[Preoperative anemia : a review of its prognostic implications, diagnosis and management].

About 30 % of patients scheduled for surgery present with preoperative anemia. The presence of preoperative anemia increases the likelihood of exposure to allogenic blood transfusions, which carries specific complications. Furthermore, and independently of the transfusion risk, it is associated with an increased risk of postoperative morbidity and mortality.

Exploring Electrophysiological Responses to Hypnosis in Patients with Fibromyalgia.

Hypnosis shows great potential for managing patients suffering from fibromyalgia and chronic pain. Several studies have highlighted its efficacy in improving pain, quality of life, and reducing psychological distress. Despite its known feasibility and efficacy, the mechanisms of action remain poorly understood.

Evaluating pain management practices for cancer patients among health professionals in cancer and supportive/palliative care units: a Belgian survey.

Background: Pain is reported in 66% of cancer patients with advanced disease. Adequate pain management is a cornerstone of comprehensive supportive cancer care.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess pain management in Oncology Units in Belgium.

Brain state identification and neuromodulation to promote recovery of consciousness.

Experimental and clinical studies of consciousness identify brain states (i.e. quasi-stable functional cerebral organization) in a non-systematic manner and largely independent of the research into brain state modulation.

Virtual Reality Combined with Mind-Body Therapies for the Management of Pain: A Scoping Review.

When used separately, virtual reality (VR) and mind-body therapies (MBTs) have the potential to reduce pain across various acute and chronic conditions. While their combination is increasingly used, no study offers a consolidated presentation of VR and MBTs. This study aims to propose an overview of the effectiveness of VR combined with MBTs (i.

Generating novel tennis racket shape concepts using a theoretical morphospace.

Statistical shape analysis, or morphometrics, is a technique commonly used in evolutionary biology to summarise a population of samples. Theoretical morphometrics extends the current population of samples into a theoretical space. Using the lawn tennis racket as an example, this paper showcases the potential of morphometrics as a tool for inspiring design concepts for novel sporting goods.

Virtual reality hypnosis prior to radiofrequency thermocoagulation for patients with chronic pain: an exploratory clinical trial.

Background: The management of chronic pain may involve an array of tools, including radiofrequency thermocoagulation (Rf-Tc) of sensory nerve terminals. Like many other invasive procedures, Rf-Tc can generate anxiety in a lot of patients, either during the expectation of the procedure or in the course of it. Virtual reality hypnosis (VRH) is a promising tool for managing anxiety and pain in several situations, but its anxiolytic property has not been investigated in participants with chronic pain and going through a Rf-Tc procedure.

Study protocol: Cerebral characterization of sensory gating in disconnected dreaming states during propofol anesthesia using fMRI.

Background: Disconnected consciousness describes a state in which subjective experience (i.e., consciousness) becomes isolated from the external world.

Effect of virtual reality hypnosis on intraoperative sedation needs and functional recovery in knee arthroplasty: a prospective randomized clinical trial.

Background And Objectives: Perioperative psychological stress and pharmacological anxiolysis can negatively affect the quality of recovery after total knee arthroplasty. We aimed to assess whether hypnosis combined with virtual reality could reduce intraoperative pharmacological sedation and improve quality of recovery after total knee arthroplasty surgery.

Methods: In this prospective randomized clinical trial, 60 patients scheduled for total knee arthroplasty with spinal anesthesia were randomly divided into 2 groups of 30 patients each.

Changes in Intrinsic Connectivity Networks Topology Across Levels of Dexmedetomidine-Induced Alteration of Consciousness.

Background: Human consciousness is generally thought to emerge from the activity of intrinsic connectivity networks (resting-state networks [RSNs]) of the brain, which have topological characteristics including, among others, graph strength and efficiency. So far, most functional brain imaging studies in anesthetized subjects have compared wakefulness and unresponsiveness, a state considered as corresponding to unconsciousness. Sedation and general anesthesia not only produce unconsciousness but also phenomenological states of preserved mental content and perception of the environment (connected consciousness), and preserved mental content but no perception of the environment (disconnected consciousness).

Oral as compared to intravenous tranexamic acid to limit peri-operative blood loss associated with primary total hip arthroplasty: A randomised noninferiority trial.

Background: Oral as compared to intravenous tranexamic acid (TXA) is an attractive option, in terms of cost and safety, to reduce blood loss and transfusion in total hip arthroplasty. Exclusion criteria applied in the most recent randomised trials may have limited the generalisability of oral tranexamic acid in this indication. Larger and more inclusive studies are needed to definitively establish oral administration as a credible alternative to intravenous administration.

Preoperative continuation of aspirin before isolated heart valve surgery and postoperative bleeding and transfusion: a single-center retrospective study.

