Publications by authors named "Kowark A"

Study Objective: We hypothesize that personalized perioperative blood pressure management maintaining intraoperative mean arterial pressure (MAP) above the preoperative mean nighttime MAP reduces perfusion-related organ injury compared to maintaining intraoperative MAP above 65 mmHg in patients having major non-cardiac surgery. Before testing this hypothesis in a large-scale trial, we performed this bicentric pilot trial to determine a) if performing preoperative automated nighttime blood pressure monitoring to calculate personalized intraoperative MAP targets is feasible; b) in what proportion of patients the preoperative mean nighttime MAP clinically meaningfully differs from a MAP of 65 mmHg; and c) if maintaining intraoperative MAP above the preoperative mean nighttime MAP is feasible in patients having major non-cardiac surgery.

Design: Bicentric pilot randomized trial.

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Study Objective: Hyperlipidemia and postoperative delirium (POD) significantly affect patients' quality of life; however, the question of whether hyperlipidemia constitutes a risk factor for POD remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether patients with hyperlipidemia face elevated risks of developing POD and to identify potential causes for this increased risk.

Design: A prospective cohort study.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on ensuring the correct placement of the applicator during intraoperative radiation therapy for brain metastases, as precise placement is crucial for effective treatment.
  • Phantom tests were conducted to optimize image quality, leading to a clinical study where real-time cone beam computed tomography was used to guide the applicator's positioning based on acquired images.
  • The results showed that image-guided therapy is feasible, as repositioning of the applicator was successfully done after detecting air gaps, indicating potential for improved treatment outcomes in neurosurgery.
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Background: Anesthesia contributes significantly to a hospital's carbon footprint. Climate-smart actions have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Prerequisites for sustainable behavior of providers are knowledge and awareness.

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Risk assessment before interventions in elderly patients becomes more and more vital due to an increasing number of elderly patients requiring surgery. Existing risk scores are often not tailored to marginalized groups such as patients aged 80 years or older. We aimed to develop an easy-to-use and readily applicable risk assessment tool that implements pre-interventional predictors of 30-day mortality in elderly patients (≥80 years) undergoing interventions under anesthesia.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the impact of oral midazolam on patient satisfaction in older adults (ages 65-80) undergoing elective surgery, as its effects have been unclear.
  • Conducted in 9 German hospitals from October 2017 to May 2019, it was a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 616 patients randomized to receive either midazolam or a placebo before anesthesia.
  • Results showed no significant difference in global patient satisfaction between the midazolam group and the placebo group, indicating that midazolam may not improve satisfaction in this demographic.
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Background: Elderly surgical patients have a high risk of postoperative complications. However, patients exhibit considerable diversity in health and functional status; thus, identifying the fragile may be necessary when selecting surgical candidates. We aimed to compare the prevalence of frailty in patients ≥90 years with patients aged 80-89.

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Introduction: Transparent and complete reporting of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is essential for critical scientific appraisal of the results. It has been argued whether publications during the COVID-19 pandemic have met reporting standards. In this study, we assessed reporting adherence of RCTs on treatment interventions in COVID-19 patients to the CONSORT checklist and discuss which lessons can be learned to improve reporting in the future.

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Background: A tele-emergency medical service with a remote emergency physician for severe prehospital emergencies may overcome the increasing number of emergency calls and shortage of emergency medical service providers. We analysed whether routine use of a tele-emergency medical service is non-inferior to a conventional physician-based one in the occurrence of intervention-related adverse events.

Methods: This open-label, randomised, controlled, parallel-group, non-inferiority trial included all routine severe emergency patients aged ≥ 18 years within the ground-based ambulance service of Aachen, Germany.

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: The pupillary pain index (PPI) allows the evaluation of intraoperative nociception by measuring pupillary reaction after a localized electrical stimulus. It was the objective of this observational cohort study to investigate the pupillary pain index (PPI) as a method to evaluate the fascia iliaca block (FIB) or adductor canal block (ACB) sensory areas during general anaesthesia in orthopaedic patients with lower-extremity joint replacement surgery. : Orthopaedic patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty were included.

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Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is objectively measurable after anesthesia and surgery. Lower heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with poorer cognitive performance, but the relationship between HRV and POCD remains unclear. Elderly patients who underwent total hip replacement under general anesthesia from the Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University were enrolled.

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Background: Many elderly patients are receiving antithrombotics, which may increase intra-operative blood loss. We aimed to assess whether chronic antithrombotic therapy was associated with intra-operative transfusion of packed red blood cells in patients at least 80 years of age undergoing elective procedures.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of the prospective, observational European multicentre study entitled POSE (peri-interventional outcome study in the elderly) including 9497 surgical patients aged 80 years and older in 177 centres from October 2017 to December 2018.

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Background: Connected consciousness, assessed by response to command, occurs in at least 5% of general anaesthetic procedures and perhaps more often in young people. Our primary objective was to establish the incidence of connected consciousness after tracheal intubation in young people aged 18-40 yr. The secondary objectives were to assess the nature of these responses, identify relevant risk factors, and determine their relationship to postoperative outcomes.

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Background: Hypothermia is defined as a decrease in body core temperature to below 36 °C. If intraoperative heat-preserving measures are omitted, a patient's temperature will fall by 1 - 2 °C. Even mild forms of intraoperative hypothermia can lead to a marked increase in morbidity and mortality.

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Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific world is in urgent need for new evidence on the treatment of COVID patients. The reporting quality is crucial for transparent scientific publication. Concerns of data integrity, methodology and transparency were raised.

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The demographic development suggests a dramatic growth in the number of elderly patients undergoing surgery in Europe. Most red blood cell transfusions (RBCT) are administered to older people, but little is known about perioperative transfusion practices in this population. In this secondary analysis of the prospective observational multicentre European Transfusion Practice and Outcome Study (ETPOS), we specifically evaluated intraoperative transfusion practices and the related outcomes of 3149 patients aged 65 years and older.

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) contributes to death and disability, resulting in an enormous individual and socio-economic challenges. Despite huge efforts, there are still controversies on treatment strategies and early outcome estimation. We evaluate current randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on TBI according to their fulfillment of the CONSORT (Consolidated Statement of Reporting Trials) statement's criteria as a marker of transparency and the quality of study planning and realization.

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Background: Recent guidelines suggest that benzodiazepine premedication should be avoided in elderly patients, though with limited supporting evidence.

Objective: We conducted a secondary analysis of the POSE data to explore the association of premedication in patients aged 80 years or older with 30-day mortality.

Design: We used propensity score methods to perform a confounder-adjusted time-to-event analysis of the association between benzodiazepine premedication and 30-day mortality of the POSE study.

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Background: Back pain patients are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and reduced quality of life. Pain drawing is a simple, frequently used anamnesis tool that facilitates communication between physicians and patients. This study analysed pain drawings to examine whether pain drawing is suitable as a screening tool for signs of anxiety, depression or reduced quality of life, as the detection of these symptoms is essential for successful treatment.

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Background: Postoperative pain remains a common problem in gynecologic laparoscopy, especially in head zone-related regions, triggered by intra-abdominal pressure during capnoperitoneum. Humidified and prewarmed insufflation gas may ameliorate pain and be beneficial.

Methods: This prospective randomized controlled parallel group multi-arm single-center study investigated the effects of temperature and humidity of insufflation gas on postoperative pain during gynecologic laparoscopy with a duration ≥ 60 min.

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