hydroxyethyl starch 70/0.5 administration may increase postoperative bleeding: a retrospective cohort study.

PURPOSE: Studies evaluating the safety of hydroxyethyl starch with a molecular weight of 70 kDa and a molar substitution ratio of 0.5 (HES 70/0.5) are scarce in the literature. In this study, we investigated the relationship between intraoperative HES 70/0.5 administration and postoperative bleeding. METHODS: This is a single-center, retrospective cohort study. Subjects were postoperative adult patients who stayed in the intensive care unit (ICU) for more than 24 h during the period from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012. We compared postoperative adult patients with and without intraoperative HES 70/0.5 administration. The primary outcome was the drainage volume from surgical sites during the first 24 h after ICU admission. We conducted propensity score matching between the control group and the HES group. RESULTS: We analyzed data for 769 patients who met our inclusion criteria. Using propensity score matching, we successfully created 119 matched pairs from the HES group and control group, with no significant differences in patient characteristics. The drainage volume during the first 24 h after ICU admission was greater in the HES group than in the control group (400 ± 479 vs. 260 ± 357 mL, p < 0.003). CONCLUSION: Our retrospective cohort study suggests that intraoperative HES 70/0.5 administration is associated with increased postoperative bleeding.