Perioperative News and Research

RSS

Endovascular repair of thoracic and abdominal aortic diseases as an alternative to open surgery in patients at high surgical risk

World Congress of Cardiology Report - Acute aortic syndromes, such as large thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms with impending rupture, complicated acute type B dissections, traumatic rupture of thoracic aorta, still represent life-threatening conditions.

5 Sep 2006

Treating battlefield injuries and pain in veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq

The August issue of Pain Medicine features two original research studies on treating pain in veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq.

15 Aug 2006

Chemotherapy regimen predicts steatohepatitis and an increase in 90-day mortality after surgery for hepatic colorectal metastases

Patients and their physicians should be careful when selecting a chemotherapy drug to treat colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

3 May 2006

Outcomes good for robotic radical prostatectomy in overweight and obese patients

Radical prostatectomy in overweight or obese men is a greater technical challenge than in thinner men. A laparoscopic or robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RLRP) might be easier.

18 Apr 2006

Post cardiac surgery heart irregularities reduced by medication

Use of the medication amiodarone is associated with one-half the incidence of atrial tachyarrhythmias (rapid, abnormal heart beat) following cardiac surgery, according to a study in the December 28 issue of JAMA.

28 Dec 2005

Supplemental oxygen during colorectal surgery reduces risk of wound infection

Patients who received a higher concentration of supplemental oxygen during colorectal surgery had a significantly reduced risk of wound infection, according to a study in the October 26 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

25 Oct 2005

Association of aprotinin with reduced glucose levels during CABG surgery

An anesthesiology research team at Columbia University Medical Center have completed the first human study to show that aprotinin, a protease inhibitor, was associated with lower blood glucose levels during coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

25 Oct 2005

C. elegans, free-living soil nematodes, pave way for better anesthetics

Ten genes that may make patients more or less susceptible to a common anesthetic agent have been identified by researchers using tiny worms and sophisticated technology that eliminates the activity of individual genes.

23 Oct 2005

Nitric oxide may help sickle cell patients

Inhaling a small dose of nitric oxide gas may one day help sickle cell patients avoid pain crises and live healthier lives, researchers say.

23 Oct 2005

Medicare patients have a substantially higher risk of early death following bariatric surgery than previously suggested

...and the risk of death is higher among men, older patients, and patients of surgeons who perform lower numbers of bariatric procedures, according to a study in the October 19 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

19 Oct 2005

Long-term alcoholics are at a higher risk for postoperative infections following elective cardiac surgery

Previous research has shown that post-surgery rates of disease and death are two-to-five times greater among long-term alcoholics than nonalcoholic patients. Of all the possible complications, infection can be the most serious.

22 Sep 2005

Open nephron-sparing surgery remains the most desirable for the patients

Urologists often view less-invasive surgery techniques as more desirable for the patient, but in a study of open nephron-sparing surgeries (NSS) from 1985 to 2001 at Mayo Clinic, researchers found that the "gold standard" of open surgery for kidney tumors should remain the first choice for many patients. The study appears online today in The Journal of Urology.

10 Aug 2005

Heparinase I is not a suitable replacement for protamine

The results of an international clinical trial led by Duke University Medical Center researchers has shown that a new drug is not a suitable replacement for protamine, a drug that has been used for more than 40 years after coronary artery bypass surgery to return thinned blood to its normal state.

1 Aug 2005

Minimally invasive colorectal surgery may have a less pronounced inflammatory response

Minimally invasive colorectal surgery may have a less pronounced inflammatory response and less of a suppressing effect on the immune system than conventional surgery, resulting in a possible reduction in post-operative complications, according to a study in the July issue of Archives of Surgery.

19 Jul 2005

Leading patient safety advocates assess progress in reducing medical error five years after landmark IOM report

It has been five years since the release of the Institute of Medicine’s landmark report on medical errors, “To Err is Human.” What progress has been made to improve patient safety since the report found that nearly 100,000 deaths occur annually as a result of medical error?

18 May 2005

Specific variants of genes predict bleeding after heart surgery

Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that the presence of specific variants of genes that control clotting and the contractility, or "tone," of blood vessels can double the ability of physicians to predict those heart surgery patients at greatest risk of bleeding after surgery.

4 May 2005

Genetic link to kidney damage after heart surgery

Specific variants of genes involved in inflammation and blood vessel constriction are strongly associated with kidney damage in patients undergoing major heart surgery, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found.

1 Mar 2005

Study investigates value of "Center of Excellence" designation

A new study says cancer surgery performed at a medical center designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a "center of excellence" is associated with less risk of death soon after surgery than if performed at a high-volume surgery center, but finds no difference in five-year survival rates.

27 Dec 2004

Child heart deaths at Bristol fall below national average

Child heart deaths at the Bristol Royal Infirmary have fallen markedly, to below the national average, finds a study in this week's BMJ.

8 Oct 2004

Cochlear implantation leads to a higher quality of life in elderly patients

According to health care experts, cochlear implantation in senior citizens seems to be not cost effective, due to a belief that elderly patients perform poorly in the postoperative audiological rehabilitation process due to degenerative processes in the central and peripheral auditory system.

18 Sep 2004