Risks of serious adverse events with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in gastrointestinal surgery: A systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.

BACKGROUND: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly recommended for perioperative opioid-sparing multimodal analgesic treatments. Concerns regarding the potential for serious adverse events (SAEs) associated with perioperative NSAID treatment are especially relevant following gastrointestinal surgery. We assessed the risks of SAEs with perioperative NSAID treatment in patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of randomised clinical trials assessing the harmful effects of NSAIDs versus placebo, usual care or no intervention in patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. The primary outcome was an incidence of SAEs. We systematically searched for eligible trials in five major databases up to January 2024. We performed risk of bias assessments to account for systematic errors, trial sequential analysis (TSA) to account for the risks of random errors, performed meta-analyses using R and used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework to describe the certainty of evidence. RESULTS: We included 22 trials enrolling 1622 patients for our primary analyses. Most trials were at high risk of bias. Meta-analyses (risk ratio 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.51-1.19; I2 = 4%; p = .24; very low certainty of evidence) and TSA indicated a lack of information on the effects of NSAIDs compared to placebo on the risks of SAEs. Post-hoc beta-binomial regression sensitivity analyses including trials with zero events showed a reduction in SAEs with NSAIDs versus placebo (odds ratio 0.73; CI 0.54-0.99; p = .042). CONCLUSION: In adult patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery, there was insufficient information to draw firm conclusions on the effects of NSAIDs on SAEs. The certainty of the evidence was very low.

Fatal outcome and intensive care unit admission after total hip and knee arthroplasty: An analytic of preoperative frailty and comorbidities.

BACKGROUND: With increasing demand for total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA), a higher percentage of patients are identified with comorbidities that might increase the risk of complications. We aimed to elucidate the preoperative characteristics of patients with a fatal outcome or admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) within 90 days after THA or TKA. We arbitrarily hypothesized that more than 50% of those patients would be frail. METHODS: This is a register based, explorative study including patients undergoing elective, unilateral, primary THA or TKA in the Capital Region of Denmark from 2010 to 2017, and who subsequently died or were admitted to the ICU within 90 days. The modified Frailty Index (mFI) was calculated from the medical records, and a score of ≥0.36 defined frailty. RESULTS: A total of 33,758 patients underwent THA or TKA, and 284 patients (0.8%) died or were admitted to the ICU within 90 days. Fifty-seven patients (20%) were frail (95% CI 16.2-25.7%). The most common comorbidities were hypertension (63%) and pulmonary diseases (32%), and 56% used walking aids. Two or more comorbidities were present in 65% of patients, and 14% had no comorbidities at all. CONCLUSION: Only 20% of patients with a fatal outcome or ICU admission after elective THA or TKA could be categorized as frail based on the mFI. Further studies with a prospective design are needed to clarify the mFI as a risk stratification tool in elderly multimorbid patients undergoing elective arthroplasty surgery.