MATERIALS AND METHODS: A PubMed, Medline, EMBASE and Google search was undertaken of all controlled clinical trials on the effects of corticosteroids on pain, swelling and trismus after lower third molar surgery. The review was limited to studies published over the last 10 years (2006-2015).
RESULTS: Of the 46 initially retrieved articles, 34 were finally included. Eleven studies compared the effect of 2 similar (but different dose) or different group of corticosteroids. Thirty-one studies reported the effects of corticosteroids on all sequale, 2 reported the outcome on swelling and trismus and another 1 on swelling and pain only. In 16 of the studies, corticosteroid use resulted in significant reductions in pain after third molar removal. Twenty-two out of 29 studies reported reduced swelling against negative control while 18 out of 25 studies reported improved mouth opening. Fourteen studies reported the benefit of corticosteroids on all 3 sequelae, with 71.4% resulted from the use of methylprednisolone.
CONCLUSION: Although there are some conflicting effects, the results of this analysis shows in general the benefits derived from short-term use of corticosteroids in relation to pain, swelling and trismus following third molar surgical extraction, with no side effects observed.
FUNDING: This work was supported by the University of Malaya's High Impact Research grant UM.C/625/1/HIR/MOHE/05.
METHODS AND RESULTS: The 'COlchicine for the Prevention of Perioperative Atrial Fibrillation' (COP-AF) trial is an international, blinded, randomized trial that compares colchicine to placebo in patients aged at least 55 years and undergoing major noncardiac thoracic surgery with general anesthesia. Exclusion criteria include a history of AF and a contraindication to colchicine (eg, severe renal dysfunction). Oral colchicine at a dose of 0.5 mg or matching placebo is given within 4 hours before surgery. Thereafter, patients receive colchicine 0.5 mg or placebo twice daily for a total of 10 days. The 2 independent co-primary outcomes are clinically important perioperative AF (including atrial flutter) and MINS during 14 days of follow-up. The main safety outcomes are sepsis or infection and non-infectious diarrhea. We aim to enroll 3,200 patients from approximately 40 sites across 11 countries to have at least 80% power for the independent evaluation of the 2 co-primary outcomes. The COP-AF main results are expected in 2023.
CONCLUSIONS: COP-AF is a large randomized and blinded trial designed to determine whether colchicine reduces the risk of perioperative AF or MINS in patients who have major noncardiac thoracic surgery.
METHODS: The authors randomized 10,010 patients with or at risk of atherosclerosis and scheduled for noncardiac surgery in a 1:1:1:1 ratio to clonidine/aspirin, clonidine/aspirin placebo, clonidine placebo/aspirin, or clonidine placebo/aspirin placebo. Patients started taking aspirin or placebo just before surgery; those not previously taking aspirin continued daily for 30 days, and those taking aspirin previously continued for 7 days. Patients were also randomly assigned to receive clonidine or placebo just before surgery, with the study drug continued for 72 h.
RESULTS: Neither aspirin nor clonidine had a significant effect on the primary 1-yr outcome, a composite of death or nonfatal myocardial infarction, with a 1-yr hazard ratio for aspirin of 1.00 (95% CI, 0.89 to 1.12; P = 0.948; 586 patients [11.8%] vs. 589 patients [11.8%]) and a hazard ratio for clonidine of 1.07 (95% CI, 0.96 to 1.20; P = 0.218; 608 patients [12.1%] vs. 567 patients [11.3%]), with effect on death or nonfatal infarction. Reduction in death and nonfatal myocardial infarction from aspirin in patients who previously had percutaneous coronary intervention at 30 days persisted at 1 yr. Specifically, the hazard ratio was 0.58 (95% CI, 0.35 to 0.95) in those with previous percutaneous coronary intervention and 1.03 (95% CI, 0.91to 1.16) in those without (interaction P = 0.033). There was no significant effect of either drug on death, cardiovascular complications, cancer, or chronic incisional pain at 1 yr (all P > 0.1).
CONCLUSIONS: Neither perioperative aspirin nor clonidine have significant long-term effects after noncardiac surgery. Perioperative aspirin in patients with previous percutaneous coronary intervention showed persistent benefit at 1 yr, a plausible sub-group effect.
METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted among general surgeons attending the annual Malaysian College of Surgeons meeting in 2002. A total of 110 questionnaires were distributed to specialist-grade general surgeons with varying subspecialty interests.
RESULTS: Seventy-seven (70%) surgeons returned the questionnaire. Of these, 43% were of the opinion that VTE was as common in Asian patients as in the West. Selective VTE prophylaxis was used by 99% in their practice. The indications for use, in order of frequency, were: previous VTE disease, risk grading, prolonged surgery, obesity, malignancy and age. Low molecular weight heparin was the most common type of prophylaxis used. VTE-related morbidity was reported by 44 surgeons (57%) over the past year, and 39% of these cases were fatal.
