Post-operative serious adverse events in a mixed surgical population - a retrospective register study

Effect of Infraorbital and/or Infratrochlear Nerve Blocks on Postoperative Care in Patients with Septorhinoplasty: A Meta-Analysis

Background and Objectives: Through a comprehensive meta-analysis of the pertinent literature, this study evaluated the utility and efficacy of perioperative infraorbital and/or infratrochlear nerve blocks in reducing postoperative pain and related morbidities in patients undergoing septorhinoplasty. Materials and Methods: We reviewed studies retrieved from the PubMed, SCOPUS, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases up to August 2023. The analysis included a selection of seven articles that compared a treatment group receiving perioperative infraorbital and/or infratrochlear nerve blocks with a control group that either received a placebo or no treatment. The evaluated outcomes covered parameters such as postoperative pain, the amount and frequency of analgesic medication administration, the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, as well as the manifestation of emergence agitation. Results: The treatment group displayed a significant reduction in postoperative pain (mean difference = -1.7236 [-2.6825; -0.7646], I2 = 98.8%), as well as a significant decrease in both the amount (standardized mean difference = -2.4629 [-3.8042; -1.1216], I2 = 93.0%) and frequency (odds ratio = 0.3584 [0.1383; 0.9287], I2 = 59.7%) of analgesic medication use compared to the control. The incidence of emergence agitation (odds ratio = 0.2040 [0.0907; 0.4590], I2 = 0.0%) was notably lower in the treatment group. The incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (odds ratio = 0.5393 [0.1309; 2.2218], I2 = 60.4%) showed a trend towards reduction, although it was not statistically significant. While no adverse effects reaching statistical significance were reported in the analyzed studies, hematoma (proportional rate = 0.2133 [0.0905; 0.4250], I2 = 76.9%) and edema (proportional rate = 0.1935 [0.1048; 0.3296], I2 = 57.2%) after blocks appeared at rates of approximately 20%. Conclusions: Infraorbital and/or infratrochlear nerve blocks for septorhinoplasty effectively reduce postoperative pain and emergence agitation without notable adverse outcomes.

Collaboration for Evidence-based Practice and Research in Anaesthesia (CEPRA): A consortium initiative for perioperative research

Evidence in perioperative care is insufficient. There is an urgent need for large perioperative research programmes, including pragmatic randomised trials, testing daily clinical treatments and unanswered question, thereby providing solid evidence for effects of interventions given to a large and growing number of patients undergoing surgery and anaesthesia. This may be achieved through large collaborations. Collaboration for Evidence-based Practice and Research in Anaesthesia (CEPRA) is a novel collaborative research network founded to pursue evidence-based answers to major clinical questions in perioperative medicine. The aims of CEPRA are to (1) improve clinical treatment and outcomes and optimise the use of resources for patients undergoing anaesthesia and perioperative care, and (2) disseminate results and inform caretakers, patients and relatives, and policymakers of evidence-based treatments in anaesthesia and perioperative medicine. CEPRA is inclusive in its concept. We aim to extend our collaboration with all relevant clinical collaborators and patient associations and representatives. Although initiated in Denmark, CEPRA seeks to develop an international network infrastructure, for example, with other Nordic countries. The work of CEPRA will follow the highest methodological standards. The organisation aims to structure and optimise any element of the research collaboration to reduce economic costs and harness benefits from well-functioning research infrastructure. This includes successive continuation of trials, harmonisation of outcomes, and alignment of data management systems. This paper presents the initiation and visions of the CEPRA network. CEPRA aims to be inclusive, patient-focused, methodologically sound, and to optimise all aspects of research logistics. This will translate into faster research conduct, reliable results, and accelerated clinical implementation of results, thereby benefiting millions of patients whilst being cost and labour-saving.

