The effect of low-dose ketamine on electroencephalographic spectrum during gynecology surgery under desflurane anesthesia.

Background: The perioperative administration of low-dose ketamine has shown potential in postoperative pain management, opioid sparing, and enhancing pain control. This study aimed to investigate the impact of low-dose ketamine on processed electroencephalography (EEG) signals during anesthesia.

Methods: Forty patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I-II undergoing elective gynecological surgery were enrolled.

Logistic Regression Is Non-Inferior to the Response Surface Model in Patient Response Prediction of Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery.

Response surface models (RSMs) are a new trend in modern anesthesia. RSMs have demonstrated significant applicability in the field of anesthesia. However, the comparative analysis between RSMs and logistic regression (LR) in different surgeries remains relatively limited in the current literature.

Risk factors of more severe hypotension after spinal anesthesia for cesarean section.

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the risk factors associated with the use of vasopressors to prevent hypotension that occurs after spinal anesthesia during cesarean section. Although the prophylactic use of vasopressors is already suggested as routine care in many parts of the world, the occurrence of spinal anesthesia-induced hypotension (SAIH) is still common in parturients.

Methods: This retrospective study included parturients receiving elective cesarean deliveries under spinal anesthesia from April 2016 to March 2020.

Perioperative Blood Transfusion Is Dose-Dependently Associated with Cancer Recurrence and Mortality after Head and Neck Cancer Surgery.

Background: The association between perioperative blood transfusion and cancer prognosis in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) receiving surgery remains controversial.

Methods: We designed a retrospective observational study of patients with HNC undergoing tumor resection surgery from 2014 to 2017 and followed them up until June 2020. An inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was applied to balance baseline patient characteristics in the exposed and unexposed groups.

Dose-response relationship between epidural bupivacaine dose and mortality risk after surgical resection of nonsmall-cell lung cancer.

Background: Preclinical studies have shown that local anesthetics may modify the growth and invasion of cancer cells. However, few clinical studies have evaluated their impact on cancer outcomes after tumor resection.

Methods: In this single-center cohort study, patients who underwent surgical resection of stage IA through IIIB nonsmall-cell lung cancer and used patient-controlled epidural analgesia from 2005 to 2015 were recruited and followed until May 2017.

Group-based trajectory analysis of acute pain after spine surgery and risk factors for rebound pain.

Background: This retrospective study was designed to explore the types of postoperative pain trajectories and their associated factors after spine surgery.

Materials And Methods: This study was conducted in a single medical center, and patients undergoing spine surgery with intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IVPCA) for postoperative pain control between 2016 and 2018 were included in the analysis. Maximal pain scores were recorded daily in the first postoperative week, and group-based trajectory analysis was used to classify the variations in pain intensity over time and investigate predictors of rebound pain after the end of IVPCA.

Influential Factors and Personalized Prediction Model of Acute Pain Trajectories after Surgery for Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common neoplasm in kidneys, and surgical resection remains the mainstay treatment. Few studies have investigated how the postoperative pain changes over time and what has affected its trajectory. This study aimed to characterize the variations in postoperative pain over time and investigate associated factors after RCC surgery.

Statins Associated with Better Long-Term Outcomes in Aged Hospitalized Patients with COPD: A Real-World Experience from Pay-for-Performance Program.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death globally. Previous studies have addressed the impact of comorbidity on short-term mortality in patients with COPD. However, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the association of statins prescription with mortality for aged COPD patients remains unclear.

Association Between Epidural Analgesia and Cancer Recurrence or Survival After Surgery for Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Propensity Weighted Analysis.

Whether epidural anesthesia and analgesia (EA) is beneficial for postoperative cancer outcomes remains controversial and we conducted this historical cohort study to evaluate the association between EA and long-term outcomes following surgery for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We collected patients receiving RCC surgery from 2011 to 2017 and followed up them until February 2020. Patient attributes, surgical factors and pathological features were gathered through electronic medical chart review.

Group-based trajectory analysis of postoperative pain in epidural analgesia for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and risk factors of rebound pain.

Background: The current study aimed to investigate the patterns of postoperative pain trajectories over time and their associated risk factors in patients receiving video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and epidural analgesia (EA) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary medical center and included patients undergoing VATS for stage I NSCLC between 2011 and 2015. Maximal pain intensity was recorded daily during the first postoperative week.

Energy Achievement Rate Is an Independent Factor Associated with Intensive Care Unit Mortality in High-Nutritional-Risk Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Requiring Prolonged Prone Positioning Therapy.

