Postdischarge symptoms after ambulatory surgery: first-week incidence, intensity, and risk factors.

Minor sequelae, such as pain, nausea, and drowsiness, often occur in surgical outpatients in the immediate postdischarge period. In this prospective, observational study was defined the daily incidence and intensity of several symptoms during the first week after surgery and determined predictive factors of minor morbidity. In two similar mixed ambulatory surgery units, 3910 patients received a questionnaire to grade daily the intensity of predefined symptoms on a 4-point scale. Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze risk factors, with adults and children as separate groups. Of these patients, 2754 (70%) responded. Patients experienced numerous minor sequelae during the first week after ambulatory surgery. Symptoms were common (up to 86% of all patients) on the initial days after surgery and were still reported by 24% of adults on the postoperative Day 7. In adults, pain was the most common symptom and, in comparison with other symptoms, was more often moderate or severe. Drowsiness was most common in children. Younger adults, older children, and women were more prone to experience minor morbidity. Longer duration of surgery led to increased likelihood of pain and nausea in all patients and increased the risk of several other symptoms in adults.

Electroencephalographic burst suppression versus loss of reflexes anesthesia with propofol or thiopental: differences of variance in the catecholamine and cardiovascular response to tracheal intubation.

UNLABELLED: The electroencephalographic burst suppression pattern (BSP) might indicate the brain's effect-site concentration of anesthetics more precisely than clinical signs and thus eliminate bias from studies on the reaction to tracheal intubation after different induction drugs. To test this hypothesis, we compared the catecholamine and cardiovascular responses and their variances to tracheal intubation when either BSP was induced by infusion of propofol (30 mg x kg(-1) x h(-1); n = 14) or thiopental (75 mg x kg(-1) x h(-1); n = 14) or anesthesia by repeated bolus doses until loss of reflexes (LR), initially of propofol 2.5 mg/kg (n = 15) or thiopental 5 mg/kg (n = 15). The standard deviations were more often smaller in the BSP than in the LR groups, but the results of Levene's test for differences of variance were insignificant. At the LR level, propofol attenuated catecholamine, arterial blood pressure, and heart rate responses to intubation better than thiopental, but at the BSP level, only the norepinephrine response was better attenuated. Cp50 concentrations of propofol and thiopental at the onset of BSP were 9.65 and 31.60 micro g/mL, respectively. IMPLICATIONS: Our results did not support the hypothesis that the responses to tracheal intubation can be more accurately predicted when unconsciousness is controlled with the aid of an electroencephalographic burst suppression pattern. Significant differences were found in the reactions between propofol and thiopental. At the burst suppression level, the catecholamine response was abolished with propofol.

Randomized comparison of levonorgestrel- and copper-releasing intrauterine systems immediately after abortion, with 5 years' follow-up.

Women who seek an abortion are motivated to use contraceptive methods afterwards. Because the return of fertility after abortion is immediate, there is a need for effective and safe contraception promptly after the termination of pregnancy. A randomized trial of Mirena and NovaT intrauterine contraceptive devices inserted at the time of elective termination of pregnancy, duration no more than 12 weeks, is reported here. Women were randomized 2:1 resulting in 305 subjects with Mirena and 133 with NovaT as a segment of a larger study of 3000 women. In the Mirena group, two pregnancies at year 4 resulted in a final gross rate of 0.8 at 5 years, which was significantly (p < 0.0004) lower than the corresponding rate of 9.5 with NovaT. Terminations because of expulsion, bleeding problems, pain, pelvic inflammatory disease and other medical reasons were less common in the Mirena group, but not significantly different. The cumulative expulsion gross rate for NovaT at 5 years was 15.4 and for Mirena it was 10.5. Termination rates because of amenorrhea were low in both groups. It is concluded that both devices were well tolerated. Mirena was more effective and the rate of adverse events was lower than with NovaT. Special attention should be paid to the insertion procedure when carried out at the time of abortion.