CONCLUSION: The high incidence of VTE-related complications indicates that the use of thromboprophylaxis is either insufficient or not matched to the level of risk. Updated guidelines on VTE prophylaxis should be used so that a standardized approach can ensure that patients receive adequate prophylaxis where indicated.
METHODS: Patients with mild to moderate ABP were prospectively randomized to either an early cholecystectomy versus a delayed cholecystectomy group. Recurrent biliary events, peri-operative complications, conversion rate, length of surgery and total hospital length of stay between the two groups were evaluated.
RESULTS: A total of 72 patients were enrolled at a single public hospital. Of them, 38 were randomized to the early group and 34 patients to the delayed group. There were no differences regarding peri-operative complications (7.78% vs 11.76%; p = 0.700), conversion rate to open surgery (10.53% vs 11.76%; p = 1.000) and duration of surgery performed (80 vs 85 minutes, p = 0.752). Nevertheless, a greater rate of recurrent biliary events was found in the delayed group (44.12% vs 0%; p ≤ 0.0001) and the hospital length of stay was longer in the delayed group (9 vs 8 days, p = 0.002).
CONCLUSION: In mild to moderate ABP, early laparoscopic cholecystectomy reduces the risk of recurrent biliary events without an increase in operative difficulty or perioperative morbidity.
METHODS: A hundred and twenty ASA 1-3 adults were randomly reversed with 1 mg/kg sugammadex prior to extubation followed by another 1 mg/kg immediately after extubation (staggered group), single dose of 2 mg/kg sugammadex (single bolus group) or neostigmine 0.02 mg/kg with glycopyrrolate (neostigmine group).
RESULTS: We found 70% of patients (n = 28) reversed with single boluses of sugammadex had Grade 3 emergence cough compared to 12.5% (n = 5) in the staggered sugammadex group and 17.5% (n = 7) in the neostigmine group (p control given neostigmine. In terms of timing, there was no delay in time taken from discontinuing anesthetic agents to reversal and extubation if sugammadex was staggered (emergence time 6.0 ± 3.2 s, p = 0.625 and reversal time 6.5 ± 3.5, p = 0.809).
CONCLUSIONS: Staggering the dose of sugammadex for reversal will effectively decrease common emergence and early postoperative complications.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: ANZCTR Number ACTRN12616000116426 . Retrospectively registered on 2nd February 2016.
METHODS: Four electronic full-text databases were systematically searched through September 2017. Data including outcomes of annular closure device/annular repair were extracted. All results were pooled utilising meta-analysis with weighted mean difference and odds ratio as summary statistics.
RESULTS: Four studies met inclusion criteria. Three studies reported the use of Barricaid (ACD) while one study reported the use of Anulex (AR). A total of 24 symptomatic reherniation were reported among 811 discectomies with ACD/AR as compared to 51 out of 645 in the control group (OR: 0.34; 95% CI: 0.20,0.56; I2 = 0%; P control group (OR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.13, 2.23; I2 = 11%; P = 0.39). Similar outcomes for post-operative Oswestry Disability Index and visual analogue scale were obtained when both groups were compared.
CONCLUSION: Early results showed the use of Barricaid and Anulex devices are beneficial for short term outcomes demonstrating reduction in symptomatic disc reherniation with low post-operative complication rates. Long-term studies are required to further investigate the efficacy of such devices.
METHODS: We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE and trial registries for randomised controlled trials that evaluated metoprolol for preventing the occurrence of POAF after surgery against other treatments or placebo. Random-effects model was used for estimating the risk ratios (RRs) and mean differences with 95% CIs.
RESULTS: Nine trials involving 1570 patients showed metoprolol reduced POAF compared with placebo (416 patients; RR 0.46, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.66; I²=21%; risk difference (RD) -0.19, 95% CI -0.28 to -0.10). However, metoprolol increased the risk of POAF compared with carvedilol (159 patients; RR 1.59, 95% CI 1.20 to 2.12; I²=4%; RD 0.13, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.20). There was no difference when compared with sotalol or amiodarone. The occurrence of cardiovascular conditions after drugs administration or death between the groups was not different. The overall quality of evidence was moderate to high. Subgroup analysis and funnel plot were not performed.
CONCLUSIONS: Metoprolol is effective in preventing POAF compared with placebo and showed no difference with class III antiarrhythmic drugs. Death and thromboembolism are associated with open heart surgery, but not significant in relation to the use of metoprolol.
PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019131585.
Methods: We searched for articles from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science, Scopus, and CINAHL plus. From 2002 to 2015, 31 articles meeting the inclusion criteria were identified in the literature. Risk of bias and heterogeneity were assessed. Network meta-analyses (NMA) were performed using random-effects modeling to obtain estimates for study outcomes. Risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. We then ranked the comparative effects of all regimens with the surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) probabilities.
