Association of Multimodal Pain Control with Patient-Reported Outcomes in Children Undergoing Surgery

IntroductionOur aim was to describe practices in multimodal pain management at US children's hospitals and evaluate the association between non-opioid pain management strategies and pediatric patient-reported outcomes (PROs).MethodsData were collected as part of the 18-hospital ENhanced Recovery In CHildren Undergoing Surgery (ENRICH-US) clinical trial. Non-opioid pain management strategies included use of preoperative and postoperative non-opioid analgesics, regional anesthetic blocks, and a biobehavioral intervention. PROs included perioperative nervousness, pain-related functional disability, health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Associations were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression models.ResultsAmong 186 patients, 62 (33%) received preoperative analgesics, 186 (100%) postoperative analgesics, 81 (44%) regional anesthetic block, and 135 (73%) used a biobehavioral intervention. Patients were less likely to report worsened as compared to stable nervousness following regional anesthetic block (relative risk ratio [RRR]:0.31, 95% confidence interval [CI]:0.11–0.85), use of a biobehavioral technique (RRR:0.26, 95% CI:0.10–0.70), and both in combination (RRR:0.08, 95% CI:0.02–0.34). There were no associations of non-opioid pain control modalities with pain-related functional disability or HRQoL.ConclusionUse of postoperative non-opioid analgesics have been largely adopted, while preoperative non-opioid analgesics and regional anesthetic blocks are used less frequently. Regional anesthetic blocks and biobehavioral interventions may mitigate postoperative nervousness in children.Level of evidenceIII.     

Glutamate infusion associated with reduced rises of p-Copeptin after coronary surgery: Substudy of GLUTAMICS II

Background

Glutamate plays a key role for post-ischaemic recovery of myocardial metabolism. According to post hoc analyses of the two GLUTAMICS trials, patients without diabetes benefit from glutamate with less myocardial dysfunction after coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). Copeptin reflects activation of the Arginine Vasopressin system and is a reliable marker of heart failure but available studies in cardiac surgery are limited. We investigated whether glutamate infusion is associated with reduced postoperative rises of plasma Copeptin (p-Copeptin) after CABG.

Methods

A prespecified randomised double-blind substudy of GLUTAMICS II. Patients had left ventricular ejection fraction ≤0.30 or EuroSCORE II ≥3.0 and underwent CABG ± valve procedure. Intravenous infusion of 0.125 M L-glutamic acid or saline at 1.65 mL/kg/h was commenced 10–20 min before the release of the aortic cross-clamp and then continued for another 150 min P-Copeptin was measured preoperatively and postoperatively on day one (POD1) and day three. The primary endpoint was an increase in p-Copeptin from the preoperative level to POD1. Postoperative stroke ≤24 h and mortality ≤30 days were safety outcomes.

Results

We included 181 patients of whom 48% had diabetes. The incidence of postoperative mortality ≤30 days (0% vs. 2.1%; p = .50) and stroke ≤24 h (0% vs. 3.2%; p = .25) did not differ between the glutamate group and controls. P-Copeptin increased postoperatively with the highest values recorded on POD1 without significant inter-group differences. Among patients without diabetes, p-Copeptin did not differ preoperatively but postoperative rise from preoperative level to POD1 was significantly reduced in the glutamate group (73 ± 66 vs. 115 ± 102 pmol/L; p = .02). P-Copeptin was significantly lower in the Glutamate group on POD1 (p = .02) and POD 3 (p = .02).

Conclusions

Glutamate did not reduce rises of p-Copeptin significantly after moderate to high-risk CABG. However, glutamate was associated with reduced rises of p-Copeptin among patients without diabetes. These results agree with previous observations suggesting that glutamate mitigates myocardial dysfunction after CABG in patients without diabetes. Given the exploratory nature of these findings, they need to be confirmed in future studies.     

The effect of massage therapy on pain after surgery: A comprehensive meta-analysis

BackgroundFindings on the usefulness of massage therapy (MT) in postoperative pain management are often inconsistent among studies.ObjectivesThis study’s aim is to conduct a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT) to clarify the effects of massage therapy in the treatment of postoperative pain.MethodsThree databases (PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) were searched for RCTs published from database inception through January 26, 2021. The primary outcome was pain relief. The quality of RCTs was appraised with the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool. The random-effect model was used to calculate the effect sizes and standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95 % confidential intervals (CIs) as a summary effect. The heterogeneity test was conducted through I². Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were used to explore the source of heterogeneity. Possible publication bias was assessed using visual inspection of funnel plot asymmetry.ResultsThe analysis included 33 RCTs and showed that MT is effective in reducing postoperative pain (SMD, −1.32; 95 % CI, −2.01 to −0.63; p = 0.0002; I² = 98.67 %). A similar significant effect was found for both short (immediate assessment) and long terms (assessment performed 4–6 weeks after the MT). Remarkably, we found neither the duration per session nor the dose had an impact on the effect of MT and there seemed to be no difference in the effects of different MT types. In addition, MT seemed to be more effective for adults. Furthermore, MT had better analgesic effects on cesarean section and heart surgery than orthopedic surgery.LimitationsPublication bias is possible due to the inclusion of studies in English only. Additionally, the included studies were extremely heterogeneous. Double-blind research on MT is difficult to implement, and none of the included studies is double-blind. There was some heterogeneity and publication bias in the included studies. In addition, there is no uniform evaluation standard for the operation level of massage practitioners, which may lead to research implementation bias.ConclusionsMT is effective in reducing postoperative pain in both short and long terms.     

