Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Predicting conversion from laparoscopic to open cholecystectomy presented as a probability nomogram based on preoperative patient risk factors

Background: We aim to develop a risk stratification tool to preoperatively predict conversion (CONV) from a laparoscopic to open cholecystectomy.\ud \ud Methods: Multiple risk factors were analyzed with multivariate logistic regression and presented as probability nomograms.\ud \ud Results: Of 732 patients, 47 (6.4%) required CONV. Among 40 preoperative risk factors evaluated, 5 variables were found to have significant association with CONV: 2 clinical variables, previous upper abdominal surgery (odds ratio [OR] 95.2) and obesity defined as body mass index greater than 30 kg/m2 (OR 12.3), and 3 ultrasound parameters, visible choledocholithiasis (OR 19.8), impacted stone at the neck of the gallbladder (OR 5.9), and gallbladder wall width in millimeters (OR 2.1). Nomograms based on this multivariate model demonstrate the individual preoperative probability of CONV. Internal validation using receiver operator curve analysis showed an area under the curve of .97.\ud \ud Conclusion: Four probability nomograms were developed as a practical individual risk stratification tool to predict probability of CONV

Brain tumour-associated status epilepticus

We have reviewed the scant literature on status epilepticus in patients with brain tumours. Patients with brain tumour-associated epilepsy (TAE) appear less likely to develop status epilepticus (TASE) than patients with epilepsy in the general population (EGP) are to develop status epilepticus (SEGP). TASE is associated with lesions in similar locations as TAE; in particular, the frontal lobes. However, in contrast to TAE, where seizures commence early in the course of the disease or at presentation, TASE is more likely to occur later in the disease course and herald tumour progression. In marked contrast to TAE, where epilepsy risk is inversely proportional to Word Health Organization tumour grade, TASE risk appears to be directly proportional to tumour grade (high grade gliomas appear singularly predisposed). Whilst antiepileptic drug (AED) resistance is more common in TAE than EGP (with resistance directly proportional to tumour grade and frontal location), TASE appears paradoxically more responsive to simple AED regimes than either TAE or SEGP. Although some results suggest that mortality may be higher with TASE than with SEGP, it is likely that (as with SEGP) the major determinant of mortality is the underlying disease process. Because all such data have been derived from retrospective studies, because TASE and SEGP are less common than TAE and EGP, and because TASE and SEGP classification has often been inconsistent, findings can only be considered preliminary: multi-centre, prospective studies are required. Whilst preliminary, our review suggests that TASE has a distinct clinical profile compared to TAE and SEGP