Nerve Block for Septorhinoplasty: A Retrospective Observational Study of Postoperative Complications in 24 Hours

Septorhinoplasty is a surgical procedure that provides functional improvements and esthetic adjustments to the appearance of the nose. Pain is a common postoperative complication, and pain management is known to decrease postoperative complications and total cost. Local anesthetics can cost-effectively decrease postoperative pain scores and reduce analgesic requirements.

The primary objective of this study was to assess the effect of bilateral facial nerve blocks given with general anesthesia on pain scores and the use of postoperative analgesia. The secondary objective was to compare the vital signs stability between a group given bilateral facial nerve blocks with general anesthesia and a group given general anesthesia only.

We conducted a retrospective observational study among 40 patients who were divided into two groups, each containing 20 patients. The patients in the nerve block (NB) group received general anesthesia and bilateral facial blocks of the infraorbital and infratrochlear nerves via 5 ml of 0.25% levobupivacaine with 5 ml of diluted adrenaline 1:100,000. Patients in the Control group received general anesthesia only. Both groups received the same local injection of a mixture of 5 ml of 1% lidocaine and 5 ml of 1:100,000 epinephrine at the surgical site, along with the standard general anesthesia. A numerical rating scale, the visual analog scale (VAS), was used to evaluate postoperative pain at 15, 30, and 45 minutes postoperatively, and the stability of the vital signs was also assessed.

The results showed that using bilateral infraorbital and infratrochlear nerve block injection with 0.25% levobupivacaine for patients who underwent septorhinoplasty under general anesthesia provided greater stability of vital signs but had no effect on the pain score or analgesia need. Further assessment should be performed in a larger number of patients to either confirm or refute these results. Additional studies could be conducted in several hospitals within the Kingdom to determine how broadly applicable nerve blockade is in reducing pain sensation.

Benefits and harm of paracetamol and ibuprofen in combination for post-operative pain: Pre-planned subgroup analyses of the multicenter, randomized PANSAID trial

BACKGROUND

The "Paracetamol and Ibuprofen in Combination" (PANSAID) trial showed that combining paracetamol and ibuprofen resulted in lower opioid consumption than each drug alone and we did not find an increase in risk of harm when using ibuprofen vs paracetamol. The aim of this subgroup analysis was to investigate the differences in benefits and harms of the interventions in different subgroups. We hypothesized that the intervention effects would differ in subgroups with different risk of pain or adverse events.

METHODS

In these pre-planned subgroup analyses of the PANSAID trial population, we assessed subgroup heterogeneity in intervention effects between (a) subgroups (sex, age, use of analgesics, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, and type of anesthesia) and morphine consumption, and (b) subgroups (sex, age, use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and ASA score) and serious adverse events.

RESULTS

Test of interaction between age and the pairwise comparison between paracetamol 1 g vs paracetamol 0.5 g + ibuprofen 200 mg (P = .009) suggested lower morphine consumption in patients >65 years. However, post hoc analyses of related outcomes showed no interaction for this pairwise comparison. All other tests of interaction regarding both benefit and harm were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

These pre-planned subgroup analyses did not suggest that patients in the investigated subgroups benefitted differently from a basic non-opioid analgesic regimen consisting of paracetamol and ibuprofen. Further, there was no evidence of subgroup heterogeneity regarding harm and use of ibuprofen. Because of reduced statistical power in subgroup analyses, we cannot exclude clinically relevant subgroup heterogeneity.

The relationship of preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate and outcomes after cardiovascular surgery in patients with normal serum creatinine: a retrospective cohort study

Background

Although serum creatinine concentration has been traditionally used as an index of renal function in clinical practice, it is considered relatively inaccurate, especially in patients with mild renal dysfunction. This study investigated the usefulness of preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in predicting complications after cardiovascular surgery in patients with normal serum creatinine concentrations.

Methods

This study included 2208 adults undergoing elective cardiovascular surgery. Preoperative eGFR was calculated using Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equations. The relationships between preoperative eGFR and 90 day postoperative composite major complications were analyzed, including 90 day all-cause mortality, major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events, severe acute kidney injury, respiratory and gastrointestinal complications, wound infection, sepsis, and multi-organ failure.

