Monitoramento de pacientes neurocirúrgicos no pós‐operatório – utilidade dos escores de avaliação neurológica e do índice bispectral

Music to prevent deliriUm during neuroSurgerY (MUSYC): a single-centre, prospective randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

Delirium is a serious complication following neurosurgical procedures. We hypothesise that the beneficial effect of music on a combination of delirium-eliciting factors might reduce delirium incidence following neurosurgery and subsequently improve clinical outcomes.

DESIGN

Prospective randomised controlled trial.

SETTING

Single centre, conducted at the neurosurgical department of the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

PARTICIPANTS

Adult patients undergoing craniotomy were eligible.

INTERVENTIONS

Patients in the intervention group received preferred recorded music before, during and after the operation until day 3 after surgery. Patients in the control group were treated according to standard of clinical care.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Primary outcome was presence or absence of postoperative delirium within the first 5 postoperative days measured with the Delirium Observation Screening Scale (DOSS) and, in case of a daily mean score of 3 or higher, a psychiatric evaluation with the latest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria. Secondary outcomes included anxiety, heart rate variability (HRV), depth of anaesthesia, delirium severity and duration, postoperative complications, length of stay and location of discharge.

RESULTS

We enrolled 189 patients (music=95, control=94) from July 2020 through September 2021. Delirium, as assessed by the DOSS, was less common in the music (n=11, 11.6%) than in the control group (n=21, 22.3%, OR:0.49, p=0.048). However, after DSM-5 confirmation, differences in delirium were not significant (4.2% vs 7.4%, OR:0.47, p=0.342). Moreover, music increased the HRV (root mean square of successive differences between normal heartbeats, p=0.012). All other secondary outcomes were not different between groups.

CONCLUSION

Our results support the efficacy of music in reducing the incidence of delirium after craniotomy, as found with DOSS but not after DSM-5 confirmation, substantiated by the effect of music on preoperative autonomic tone. Delirium screening tools should be validated and the long-term implications should be evaluated after craniotomy.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

Trialregister.nl: NL8503 and ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04649450.

Research status and prospect of peri-extubation delirium

Peri-extubation delirium is a clinical syndrome caused by multiple factors, and it is not a simple disease. It occurs within a period of time after extubation when the effect of general anesthesia is reduced. And the incidence is different in disparate populations, and it is more common in elderly patients. Current studies have shown that iatrogenic factors and patients' own factors are the main risk factors for the syndrome. Early identification of risk factors can help clinicians make early diagnosis. The earlier the diagnosis and treatment begin, the more significantly the prognosis of patients can be improved. At present, the treatment of perioperative delirium is based on non-drug therapy, supplemented by drug therapy. This review will introduce in detail the risk factors, population status and prevention measures of delirium during peri-extubation, and look forward to the new research direction in the future.

Delirium in neurosurgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Delirium is a frequent occurring complication in surgical patients. Nevertheless, a scientific work-up of the clinical relevance of delirium after intracranial surgery is lacking. We conducted a systematic review (CRD42020166656) to evaluate the current diagnostic work-up, incidence, risk factors and health outcomes of delirium in this population. Five databases (Embase, Medline, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central) were searched from inception through March 31st, 2021. Twenty-four studies (5589 patients) were included for qualitative analysis and twenty-one studies for quantitative analysis (5083 patients). Validated delirium screening tools were used in 70% of the studies, consisting of the Confusion Assessment Method (intensive care unit) (45%), Delirium Observation Screening Scale (5%), Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist (10%), Neelon and Champagne Confusion Scale (5%) and Nursing Delirium Screening Scale (5%). Incidence of post-operative delirium after intracranial surgery was 19%, ranging from 12 to 26% caused by variation in clinical features and delirium assessment methods. Meta-regression for age and gender did not show a correlation with delirium. We present an overview of risk factors and health outcomes associated with the onset of delirium. Our review highlights the need of future research on delirium in neurosurgery, which should focus on optimizing diagnosis and assessing prognostic significance and management.

