Evolution of Clinical Simulation Training and Pandemic-Led Acceleration: The International Medical University (IMU), Malaysia Journey.

In many universities, simulation-based learning has finally been inducted as a member of 'the accepted teaching modality community'. This paper is to share the challenges and successes in the journey towards the inclusion of simulation-based learning in the medical curriculum at the authors' university which saw a steep surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our teaching and learning that was heavily traditional based went through a dramatic change to adapt to the new norm when the actual environment and patients became out of reach. We followed five factors (5 Fs) that significantly influenced the successful change: fast, force, fellowship, flexibility, and favourable reception.

The Use of Cerebral Oximetry in Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

OBJECTIVE: The evidence on the use of cerebral oximetry during surgery to minimize postoperative neurologic complications remains uncertain in the literature. The present authors aimed to assess the value of cerebral oximetry in the prevention of postoperative cognitive dysfunction, postoperative delirium, and postoperative stroke in adults undergoing surgery. DESIGN: A systematic review and meta-analysis. SETTING: The surgery room. PARTICIPANTS: Adult patients (ages ≥18 years) undergoing surgery. INTERVENTIONS: Cerebral oximetry monitoring. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Databases of Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, and CENTRAL were systematically searched from their inception until December 2020 for randomized controlled trials comparing cerebral oximetry monitoring with either blinded or no cerebral oximetry monitoring in adults undergoing surgery. Observational studies, case reports, and case series were excluded. Seventeen studies (n = 2,120 patients) were included for quantitative meta-analysis. Patients who were randomized to cerebral oximetry monitoring had a lower incidence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (studies = seven, n = 969, odds ratio [OR] 0.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.11-0.48, p = 0.0001; evidence = very low). However, no significant differences were observed in the incidence of postoperative delirium (studies = five, n = 716, OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.53-1.25, p = 0.35; evidence = high), and postoperative stroke (studies = seven, n = 1,087, OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.30-1.69, p = 0.45; evidence = moderate). CONCLUSION: Adult patients with cerebral oximetry monitoring were associated with a significant reduction of postoperative cognitive dysfunction. However, given the low certainty of evidence and substantial heterogeneity, more randomized controlled trials using standardized assessment tools for postoperative cognitive dysfunction and interventions of correcting cerebral desaturation are warranted to improve the certainty of evidence and homogeneity.

Pre-emptive intraperitoneal local anaesthesia: an effective method in immediate post-operative pain management and metabolic stress response in laparoscopic appendicectomy, a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Although laparoscopic surgeries are associated with reduced surgical stress response and shortened post-operative recovery, intense pain and high analgesia requirements in the immediate post-operative period are often the chief complaints. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pre-emptive intraperitoneal local anaesthetic drugs on post-operative pain management and metabolic stress response in laparoscopic appendicectomy. METHOD: The method used was a randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled study. Patients with clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis who fulfil the criteria, were taken into this study. Primary outcomes investigated were consumption of patient-controlled analgesia during the immediate post-operative period (first 6 h) and subsequent 18 h as well as serum cortisol sampling. RESULTS: Total of 120 patients were recruited into three different treatment groups (placebo, ropivacaine, levobupivacaine). In order to maintain visual analogue score of 0-1 during the immediate post-operative period, patients in the placebo group required significantly (P < 0.001) higher dose of analgesia (morphine/mg) - 11 mg (8.3-15.5) as compared with ropivacaine - 4 mg (3.0-6.0) and levobupivacaine - 3.5 mg (2.0-5.0). The immediate post-operative serum cortisol showed a significant increase in serum cortisol in the placebo group (P = 0.001) as compared with ropivacaine and levobupivacaine groups. CONCLUSION: Pre-emptive intraperitoneal local anaesthesia in laparoscopy surgery is a safe, non-invasive procedure that can benefit patients by reducing the immediate post-operative pain intensity and metabolic stress response of the body.