Preoperative anaesthesia triage with a patient-centred system-A prospective clinical study.

BACKGROUND: Increase in day surgery has challenged preoperative anaesthesia with need to identify a few high-risk patients requiring detailed preoperative intervention. We aimed to assess if a nurse-administered Preoperative Patient-centred Anaesthesia System (Pre-PAS) could identify high-risk patients, defined as ASA score III-IV, before surgery and allow triage in standard preanaesthesia care. We hypothesized that Pre-PAS ≥ 1 would identify ASA III-IV patients with high specificity. METHODS: We conducted a prospective study, where twelve preoperative risk factors were recorded before surgery with the Pre-PAS questionnaire along with a score from zero to twelve based on the number of positive criteria. Only patients with a Pre-PAS score ≥ 1 were followed by mandatory preoperative anaesthetists' assessment visit. Medical records were reviewed to ensure accurate ASA score evaluation, surgical cancellations and airway difficulties. Association between Pre-PAS score and ASA score was evaluated by Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: In a total of 487 included patients, 92% of high-risk patients (ASA III-IV) and 54% of low-risk patients (ASA I-II) had Pre-PAS score ≥ 1 (P ≤ .001). Nine out of 12 Pre-PAS criteria were significantly associated with higher frequency in ASA III-IV. Pre-PAS reduced number of preanaesthetic visits by 39%. Pre-PAS ≥ 1 had a sensitivity of 0.92 and a specificity of 0.46 for ASA III-IV. CONCLUSIONS: A patient-centred preoperative triage system had high sensitivity for identifying ASA III-IV, and multiple Pre-PAS variables were associated with ASA III-IV, but the model had low specificity. Pre-PAS may guide triage of relevant patients to preanaesthetic visit.

[Accidental intra-arterial propofol injection]. / Accidentel intraarteriel injektion af propofol.

We report a case of accidental intra-arterial injection of propofol in a 37-year-old woman admitted for gynaecological surgery. The patient first reported pain and then demonstrated hyperaemia and swelling of the hand lasting for 15 minutes. No specific treatment was required, all symptoms disappeared spontaneously and the patient was discharged without any functional deficit. It is, nevertheless, important to prevent or discover accidental intra-arterial cannulation. When infusion is difficult or when strong pain appears during propofol administration, accidental intra-arterial injection must be excluded.

Effect of perioperative beta blockade in patients with diabetes undergoing major non-cardiac surgery: randomised placebo controlled, blinded multicentre trial.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the long term effects of perioperative beta blockade on mortality and cardiac morbidity in patients with diabetes undergoing major non-cardiac surgery. DESIGN: Randomised placebo controlled and blinded multicentre trial. Analyses were by intention to treat. SETTING: University anaesthesia and surgical centres and one coordinating centre. PARTICIPANTS: 921 patients aged > 39 scheduled for major non-cardiac surgery. INTERVENTIONS: 100 mg metoprolol controlled and extended release or placebo administered from the day before surgery to a maximum of eight perioperative days. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The composite primary outcome measure was time to all cause mortality, acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina, or congestive heart failure. Secondary outcome measures were time to all cause mortality, cardiac mortality, and non-fatal cardiac morbidity. RESULTS: Mean duration of intervention was 4.6 days in the metoprolol group and 4.9 days in the placebo group. Metoprolol significantly reduced the mean heart rate by 11% (95% confidence interval 9% to 13%) and mean blood pressure by 3% (1% to 5%). The primary outcome occurred in 99 of 462 patients in the metoprolol group (21%) and 93 of 459 patients in the placebo group (20%) (hazard ratio 1.06, 0.80 to 1.41) during a median follow-up of 18 months (range 6-30). All cause mortality was 16% (74/462) in the metoprolol group and 16% (72/459) in the placebo group (1.03, 0.74 to 1.42). The difference in risk for the proportion of patients with serious adverse events was 2.4% (- 0.8% to 5.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Perioperative metoprolol did not significantly affect mortality and cardiac morbidity in these patients with diabetes. Confidence intervals, however, were wide, and the issue needs reassessment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN58485613.