Does magnesium sulfate have a role in the management of severe traumatic brain injury in civilian and military populations? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant cause of combat morbidity. Currently, the medical management of TBI is limited to supportive critical care. Magnesium sulfate has been studied as a potentially beneficial therapeutic agent.

Propensity score-matched outcomes after thoracic epidural or paravertebral analgesia for thoracotomy.

It is not known which regional analgesic technique is most effective or safest after open lung resection. We retrospectively examined outcomes in 828 patients who received thoracic epidural analgesia and 791 patients who received paravertebral block after lung resection between 2008 and 2012. We analysed outcomes for 648 patients, 324 who had each analgesic technique, matched by propensity scores generated with peri-operative data.