Results

Of the 2208 included patients, 185 (8.4%) had preoperative eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m² and 328 (14.9%) experienced postoperative major complications. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that preoperatively decreased eGFR was independently associated with an increased risk of composite 90 day major postoperative complications (adjusted odds ratio: 1.232; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.148–1.322; P <  0.001). eGFR was a better discriminator of composite 90 day major postoperative complications than serum creatinine, with estimated c-statistics of 0.724 (95% CI: 0.694–0.754) for eGFR and 0.712 (95% CI: 0.680–0.744) for serum creatinine (P = 0.008).

Conclusions

Decreased eGFR was significantly associated with an increased risk of major complications after cardiovascular surgery in patients with preoperatively normal serum creatinine concentrations.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12871-019-0763-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Effect of Combination of Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) and Ibuprofen vs Either Alone on Patient-Controlled Morphine Consumption in the First 24 Hours After Total Hip Arthroplasty: The PANSAID Randomized Clinical Trial

IMPORTANCE

Multimodal postoperative analgesia is widely used but lacks evidence of benefit.

OBJECTIVE

Investigate beneficial and harmful effects of 4 nonopioid analgesics regimens.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

Randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled, 4-group trial in 6 Danish hospitals with 90-day follow-up that included 556 patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) from December 2015 to October 2017. Final date of follow-up was January 1, 2018.

INTERVENTIONS

Participants were randomized to receive paracetamol (acetaminophen) 1000 mg plus ibuprofen 400 mg (n = 136; PCM + IBU), paracetamol 1000 mg plus matched placebo (n = 142; PCM), ibuprofen 400 mg plus matched placebo (n = 141; IBU), or half-strength paracetamol 500 mg plus ibuprofen 200 mg (n = 140; HS-PCM + IBU) orally every 6 hours for 24 hours postoperatively, starting 1 hour before surgery.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Two co-primary outcomes: 24-hour morphine consumption using patient-controlled analgesia in pairwise comparisons between the 4 groups (multiplicity-adjusted thresholds for statistical significance, P < .0042; minimal clinically important difference, 10 mg), and proportion of patients with 1 or more serious adverse events (SAEs) within 90 days (multiplicity-adjusted thresholds for statistical significance, P < .025).

RESULTS

Among 559 randomized participants (mean age, 67 years; 277 [50%] women), 556 (99.5%) completed the trial and were included in the analysis. Median 24-hour morphine consumption was 20 mg (99.6% CI, 0-148) in the PCM + IBU group, 36 mg (99.6% CI, 0-166) for PCM alone, 26 mg (99.6% CI, 2-139) for IBU alone, and 28 mg (99.6% CI, 2-145) for HS-PCM + IBU. The median difference in morphine consumption between the PCM + IBU group vs PCM alone was 16 mg (99.6% CI, 6.5 to 24; P < .001); for the PCM-alone group vs HS-PCM + IBU, 8 mg (99.6% CI, -1 to 14; P = .001); and for the PCM + IBU group vs IBU alone, 6 mg (99.6% CI, -2 to 16; P = .002). The difference in morphine consumption was not statistically significant for the PCM + IBU group vs HS-PCM + IBU (8 mg [99.6% CI, -2 to 16]; P = .005) or for the PCM-alone group vs IBU alone (10 mg [99.6% CI, -2 to 16]; P = .004) after adjustment for multiple comparisons and 2 co-primary outcomes. There was no significant difference between the IBU-alone group vs HS-PCM + IBU (2 mg [99.6% CI, -10 to 7]; P = .81). The proportion of patients with SAEs in groups receiving IBU was 15%, and in the PCM-alone group, was 11%. The relative risk of SAE was 1.44 (97.5% CI, 0.79 to 2.64; P = .18).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Among patients undergoing THA, paracetamol plus ibuprofen significantly reduced morphine consumption compared with paracetamol alone in the first 24 hours after surgery; there was no statistically significant increase in SAEs in the pooled groups receiving ibuprofen alone vs with paracetamol alone. However, the combination did not result in a clinically important improvement over ibuprofen alone, suggesting that ibuprofen alone may be a reasonable option for early postoperative oral analgesia.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02571361.

