Nonhormone therapies for vasomotor symptom management.

Vasomotor symptoms (VMS) are associated with adverse health consequences and can cause significant morbidity for postmenopausal women. Although hormone therapy remains the gold standard of VMS treatment in menopausal women, some women have contraindications to or may choose not to take hormone therapy. This article provides an up-to-date overview of the current evidence-based nonhormone therapies available for managing VMS. Evidence supporting various treatment options is reviewed, including lifestyle interventions, mind-body therapies, procedures, pharmacologic agents, and emerging therapies, such as neurokinin-receptor antagonists. The efficacy, safety, and clinical use of these treatments are detailed, offering insights for clinicians to make informed decisions in menopausal VMS management.

A randomized trial of prewarming on patient satisfaction and thermal comfort in outpatient surgery.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To test the primary hypothesis that forced-air prewarming improves patient satisfaction after outpatient surgery and to evaluate the effect on core temperature and thermal comfort. DESIGN: Prospective randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Preoperative area, operating room, and postanesthesia care unit. PATIENTS: A total of 115 patients aged 18 to 75 years with American Society of Anesthesiologists status <4 and body mass index of 15 to 36kg/m(2) who were undergoing outpatient surgery (duration <4 hours). INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomized to active prewarming with a Mistral-Air warming system initially set to 43°C or no active prewarming. All patients were warmed intraoperatively. MEASUREMENTS: Demographic and morphometric characteristics, perioperative core temperature, ambient temperature, EVAN-G satisfaction score, thermal comfort via visual analog scales. MAIN RESULTS: Data from 102 patients were included in the final analysis. Prewarming did not significantly reduce redistribution hypothermia, with prewarmed minus not prewarmed core temperature differing by only 0.18°C (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.001 to 0.37) during the initial hour of anesthesia (P=.052). Prewarming increased the mean EVAN-G satisfaction score, although not significantly, with an overall difference (prewarmed minus not prewarmed) of 5.6 (95% CI, -0.9 to 12.2; P=.09). Prewarming increased thermal comfort, with an overall difference of 6.6 mm (95% CI, 1.0-12.9; P=.02). CONCLUSION: Active prewarming increased thermal comfort but did not significantly reduce redistribution hypothermia or improve postoperative patient satisfaction.