Particularidades del abordaje transcanal endoscópico de los tumores benignos de oído medio en adultos

Background and objectiveMinimally invasive surgery of benign middle ear tumours is possible by using the endoscope. The optimal lighting and the broadest vision it offers, allow a transcanal approach to these rare tumours. The objective of this work is to summarize its key points through a case series.Materials and methodsRetrospective study of benign middle ear tumours that underwent exclusive endoscopic surgery in a third-level adult university hospital between June 2018 and June 2020. Postoperative follow-up was performed by otoendoscopy and audiometry.ResultsSix patients underwent surgery during the study period. Five patients were female and one male, with an average age of 57.8 years (± 21.9). Four tumours were in the left ear and 2 in the right ear. These included 4 tympanic paragangliomas (3 type I and one type II), a chorda tympani neuroma, and a congenital cholesteatoma. There were no serious postoperative complications. At present, no tumour recurrence has been found in either case, with a minimum follow-up of 7 months.ConclusionsThe present study adds evidence on the safety and efficacy of endoscopic transcanal ear surgery, as a minimally invasive technique, for the treatment of benign middle ear tumours confined to the tympanic cavity.     

Atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveNew-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) after cardiac surgery is common, with rates up to 60%. POAF has been associated with early and late stroke, but its association with other cardiovascular outcomes is less known. The objective was to perform a meta-analysis of the studies reporting the association of POAF with perioperative and long-term outcomes in patients with cardiac surgery.MethodsWe performed a systematic review and a meta-analysis of studies that presented outcomes for cardiac surgery on the basis of the presence or absence of POAF. MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were assessed; 57 studies (246,340 patients) were selected. Perioperative mortality was the primary outcome. Inverse variance method and random model were performed. Leave-one-out analysis, subgroup analyses, and metaregression were conducted.ResultsPOAF was associated with perioperative mortality (odds ratio [OR], 1.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.58-2.33), perioperative stroke (OR, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.90-2.49), perioperative myocardial infarction (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.06-1.54), perioperative acute renal failure (OR, 2.74; 95% CI, 2.42-3.11), hospital (standardized mean difference, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.53-1.07) and intensive care unit stay (standardized mean difference, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.24-0.86), long-term mortality (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.54; 95% CI, 1.40-1.69), long-term stroke (IRR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.21-1.46), and longstanding persistent atrial fibrillation (IRR, 4.73; 95% CI, 3.36-6.66).ConclusionsThe results suggest that POAF after cardiac surgery is associated with an increased occurrence of most short- and long-term cardiovascular adverse events. However, the causality of this association remains to be established.     

The fate of aortic valve after rheumatic mitral valve surgery

ObjectiveDeterioration of the native aortic valve function by a late progression of rheumatic disease is not infrequent in patients who underwent rheumatic mitral valve surgery; however, this phenomenon has not been clearly quantified.MethodsA total of 1155 consecutive patients (age 52.0 ± 12.9 years; 807 female) who underwent rheumatic mitral valve surgery without concomitant aortic valve surgery from 1997 to 2015 were enrolled. The primary end point was the composite of progression to severe aortic valve dysfunction or a requirement of subsequent aortic valve replacements during follow-up. To determine the risk factors of the primary outcome, we performed the generalized linear mixed model.ResultsThe baseline severities of aortic valve were none to trivial in 880 patients (76.2%), mild in 256 patients (22.2%), and moderate in 19 patients (1.6%). The latest 1062 echocardiographic assessments (91.9%; median, 81.2 postoperative months; interquartile range, 37.3-132.1 months) demonstrated 26 cases (0.33%/patient-year) meeting the primary end point during follow-up. Cumulative incidence of the primary end point at 10 years was 0.4% ± 0.3% and 7.4% ± 2.5% depending on the presence of mild or greater aortic valve dysfunction at baseline (P < .01). In multivariable analyses, aortic valve peak pressure gradient (odds ratio, 1.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.20), aortic regurgitation degree (mild over none: odds ratio, 3.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-9.23), and time (odds ratio, 1.30; 95% confidence interval 1.19-1.41) were significantly associated with the occurrence of the primary end point.ConclusionsProgression of severe aortic valve dysfunction and the need for aortic valve replacement are uncommon in patients undergoing rheumatic mitral valve surgery. However, such events were relatively common among those with mild or greater aortic valve dysfunction at the time of mitral valve surgery.