Timing of surgical site infection and pulmonary complications after laparotomy

BACKGROUND

Surgical site infection (SSI) and other postoperative complications are associated with high costs, morbidity, secondary surgery, and mortality. Many studies have identified factors that may prevent SSI and pulmonary complications, but it is important to know when they in fact occur. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic timing of surgical site infections and pulmonary complications after laparotomy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This is a secondary analysis of the PROXI trial which was a randomized clinical trial conducted in 1400 patients undergoing elective or emergent laparotomy. Patients were randomly allocated to either 80% or 30% perioperative inspiratory oxygen fraction.

RESULTS

SSI or pulmonary complications were diagnosed in 24.2% (95% CI: 22.0%-26.5%) of the patients at a median of 9 days [IQR: 5-15] after surgery. Most common was surgical site infection (19.6%); median time 10 days after surgery [IQR: 7-18]. The corresponding figures for anastomotic leakage was 5.7%, 8 days [IQR: 6-10]; pneumonia 3.5%, 5 days [IQR: 3-9]; and respiratory failure 2.3%, 3 days [IQR: 1-8]. The oxygen allocation was not significantly related to time of diagnosis for postoperative surgical site infections or pulmonary complications.

CONCLUSION

A high percentage of patients undergoing laparotomy develop a postoperative complication. This study adds new knowledge by identifying time intervals within which medical professionals should be aware of surgical site infections and pulmonary complications in order to initiate appropriate treatment of the patients.

Prospective study on long-term outcome after abdominal surgery

BACKGROUND

Complications following major abdominal surgery are common and an important cause of morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to describe 1-year mortality and identify factors that influence adverse outcomes after abdominal surgery.

METHODS

This prospective observational cohort study was performed in Landspitali University Hospital and included all adult patients undergoing abdominal surgery requiring > 24-h hospital admission over 13 months. The follow-up period was 60 days for complications and 24 months for mortality.

RESULTS

Data were available for 1113 (99.5%) of the 1119 patients who fulfilled inclusion criteria. A total of 23% of patients had at least one underlying co-morbidity. Non-elective surgeries were 48% and 13% of the patients were admitted to ICU post-operatively. A total of 20% of patients developed complications. Mortality at 30 days, 1 and 2 years was 1.8%, 5.6%, and 8.3% respectively. One-year mortality for those admitted to ICU was 18%. The long-term survival of the individuals surviving 30 days was significantly worse than for an age- and gender-matched population control group. Independent predictors for 1-year mortality were age, pre-operative acute kidney injury and intermediate- or major surgery.

CONCLUSION

Post-operative complication rates and mortality following abdominal surgery in Iceland were comparable or in the lower range of previously published outcomes, validating the utility of offering a full host of abdominal surgical services in geographically isolated region with a relatively small referral base.

Technological aided assessment of the acutely ill patient - The case of postoperative complications

Surgical interventions come with complications and highly reported mortality after major surgery. The mortality may be a result of delayed detection of severe complications due to lower monitoring frequency in the general wards. Several studies have shown that continuous monitoring is superior to the manually intermittent recorded monitoring in terms of detecting abnormal physiological signs. Hopefully improved observations may result in earlier detection and clinical intervention. This narrative review will describe current monitoring possibilities for postoperative patients and how it may prevent complications. Several wireless systems are being developed for monitoring vital parameters, but many of these are not yet validated for critically ill patients. The ultimate goal with patient monitoring and detect of events is to prevent postoperative complications, death and costs in the health care system. A few studies indicate that monitoring systems detect deteriorating patients earlier than the nurses, and this was associated with less clinical instability. An important caveat of future devices is to assess their effect in relevant patient populations and not only in healthy test-subjects. Implementation of novel technologies is expensive although expected to be cost-effective if just few adverse events can be prevented. The future is here with promising devices and the possibility to give an unprecedented precise risk estimation of adverse post-surgical events. Next step is to integrate existing evidence based treatment algorithms to demonstrate the clinical efficacy of implementing the new technology.

