Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

DNA-Polymorphismus des endothelialen leukozytären Adhäsionsmoleküls-1 bei Patienten (unter 50 Jahren) mit interventionsbedürftigen Koronararterienstenosen

Die koronare Herzkrankheit ist derzeit die häufigste Todesursache auf der Welt. Die Prävention der Arteriosklerose und ihrer klinischen Manifestationen wie der koronaren Herzkrankheit sind wichtige Ziele. Das Gen des endothelialen leukozytären Adhäsionsmoleküls-1 (ELAM-1,E-Selektin) sollte auf DNA-Polymorphismen untersucht werden, um einen möglichen genetischen Hintergrund von zellulären Interaktionen, die in den arteriosklerotischen Prozeß involviert sind, zu untersuchen. Eine signifikant höhere Mutationsrate (P=0,039) wurde bei 41 Patienten mit 40 Jahren oder jünger mit einer angiographisch nachgewiesenen schweren koronaren Arteriosklerose, im Vergleich zu 51 Patienten zwischen 40 und 50 Jahren, gefunden. Assoziationsanalysen zum Vergleich der Häufigkeiten des DNA-Polymorphismus in Abhängigkeit von den Risikofaktoren (männliches Geschlecht, Myokardinfarkt in der Eigenanamnese, positive Familienanamnese, Zigarettenrauchen, Hyperlipidämie (Hypercholesterinämie, Hypertriglyzeridämie), niedriges HDL-Cholesterin, Diabetes mellitus, Adipositas und arterielle Hypertonie) zeigten nur für die Hypertriglyzeridämie und die positive Familienanamnese eine statistisch signifikante Assoziation. Diese Daten lassen den Schluß zu, daß der DNA-Polymorphismus des endothelialen leukozytären Adhäsionsmoleküls-1 mit einer frühzeitigen schweren koronaren Arteriosklerose assoziiert ist. Der gefundene Polymorphismus ist ein zusätzlicher Risikofaktor bei einer positiven Familienanmnese.Coronary heart disease is the major cause of death in the world. Prevention of atherosclerosis and its clinical manifestations such as coronary heart disease are fundamental goals. To contribute to the analysis of the genetic background of atherosclerosis especially endothelial dysfunction we searched for DNA polymorphisms in the endothelial-leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 (ELAM-1,E-selectin). A significantly higher mutation frequency (P=0,039) was observed in 41 patients aged 40 years or less with angiographically proven severe coronary atherosclerosis compared with 51 patients aged between 40 and 50 years. Association studies with risk factors for coronary heart disease (male sex, myocardial infarction, positive family history, cigarette smoking, hyperlipidaemia (hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia), low HDL cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, obesity and hypertension) showed associations only for hypertriglyceridaemia and a positive family history. These data suggest that the polymorphisms in the ELAM-1 are associated with a higher risk for premature severe coronary atherosclerosis. DNA polymorphism in the ELAM-1 gene is an additional coronary risk factor if a positive family history exists

Laryngeal complications after thyroidectomy : is it always the surgeon?

HYPOTHESIS: Laryngeal dysfunction after thyroidectomy is a common complication. However, few data are available to differentiate whether these complications result from injury to the recurrent nerve or to the vocal folds from intubation. SETTING: University medical center. PATIENTS: Seven hundred sixty-one patients who underwent surgery to the thyroid gland from 1990 to 2002. Of these patients, 8.4% underwent a revision thyroidectomy. INTERVENTION: Preoperative and postoperative laryngostroboscopic examination. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Laryngostroboscopic evaluation of laryngeal complications. RESULTS: The overall rate of laryngeal complications was 42.0% (320 patients). Complications from an injury to the vocal folds occurred in 31.3% of patients. Weakness or paresis of the recurrent nerve was initially present in 6.6% and was related to the nerves at risk. This rate was higher in revision thyroidectomies than in primary surgical interventions (6.2% vs 11.6%; P = .04). The rate of laryngeal injuries was higher in patients older than 65 years (39.8% vs 30.8%; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that laryngeal complications after thyroidectomies are primarily caused by injury to the vocal folds from intubation and to a lesser extent by injury to the laryngeal nerve. We recommend documentation of informed consent, especially for patients who use their voice professionally, such as singers, actors, or teachers

Dexamethasone decreases the duration of rocuronium-induced neuromuscular block A randomised controlled study

BACKGROUND Several drugs influence the time course of neuromuscular block during general anaesthesia. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of a single dose of dexamethasone 8 mg on the time course of a rocuronium-induced neuromuscular block. DESIGN A randomised controlled, unblinded, monocentre trial. SETTING Kreiskrankenhaus Dormagen, Dormagen, Germany. PATIENTS One hundred and eight adult patients scheduled for elective gynaecological laparoscopic surgery allocated to three groups. INTERVENTIONS Patients received dexamethasone 8 mg intravenously 2 to 3 h prior to surgery (Group A), during induction of anaesthesia (Group B) or after recovery of the neuromuscular block (Group C, control). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The time course of the neuromuscular block of rocuronium 0.3 mg kg(-1) was assessed using acceleromyography. The primary end point was the time from start of injection of rocuronium until recovery to a train-pof-pfour ratio of 0.9. RESULTS The clinical duration was decreased in Group A (15.8 +/- 4.5 min) compared with Group B (18.7 +/- 5.8 min; P = 0.031). The recovery index was reduced in Group A (6.8 +/- 1.8 min) compared with Group B (8.1 +/- 2.6 min; P = 0.018) and Group C (8.3 +/- 2.8 min; P = 0.01). The recovery to a train-pof-pfour ratio of 0.9 was shorter in Group A (30.4 +/- 6.9 min) than in Groups B (36.3 +/- 10.7 min; P 0.031) and C (36.8 +/- 11.3 min; P = 0.02). CONCLUSION A single dose of dexamethasone 8 mg attenuated rocuronium-pinduced block by 15 to 20% if administered 2 to 3 h prior to induction of anaesthesia. However, the administration of dexamethasone during induction of anaesthesia did not influence the time course of the neuromuscular block