Objective To systematically review the effectiveness and safety of thoracic epidural analesis (TEA) for postoperative complications after cardiac surgery. Methods Such databases as PubMed, Science Citation Index, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI and CBM were electronically searched from inception to October 2012 for collecting the randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness and safety of thoracic epidural analgesisa for postoperative complications after cardiac surgery. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality of the included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.1 software. Results Totally 14 studies were eligible, involving 1 942 patients. The results of meta-analysis showed that, TEA combined with general anesthesia (GA) was superior to GA alone in reducing the incidences of myocardial ischemia/infarction (RR=0.63, 95%CI 0.41 to 0.96, P=0.03), respiratory complications (RR=0.55, 95%CI 0.40 to 0.75, P=0.000 1), supraventricular arrhythmias (RR=0.64, 95%CI 0.47 to 0.88, P=0.005), and duration of mechanical ventilation (MD= –2.15, 95%CI –3.72 to –0.58, P=0.007), with significant differences. Conclusions Current evidence shows that, TEA after surgery is effective in reducing the incidences of myocardial ischemia/infarction, respiratory complications, supraventricular arrhythmias, and duration of mechanical ventilation. There is the lack of data on the adverse events of TEA (mainly referring to epidural hematoma). Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, patients’ conditions should be fully considered before applying TEA in clinical practice.
Objective To systematically review the effectiveness of forced air warming for the maintenance of perioperative core temperature, so as to provide clinical evidence for an appropriate warming plan during the perioperative period. Methods We electronically searched PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, Web of Science, CBM and CNKI from 2000 to 2012, so as to comprehensively collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the effectiveness of different warming methods for the maintenance of perioperative core temperature (including forced air warming, resistive-heating blanket/electric heating pad, circulating water mattress, and infrared ray radiant heating system) for maintenance of perioperative core temperature. References of the included studies were also retrieved. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed the quality of the included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.1 software. Results Eleven RCTs involving 577 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis indicated that, in the maintenance of core temperature during the perioperative period, forced air warming was superior to resistive-heating blanket/electric heating pad (SMD= –0.40, 95%CI –0.73 to –0.06), circulating water mattress (SMD= –1.10, 95%CI –1.55 to –0.66), and infrared ray radiant heating system (SMD= –0.69, 95%CI –1.06 to –0.32). In the incidence of hypothermia during the perioperative period, the group of forced air warming was lower than the group of blanket/electric heating pad (RR=1.76, 95%CI 1.15 to 2.69), but it was the same as the group of infrared ray radiant heating system (RR=1.37, 95%CI 0.83 to 2.27). In the incidence of shivering during the perioperative period, the group of forced air warming was the same as the group of blanket/electric heating pad (RR=0.75, 95%CI 0.18 to 3.21) and the group of infrared ray radiant heating system (RR=0.8, 95%CI 0.19 to 3.36). Conclusion Compared with resistive-heating blanket/electric heating pad, circulating water mattress, and infrared ray radiant heating system, forced air warming maintains patients’ core temperature better during the perioperative period, with a lower incidences of hypothermia. Due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, more high quality RCTs with large sample size are needed to verify the above conclusion.
Objective To systematically review the effects of lidocaine for preventing pain on injection of propofol. Methods Databases including The Cochrane Library (Issue 4, 2012), PubMed, MEDLINE, Ovid, HighWire, EMbase, CBM and CNKI were searched electronically to collect literature published from January, 1985 to December, 2012. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were indentified about lidocaine for preventing injection pain of propofol. References of the included studies were also retrieved. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and assess the quality of the included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.1 software. Results Fifteen trials involved 1 332 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis indicated that, adding lidocaine into propofol lowered the incidence of pain on injection compared with blank control, with a significant difference (RR=0.36, 95%CI 0.30 to 0.44, Plt;0.000 01); using different doses of lidocaine before injection lowered the incidence of pain on injection compared with blank control, with a significant difference (RR=0.59, 95%CI 0.47 to 0.75, Plt;0.000 1); using different doses of lidocaine after venous occlusion lowered the incidence of pain on injection compared with blank control, with a significant difference (RR=0.44, 95%CI 0.37 to 0.52, Plt;0.000 01). Conclusion Lidocaine could reduce the pain on injection of propofol. Using lidocaine 40 mg after venous occlusion is a relatively effective method to lower the incidence of pain on injection which is more suitable for outpatient who receive intravenous anesthesia without preoperation medication.
Objective To systematically evaluate the effectiveness and accuracy of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) for predicting postoperative cardiovascular events of non-cardiac surgery. Methods Databases including The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Ovid, EMbase, WanFang Data and CNKI were searched electrically to collect literature published from 2000 to 2011, and relevant periodicals and references of the included studies were also manually retrieved. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, related cohort studies were selected, data were extracted, and quality of the included studies was evaluated by two reviewers independently. Then meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.0 software. Results A total of 11 studies involving 3 649 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, compared with patients with lower BNP levels than the cut-off point before surgery, patients with higher BNP levels than the cut-off point before surgery suffered from a higher incidence of cardiovascular events, with a significant difference (OR=27.54, 95%CI 17.49 to 43.35, Plt;0.000 01), while the result of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) was similar to that of BNP (OR=19.53, 95%CI 13.54 to 28.17, Plt;0.000 01). Conclusion Postoperative higher levels of BNP and NT-BNP can be used to predict postoperative cardiovascular events of non-cardiac surgery patients. This conclusion needs to be further proved by more high quality studies due to the quality limitation of the included studies.
ObjectiveTo summarize the surgical experience of perineal hernia (PH) repairment after a laparoscopic abdominoperineal resection (APR) with synthetic mesh.MethodsThe clinical data of 4 cases of PH after APR from 2009 to 2015 underwent surgery were analyzed retrospectively. We applied synthetic mesh for the reconstruction of the pelvic floor.ResultsAll of the 4 cases recovered smoothly, with no complication happened. The blood loss during the operation was 50–100 mL, the operative time was 1.0–1.5 hours, the postoperative time of getting out of bed was delayed to 5–7 days after the operation and discharged after 10–14 days. Patients were advised to use transperineal bandages or rigid underpants to lift up the perineum to reduce tension after discharge. No recurrence of perineal hernia or the tumor was found on physical examination and abdominal pelvic CT scan during the 24-month follow-up.ConclusionsIt brings better effect and less trauma after the operation by using transperineal repair of PH with synthetic mesh. We suggest that this technique should probably be the first choice for treating an uncomplicated PH that occurs after a laparoscopic APR.