PANSAID-PAracetamol and NSAID in combination: detailed statistical analysis plan for a randomised, blinded, parallel, four-group multicentre clinical trial

Background

Effective postoperative pain management is essential for the rehabilitation of the surgical patient. The PANSAID trial evaluates the analgesic effects and safety of the combination of paracetamol and ibuprofen. This paper describes in detail the statistical analysis plan for the primary publication to prevent outcome reporting bias and data-driven analysis results.

Methods/design

The PANSAID trial is a multicentre, randomised, controlled, parallel, four-group clinical trial comparing the beneficial and harmful effects of different doses and combinations of paracetamol and ibuprofen in patients having total hip arthroplastic surgery. Patients, caregivers, physicians, investigators, and statisticians are blinded to the intervention. The two co-primary outcomes are 24-h consumption of morphine and proportion of patients with one or more serious adverse events within 90 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes are pain scores during mobilisation and at rest at 6 and 24 h postoperatively, and the proportion of patients with one or more adverse events within 24 h postoperatively.

Discussion

PANSAID will provide a large trial with low risk of bias regarding benefits and harms of the combination of paracetamol and ibuprofen used in a perioperative setting.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.org identifier: NCT02571361. Registered on 7 October 2015.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-017-2203-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

PANSAID - PAracetamol and NSAID in combination: study protocol for a randomised trial

BACKGROUND

Effective postoperative pain management is essential for the rehabilitation of the surgical patient. No 'gold standard' exists after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and combinations of different nonopioid medications are used with virtually no evidence for additional analgesic efficacy compared to monotherapy. The objective of this trial is to investigate the analgesic effects and safety of paracetamol and ibuprofen alone and in combination in different dosages after THA.

METHODS

PANSAID is a placebo-controlled, parallel four-group, multicentre trial with centralised computer-generated allocation sequence and allocation concealment and with varying block size and stratification by site. Blinding of assessor, investigator, caregivers, patients and statisticians. Patients are randomised to four groups: (A) paracetamol 1 g × 4 and ibuprofen 400 mg × 4, (B) paracetamol 1 g × 4 and placebo, (C) placebo and ibuprofen 400 mg × 4 and (D) paracetamol 0.5 g × 4 and ibuprofen 200 mg. The two co-primary outcomes are 24-h consumption of morphine and number of patients with one or more serious adverse events within 90 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes are pain scores during mobilisation and at rest at 6 and 24 h postoperatively, and number of patients with one or more adverse events within 24 h postoperatively. Inclusion criteria are patients scheduled for unilateral, primary THA; age above 18 years; ASA status 1-3; BMI >18 and <40 kg/m²; women must not be pregnant; and provision of informed consent. Exclusion criteria are patients who cannot cooperate with the trial; participation in another trial; patients who cannot understand/speak Danish; daily use of strong opioids; allergy against trial medication; contraindications against ibuprofen; alcohol and/or drug abuse. A total of 556 eligible patients are needed to detect a difference of 10 mg morphine i.v. the first 24 h postoperatively with a standard deviation of 20 mg and a family wise type 1 error rate of 0.025 (two-sided) and a type 2 error rate of 0.10 for the six possible comparisons of the four intervention groups.

DISCUSSION

We started recruiting patients in December 2015 and expect to finish in September 2017. Data analysis will be from September 2017 to October 2017 and manuscript submission ultimo 2017.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

EudraCT: 2015-002239-16 (12/8-15); ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02571361 . Registered on 7 October 2015.