Background: The risks and benefits of preoperative aspirin continuation in patients undergoing isolated heart valve replacement surgery are unclear. We investigated the effect of aspirin continuation on the risk of bleeding and transfusion in these patients.

Methods: In this single center, retrospective study, among 474 adult patients who underwent isolated heart valve surgery between April 2013 and June 2018, 269 continued aspirin within 5 days before surgery (aspirin group) and 205 patients did not take or stopped aspirin no later than 5 days before surgery (non-aspirin group).

Effect of preoperative warming on intraoperative hypothermia and postoperative functional recovery in total hip arthroplasty: a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Intraoperative hypothermia is associated with increased morbidity and impaired postoperative recovery. Direct anterior-approached total hip arthroplasty (ATHA) may lead to significant thermal loss. We aimed to assess whether preoperative warming had an impact on intraoperative hypothermia and postoperative functional recovery after ATHA.

Binocular field configuration in owls: the role of foraging ecology.

The binocular field of vision differs widely in birds depending on ecological traits such as foraging. Owls (Strigiformes) have been considered to have a unique binocular field, but whether it is related to foraging has remained unknown. While taking into account allometry and phylogeny, we hypothesized that both daily activity cycle and diet determine the size and shape of the binocular field in owls.

[Plasma biomarkers in traumatic brain injury : current status].

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a common trauma and a worldwide major cause of mortality or disability in both civilian and military populations. TBI is not a pathological entity in its own, but rather a pattern of heterogeneous traumas with diverse and varied mechanisms and clinical expressions. Therefore, no universal medical response can be settled to it.

Effect of left paratracheal pressure on left carotid blood flow.

Introduction: Gautier et al. demonstrated that a compression in the left paratracheal region (left paratracheal pressure, LPP) can be used to seal the oesophagus. However, at this level, the left common carotid artery is very close to the carotid that could be affected during the manipulation.

The nature of consciousness in anaesthesia.

Neuroscientists agree on the value of locating the source of consciousness within the brain. Anaesthesiologists are no exception, and have their own operational definition of consciousness based on phenomenological observations during anaesthesia. The full functional correlates of consciousness are yet to be precisely identified, however rapidly evolving progress in this scientific domain has yielded several theories that attempt to model the generation of consciousness.

On-table Extubation After Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery: A Retrospective Observational Pilot Study.

Objective: To assess the safety of "on-table" extubation after minimally-invasive heart valve surgery.

Design: A single-center retrospective observational study.

Setting: At a tertiary referral academic hospital.

Depth of sedation with dexmedetomidine increases transcranial magnetic stimulation-evoked potential amplitude non-linearly.

Background: Cortical excitability is higher in unconsciousness than in wakefulness, but it is unclear how this relates to anaesthesia. We investigated cortical excitability in response to dexmedetomidine, the effects of which are not fully known.

Methods: We recorded transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and EEG in frontal and parietal cortex of 20 healthy subjects undergoing dexmedetomidine sedation in four conditions (baseline, light sedation, deep sedation, recovery).

Intra-operative electroencephalogram frontal alpha-band spectral analysis and postoperative delirium in cardiac surgery: A prospective cohort study.

Background: Postoperative delirium (POD) remains a frequent complication after cardiac surgery, with pre-operative cognitive status being one of the main predisposing factors. However, performing complete pre-operative neuropsychological testing is challenging. The magnitude of frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) α oscillations during general anaesthesia has been related to pre-operative cognition and could constitute a functional marker for brain vulnerability.

Comparison of conventional and cooled radiofrequency treatment of the genicular nerves versus sham procedure for patients with chronic knee pain: protocol for a multicentre, double-blind, randomised controlled trial (COGENIUS).

Introduction: The prevalence of chronic knee pain is increasing. Osteoarthritis (OA) and persistent postsurgical pain (PPSP) are two important causes of knee pain. Chronic knee pain is primarily treated with medications, physiotherapy, life-style changes and intra-articular infiltrations.

Management of Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Haemorrhage and its Complications: A Clinical Guide.

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is an emergency that needs prompt diagnosis and treatment with endovascular coiling or surgical clipping of the aneurysm to prevent re-bleeding. In addition to neurologic manifestations, aSAH can cause respiratory and cardiovascular complications. The prevention of hypoxemia and hypercarbia, control of intracranial pressure, and restoration of cerebral perfusion pressure should be the primary aims of early management.

Development and Validation of a Prediction Score for Low-Cardiac-Output Syndrome After Adult Cardiac Surgery.

Objectives: The authors aimed to develop a simple prediction score to help identify patients at high risk of low-cardiac-output syndrome after adult cardiac surgery.

Design: A single-center, retrospective, observational study.

Setting: At a tertiary hospital.