Nursing Delirium Screening Scale, a Tool for Early Detection of Delirium: Integrative Review

Objective: To analyze the context and use of the Nursing Delirium Screening Scale (Nu-DESC) for early detection of delirium in adult patients, compiling the available evidence. Method: Searching for relevant articles on databases such as Cinahl, Medline, Ovid, Scopus, and Web of Science. Inclusion criteria: Articles written in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, published between January 2013 and October 2019. Search terms: “nursing delirium screen,” “inpatient delirium screening,” and “nursing assessment.” We identified 23 articles in which the Nu-DESC was used. Two reviewers independently assessed the articles using the CASPe (Critical Appraisal Skills Program in Spanish) tool. Results: The Nu-DESC is employed in different contexts such as the adult intensive care unit (ICU), post-anesthetic care unit (PACU), palliative care unit, and hospitalization unit. It is more frequently used in the PACU with a more sensitive threshold (≥ 1); the test showed greater sensitivity of 54.5 % (95 % CI: 32.2–75.6) and specificity of 97.1 % (95 % CI: 95.3–98.4). Conclusion: The Nu-DESC facilitates the recognition of delirium episodes by the nursing team, makes care quicker and individualized for each patient, avoiding immediate pharmacological interventions, and coordinate interdisciplinary actions for diagnosis, especially in post-anesthetic care units.

Postoperative circuits in patients undergoing elective craniotomy. A narrative review

In 2017, the Neurosciences section of the Spanish Society of Anaesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Therapy published a national survey on postoperative care and treatment circuits in neurosurgery. The survey showed that practices vary widely, depending on the centre, the anaesthesiologist and the pathology of the patient. There is currently no standard postoperative circuit for cranial neurosurgical procedures in Spanish hospitals, and there is sufficient evidence to show that not all patients undergoing elective craniotomy should be routinely admitted to a postsurgical critical care unit. The aim of this study is to perform a narrative review of postoperative circuits in elective craniotomy in order to standardise clinical practice in the light of published studies. For this purpose, we searched MEDLINE (PubMed) to retrieve studies published in the last ten years, up to November 2019, using the keywords neurosurgery and postoperative care, craniotomyand postoperative care.

Criteria for Intensive Care admission and monitoring after elective craniotomy

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The current article revises the recent evidence on ICU admission criteria and postoperative neuromonitoring for patients undergoing elective craniotomy.

RECENT FINDINGS

Only a small proportion of elective postoperative neurosurgical patients require specific medical interventions and invasive monitoring. Among these, patients undergoing elective craniotomy are frequently admitted to neuro-ICU, specialist postanaesthesia care units or intermediate-level care unit in the postoperative period.Craniotomy patients have a high risk of neurological complications in the immediate postoperative period and might require advanced neuromonitoring, especially if sedation is continued in the ICU.Furthermore, the concept of enhanced recovery after surgery with the goal of improving functional capacity after surgery and decreasing morbidity has expanded to encompass neurosurgery.Postoperative clinical examination and neurological scores, bispectral index and simplified electroencephalography, and morning discharge huddles are the most used strategies in this context.

SUMMARY

After elective craniotomy, ICU admission should be warranted to patients who show new neurological deficits, especially when these include reduced consciousness or deficits of the lower cranial nerves, or have surgical indication for delayed extubation. Currently, evidence does not allow defining standardized protocol to guide ICU admission and postoperative neuromonitoring.

National survey on postoperative care and treatment circuits in neurosurgery

INTRODUCTION

The analysis of surgical processes should be a standard of health systems. We describe the circuit of care and postoperative treatment for neurosurgical interventions in the centres of our country.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

From June to October 2014, a survey dealing with perioperative treatments and postoperative circuits after neurosurgical procedures was sent to the chiefs of Anaesthesiology of 73 Spanish hospitals with neurosurgery and members of the Neuroscience Section of SEDAR.

RESULTS

We obtained 45 responses from 30 centres (41.09%). Sixty percent of anaesthesiologists perform preventive locoregional analgesic treatment. Pain intensity is systematically assessed by 78%. Paracetamol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and morphine combinations are the most commonly used. A percentage of 51.1 are aware of the incidence of postoperative nausea after craniotomy and 86.7% consider multimodal prophylaxis to be necessary. Dexamethasone is given as antiemetic (88.9%) and/or anti-oedema treatment (68.9%). A percentage of 44.4 of anaesthesiologists routinely administer anticonvulsive prophylaxis in patients with supratentorial tumours (levetiracetam, 88.9%), and 73.3% of anaesthesiologists have postoperative surveillance protocols. The anaesthesiologist (73.3%) decides the patient's destination, which is usually ICU (83.3%) or PACU (50%). Postoperative neurological monitoring varied according to the type of intervention, although strength and sensitivity were explored in between 70-80%.

CONCLUSIONS

There is great variability in the responses, probably attributable to the absence of guidelines, different structures and hospital equipment, type of surgery and qualified personnel. We need consensual protocols to standardize the treatment and the degree of monitoring needed during the postoperative period.