Postoperative pain trajectory and opioid requirements after laparoscopic bariatric surgery: a single-centre historical cohort study.

Purpose: Concerns around delayed emergence and opioid-induced ventilatory impairment in bariatric surgery can lead to intraoperative reliance on short-acting opioids and avoidance of long-acting analgesics with potential sedative effects. Nevertheless, an overly-conservative intraoperative analgesic strategy may result in significant pain at emergence and higher opioid requirements in later phases of care. We sought to establish the pattern of intraoperative analgesic use in bariatric surgical patients as well as their postoperative pain trajectory and opioid requirements.

Erector spinae block: beyond the torso.

Purpose Of Review: This article aims to summarize the current literature describing the application of erector spinae plane (ESP) blocks for regional anesthesia of upper and lower limbs and to discuss the advantages and limitations.

Recent Findings: Investigations are still at an early stage but results are promising. High thoracic ESP blockade can relieve acute and chronic shoulder pain through local anesthetic diffusion to cervical nerve roots, although it may not be as effective as direct local anesthetic injection around the brachial plexus.

Reinstating a national simulation programme in anaesthesiology during the coronavirus pandemic.

Background: With the introduction of strict public health measures due to the coronavirus pandemic, we have had to change how we deliver simulation training. In order to reinstate the College of Anaesthesiologists Simulation Training (CAST) programme safely, we have had to make significant logistical changes. We discuss the process of reopening a national simulation anaesthesiology programme during a pandemic.