Results: A total of 2,952 patients were included. We found that synbiotic therapy was the best regimen in reducing surgical site infection (SSI) (RR = 0.28; 95% CI, 0.12-0.64) in adult surgical patients. Synbiotic therapy was also the best intervention to reduce pneumonia (RR = 0.28; 95% CI, 0.09-0.90), sepsis (RR = 0.09; 95% CI, 0.01-0.94), hospital stay (mean = 9.66 days, 95% CI, 7.60-11.72), and duration of antibiotic administration (mean = 5.61 days, 95% CI, 3.19-8.02). No regimen significantly reduced mortality.
Conclusions: This network meta-analysis suggests that synbiotic therapy is the first rank to reduce SSI, pneumonia, sepsis, hospital stay, and antibiotic use. Surgeons should consider the use of synbiotics as an adjunctive therapy to prevent POCs among adult surgical patients. Increasing use of synbiotics may help to reduce the use of antibiotics and multidrug resistance.
METHODS: The mean follow-up for 60 AIS (Lenke 1 and Lenke 2) patients was 49.3 ± 8.4 months. Optimal UIV tilt angle was calculated from the cervical supine side bending radiographs. Lateral shoulder imbalance was graded using the clinical shoulder grading. The clinical neck tilt grading was as follows: Grade 0: no neck tilt, Grade 1: actively correctable neck tilt, Grade 2: neck tilt that cannot be corrected by active contraction and Grade 3: severe neck tilt with trapezial asymmetry >1 cm. T1 tilt, clavicle angle and cervical axis were measured. UIVDiff (difference between post-operative UIV tilt and pre-operative Optimal UIV tilt) and the reserve motion of the UIV were correlated with the outcome measures. Patients were assessed at 6 weeks and at final follow-up with a minimum follow-up duration of 24 months.
RESULTS: Among patients with grade 0 neck tilt, 88.2 % of patients had the UIV tilt angle within the reserve motion range. This percentage dropped to 75.0 % in patients with grade 1 neck tilt whereas in patients with grade 2 and grade 3 neck tilt, the percentage dropped further to 22.2 and 20.0 % (p = 0.000). The occurrence of grade 2 and 3 neck tilt when UIVDiff was <5°, 5-10° and >10° was 9.5, 50.0 and 100.0 %, respectively (p = 0.005). UIVDiff and T1 tilt had a positive and strong correlation (r2 = 0.618). However, UIVDiff had poor correlation with clavicle angle and the lateral shoulder imbalance.
CONCLUSION: An optimal UIV tilt might prevent neck tilt with 'medial' shoulder imbalance due to trapezial prominence and but not 'lateral' shoulder imbalance.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate what type of flap used during Snodgrass or fistula repair reduces the incidence of fistula occurrence.
EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: We systematically reviewed published results for urethral covering during Snodgrass and fistula repair procedures. An initial online search detected 1740 reports. After exclusion of ineligible studies at two stages, we included all patients with clear data on the covering technique used (dartos fascia [DF] vs tunica vaginalis flap [TVF]) and the incidence of postoperative fistula.
EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: A total of 51 reports were identified involving 4550 patients, including 33 series on DF use, 11 series on TVF use, and seven retrospective comparative studies. For distal hypospadias, double-layer DF had the lowest rate of fistula incidence when compared to single-layer DF (5/855 [0.6%] vs 156/3077 [5.1%]; p=0.004) and TVF (5/244, 2.0%), while the incidence was highest for single-layer DF among proximal hypospadias cases (9/102, 8.8%). Among repeat cases, fistula incidence was significantly lower for TVF (3/47, 6.4%) than for DF (26/140, 18.6%; p=0.020). Among patients with fistula after primary repair, the incidence of recurrence was 12.2% (11/90) after DF and 5.1% (5/97) after TVF (p=0.39). The absence of a minimum follow-up time and the lack of information regarding skin complications and rates of urethral stricture are limitations of this study.
CONCLUSION: A double DF during tubularized incised plate urethroplasty should be considered for all patients with distal hypospadias. In proximal, repeat, and fistula repair cases, TVF should be the first choice. On the basis of these findings, we propose an evidence-based algorithm for surgeons who are still in their learning phase or want to improve their results.
PATIENT SUMMARY: We systematically reviewed the impact of urethral covering in reducing fistula formation after hypospadias repair. We propose an algorithm that might help to maximize success rates for tubularized incised plate urethroplasty.
OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study was to develop a new LSM scoring system and investigate the correlation between adherence to LSM and incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) at 12-month follow-up.
METHOD: A total of 1000 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) were included in this prospective single-center study. Manipal lifestyle modification score (MLSMS) was developed by using five lifestyle-related factors. Adherence to LSM at the baseline and subsequent follow-ups was determined by using MLSMS. The MACE at 1-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up were analyzed.
RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in overall adherence to LSM (p