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Anaesthesiology
More patients than thought are conscious in surgery, especially women – cohort study
The largest study yet on connected consciousness during general anaesthesia suggests that the phenomenon may be more common than initially believed.
General anaesthesia has been...
Unexpected finding: Patients isolating before surgery at 20% greater risk of post-operative lung problems
Patients isolating before surgery - mainly to avoid COVID-19 and its complications – are actually at a 20% increased risk of developing post-operative lung...
Algorithms accurately gauge unconsciousness under general anaesthesia
Artificial intelligence, attuned to the kind of anaesthetic being used, can yield algorithms that assess unconsciousness in patients based on brain activity with high...
SA Society of Anaesthesiologists: Initial COVID-19 guidance
The South African Society of Anaesthesiologists (SASA) has used the opportunity of the 2020 SASA Congress to develop an initial COVID-19 guidance for members....
What it's like waking up during surgery
There is now evidence that around 5% of people may wake up on the operating table, according to a report on Wellcome's Mosaic site....
Severe burnout among SA anaesthetists is 3x international average
The levels of stress and long working hours among SA anaesthetists are increasingly unsustainable with 40% of those in the state sector suffering from burnout,...
Flawed WHO advice may be putting surgery patients at risk
Patients may have been placed at risk of serious harm because of flawed advice to administer highly concentrated oxygen after surgery, leading anaesthetists have...
DPO readings not affected by nail polish or acrylic nails
Research at this year's Euroanaesthesia Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark, suggests that nail treatments such as acrylic nails or nail polishes do not, as previously...
Antibiotics the main cause of anaphylaxis during surgery
Antibiotics are the main cause of life-threatening allergic reactions during surgery, according to a Royal College of Anaesthetistsreport. More patients are claiming to be...
No evidence that anaesthesia before 3-years impacts on child's IQ
A Mayo Clinic study finds no evidence that children given anaesthesia before their third birthdays have lower IQs than those who did not have...
Alleviating migraine pain in hard-to-treat patients
Ketamine, a medication commonly used for pain relief and increasingly for depression, may help alleviate migraine pain in patients who have not been helped...
Benefits of sedatives before surgery questioned
A randomised trial finds that among patients undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia, receiving the sedative lorazepam before surgery did not improve the self-reported patient experience the day after surgery, but was associated with longer time before extubation and a lower rate of cognitive recovery.
Limitations to 'kiddie caudal' study
An editorial in Anaesthesia & Analgesia draws attention to some important limitations of recent reassuring data on the safety of caudal nerve block – sometimes called the 'kiddie caudal' – for infants and young children undergoing surgery.