Postoperative pain reduction by pre-emptive N-acetylcysteine: an exploratory randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background: A new potential target for multimodal pain management is the group-II metabotropic glutamate receptor subtypes, which can be activated by N-acetylcysteine. We investigated whether pre-emptive administration of N-acetylcysteine leads to a reduction in postoperative pain after laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair.

Methods: Sixty American Society of Anesthesiologists I-II patients scheduled for elective inguinal hernia repair were randomized to receive either N-acetylcysteine (150 mg/kg) or placebo intravenously 1 hour before surgery.

Chronic stress indicated by hair cortisol concentration in anaesthesiologists and its relationship to work experience and emotional intelligence: A cross-sectional biomarker and survey study.

Background: Anaesthesia is a stressful medical specialty. The reaction to stress is constituted by behavioural, psychological and physiological components. Chronic physiological stress can have negative consequences for health.

Peri-operative swelling of fingers: A prospective observational study.

Background: In most Dutch hospitals, because of putative peri-operative swelling of the fingers, patients must remove rings before entering the operating theatre. If this proves impossible, destructive methods for removal may be required. For some patients, this might be too radical, as the risk of wearing rings may not be in proportion to the economic and emotional damage to the patient.

Sex-Specific Intubation Biomechanics: Intubation Forces Are Greater in Male Than in Female Patients, Independent of Body Weight.

Background Studies of head, neck, and cervical spine morphology and tissue material properties indicate that cervical spine biomechanics differ between adult males and females. These differences result in sex-specific cervical spine kinematics and injury patterns in response to standardized loading conditions. Because direct laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation require the application of a load to the cervical spine, intubation biomechanics should be sex-specific.