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OBJECTIVE: To determine if in knee osteoarthritis (KOA), one session of active electrical intramuscular stimulation (a-EIMS) compared with sham causes an effect on the motor cortex excitability parameters [motor evoked potential (MEP; the primary outcome), short intracortical inhibition (SICI), intracortical facilitation (ICF) and cortical silent period (CSP)] and pain measurements [pain pressure threshold (PPT); visual analog scale (VAS) and change in numerical pain scale (NPS0-10 ) during the conditioned pain modulation (CPM)-task]. This study also set out to determine if serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mediates the effect of treatment on the cortical spinal system as assessed by MEP and PPT. DESIGN: Randomized clinical trial. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Women with KOA, 50-75-years old received a 30-min session of either sham (n = 13) or a-EIMS (n = 13) with 2 Hz. The pain measures and excitability parameters were measured before and immediately after a-EIMS or sham. RESULTS: The a-EIMS group compared with sham decreased the MEP by 31,67% [confidence interval (CI) 95%, 2.34-60.98]. For the secondary outcomes, the a-EIMS reduced the ICF and increased the CSP but not changed the SICI. The a-EIMS improved the pain reported on VAS, the PPT, and the score of the NPS (0-10) during the CPM-task The BDNF was negatively correlated with the PPT (r = -0.56). CONCLUSIONS: The serum BDNF revealed an inverse relationship with PPT independent of the treatment group. These results suggest that a-EIMS enhanced the corticospinal inhibitory systems in cortical and infracortical pain processing sites most likely by bottom-up regulation mechanisms.
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INTRODUCTION: Morbidity and mortality associated with urgent or emergency surgeries are high compared to elective procedures. Perioperative risk scores identify the non-elective character as an independent factor of complications and death. The present study aims to characterize the population undergoing non-elective surgeries at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre and identify the clinical and surgical factors associated with death within 30 days postoperatively. METHODOLOGY: A prospective cohort study of 187 patients undergoing elective surgeries between April and May 2014 at the Hospital de Clínicas, Porto Alegre. Patient-related data, pre-operative risk situations, and surgical information were evaluated. Death in 30 days was the primary outcome measured. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 48.5 years, and 84.4% of the subjects had comorbidities. The primary endpoint was observed in 14.4% of the cases, with exploratory laparotomy being the procedure with the highest mortality (47.7%). After multivariate logistic regression, age (odds ratio [OR] 1.0360, p <0.05), anemia (OR 3.961, p <0.05), acute or chronic renal insufficiency (OR 6.075, p <0.05), sepsis (OR 7.027, p <0.05), and patient-related risk factors for mortality, in addition to the large surgery category (OR 7.502, p <0.05) were identified. CONCLUSION: The high mortality rate found may reflect the high complexity of the institution's patients. Knowing the profile of the patients assisted helps in the definition of management priorities, suggesting the need to create specific care lines for groups identified as high risk in order to reduce perioperative complications and deaths.