Recommendations on Testing Before Outpatient Dermatologic Surgery. / Recomendaciones en la petición de pruebas preoperatorias en cirugía dermatológica ambulatoria.

INTRODUCTION: Short-duration ambulatory surgery for the removal of skin tumors under local anesthesia is increasingly common in dermatology. Preoperative assessment has traditionally targeted the identification of any unknown diseases or other health conditions that might lead to changes in plans for anesthesia or surgery. Hospitals and specialists differ greatly in the tests they order in patients about to undergo outpatient dermatologic surgery given that hardly any finding would be likely to contraindicate or lead to changes in the procedure. This study aimed to provide guidance for those ordering tests before outpatient dermatologic surgery. METHODS: In 2017 our hospital developed a protocol to standardize preoperative testing for outpatient dermatologic surgery. We designed an observational, descriptive, retrospective analysis of tests ordered for patients scheduled for such surgery before and after the protocol was applied. RESULTS: Fewer tests were ordered after the protocol was introduced. We detected no statistically significant differences in relation to type of surgery planned or postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS: Patients about to undergo outpatient dermatologic surgery under local anesthesia who have no unusual health risks may not require preoperative testing.

Antistress and antifatigue properties of Panax ginseng: comparison with piracetam.

The antistress and antifatigue properties of a Chinese ginseng preparation were tested on Swiss albino mice, exposed to various experimental models of stress, and were compared with those of piracetam. Both ginseng and piracetam were administered chronically in drinking water for 16-18 days as well as acutely, by injection, 30-60 min prior to the experiments. Reactivity of the mice, loss in body weight, amount of faeces, length of endurance and incidence of mortality were graded and measured. Both piracetam and ginseng treatment provided good protection against electroshock stress when compared to the untreated mice; fighting scores, incidence of tonic convulsion and mortality were significantly less in the treated groups. In the heat stress experiments, both piracetam and ginseng provided significant protection to the treated mice against exposure to heat. In the fatigue stress of forced swim test, ginseng treatment provided effective adaptation to fatigue and increased endurance in both male and female mice; piracetam showed some antifatigue effects on the male mice only. In the locomotor activity tests, ginseng did not depress motility, while piracetam did so in the later part of the tests. These results are discussed in the light of the antistress properties of the drugs as reported in the literature.