Early enteral nutrition (EN) and a nutrition target >60% are recommended for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU), even for those with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Prolonged prone positioning (PP) therapy (>48 h) is the rescue therapy of ARDS, but it may worsen the feeding status because it requires the heavy sedation and total paralysis of patients. Our previous studies demonstrated that energy achievement rate (EAR) >65% was a good prognostic factor in ICU.

Prognostic Factors to Predict ICU Mortality in Patients with Severe ARDS Who Received Early and Prolonged Prone Positioning Therapy.

Early and prolonged prone positioning (PP) therapy improve survival in advanced ARDS; however, the predictors of mortality remain unclear. The study aims to identify predictive factors correlated with mortality and build-up the prognostic score in patients with severe ARDS who received early and prolonged PP therapy. A total of 116 patients were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study.

A comparison of prognostic performance of perioperative inflammation markers in surgical resection for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Systemic inflammation correlates closely with tumor invasion and may predict survival in cancer patients. We aimed to compare the prognostic value of various inflammation-based markers in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods: We consecutively enrolled 1450 patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing surgical resection at the medical center between 2005 and 2016 and assessed them through September 2018.

Fire safety study on high-flow nasal oxygen in shared-airway surgeries with diathermy and laser: simulation based on a physical model.

High-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) has been used in "tubeless" shared-airway surgeries but whether HFNO increased the fire hazard is yet to be examined. We used a physical model for simulation to explore fire safety through a series of ignition trials. An HFNO device was attached to a 3D-printed nose with nostrils connected to a degutted raw chicken.

Epidural analgesia does not impact recurrence or mortality in patients after rectal cancer resection.

The relationship between epidural analgesia and rectal cancer outcome is not fully clarified. We aimed to investigate the putative effect of epidural analgesia on the risks of recurrence and mortality after rectal tumour resection. In this monocentric cohort study, we consecutively enrolled patients with stage I-III rectal cancer who underwent tumour resection from 2005 to 2014.

A-qCPR risk score screening model for predicting 1-year mortality associated with hospice and palliative care in the emergency department.

Background: Evaluating the need for palliative care and predicting its mortality play important roles in the emergency department.

Aim: We developed a screening model for predicting 1-year mortality.

Design: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to identify risk factors associated with 1-year mortality.

A comparison of inflammation markers for predicting oncological outcomes after surgical resection of non-small-cell lung cancer: a validated analysis of 2,066 patients.

Clinical and pathological predictors have proved to be insufficient in identifying high-risk patients who develop cancer recurrence after tumour resection. We aimed to compare the prognostic ability of various inflammation markers in patients undergoing surgical resection of lung cancer. We consecutively included 2,066 patients with stage I-III non-small-cell lung cancer undergoing surgical resection at the center between 2005 and 2015.

The association of non-small cell lung cancer recurrence with allogenic blood transfusion after surgical resection: A propensity score analysis of 1,803 patients.

Background: Conflicting evidence underlies the controversial role of allogenic blood transfusion in recurrence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Insufficient sample size and failure to measure effects of important confounders in previous studies contribute to the conflicting findings. To overcome these limitations, we applied robust statistics and weighted covariates in a large study cohort.

Dynamic analysis of variations in postoperative pain trajectories over time in patients receiving epidural analgesia using latent curve models.

Background: Although epidural analgesia (EA) provides reliable pain relief after major operations, few studies have explored how postoperative pain trajectories change over time in patients receiving EA and the associated factors. This study aimed to model the dynamic features of pain trajectories after surgery and investigate factors associated with their variations using latent curve analysis.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at a single medical center in Taiwan, and data were obtained from patients receiving perioperative EA by electronic chart review.

An investigation of the effect of patient-controlled analgesia on long-term quality of life after major surgery: A prospective cohort study.

Background: Chronic pain is a common postoperative complication in patients undergoing major surgery and may significantly affect their quality of life (QOL). Whether patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) can reduce the risk of chronic postsurgical pain and promote long-term QOL is still unclear.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, we followed up patients undergoing major surgery, recorded changes in their postoperative QOL over time using the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire and chronic pain events, evaluated the long-term effects of distinct PCA techniques (intravenous, epidural, or none) on their QOL and risk of chronic pain, and explored relevant predictors.

Influential factors of postoperative pain trajectories in patients receiving intravenous patient-controlled analgesia: a single-centre cohort study in Taiwan.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the factors associated with variations in postoperative pain trajectories over time in patients using intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA) for postoperative pain.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: A single medical centre in Taiwan.