Among adults undergoing noncardiac surgery, MINS is common and associated with substantial mortality.

Background The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence, characteristics, impact, and risk factors associated with persistent incisional pain. The hypothesis was that patient demographics and perioperative interventions are associated with persistent pain. Methods This was a secondary analysis of an international prospective cohort study from 2012 to 2014. This study included patients who were 45 yr of age or older who underwent major inpatient noncardiac surgery. Data were collected perioperatively and at 1 yr after surgery to assess for the development of persistent incisional pain (pain present around incision at 1 yr after surgery). Results Among 14,831 patients, 495 (3.3%; 95% CI, 3.1 to 3.6) reported persistent incisional pain at 1 yr, with an average pain intensity of 3.6 ± 2.5 (0 to 10 numeric rating scale), with 35% and 14% reporting moderate and severe pain intensities, respectively. More than half of patients with persistent pain reported needing analgesic medications, and 85% reported interference with daily activities (denominator = 495 in the above proportions). Risk factors for persistent pain included female sex (P = 0.007), Asian ethnicity (P < 0.001), surgery for fracture (P < 0.001), history of chronic pain (P < 0.001), coronary artery disease (P < 0.001), history of tobacco use (P = 0.048), postoperative patient-controlled analgesia (P < 0.001), postoperative continuous nerve block (P = 0.010), insulin initiation within 24 h of surgery (P < 0.001), and withholding nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication or cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors on the day of surgery (P = 0.029 and P < 0.001, respectively). Older age (P < 0.001), endoscopic surgery (P = 0.005), and South Asian (P < 0.001), Native American/Australian (P = 0.004), and Latin/Hispanic ethnicities (P < 0.001) were associated with a lower risk of persistent pain. Conclusions Persistent incisional pain is a common complication of inpatient noncardiac surgery, occurring in approximately 1 in 30 adults. It results in significant morbidity, interferes with daily living, and is associated with persistent analgesic consumption. Certain demographics, ethnicities, and perioperative practices are associated with increased risk of persistent pain. Editor’s Perspective What We Already Know about This Topic What This Article Tells Us That Is New

We have compared the effect of rocuronium and succinylcholine on intraocular pressure (IOP) during rapid sequence induction of anaesthesia using propofol and fentanyl, in a randomized double-blind study. We studied 30 adult patients, allocated to one of two groups. Anaesthesia was induced with fentanyl 2 micrograms kg-1 and propofol until loss of verbal response. This was followed by succinylcholine 1.5 mg kg-1 (group S; n = 15) or rocuronium 0.9 mg kg-1 (group R; n = 15). Laryngoscopy was performed 60 s later. IOP, mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were measured before induction, immediately before intubation and every minute after intubation for 5 min. A Keeler Pulsair air impulse tonometer was used to measure IOP and the mean of two readings obtained in the right eye at each measurement time was recorded. Intubating conditions were evaluated according to a simple scoring system. IOP in the succinylcholine group was significantly greater than that in the rocuronium group (mean 21.6 (SEM 1.4) mm Hg vs 13.3 (1.4) mm Hg; P < 0.001). Intubating conditions were equally good in both groups. We conclude that with rapid sequence induction of anaesthesia using propofol and fentanyl, rocuronium did not cause as great an increase in IOP as succinylcholine and may be an alternative in open eye injury cases.

Background For patients undergoing noncardiac surgery, bleeding and hypotension are frequent and associated with increased mortality and cardiovascular complications. Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an antifibrinolytic agent with the potential to reduce surgical bleeding; however, there is uncertainty about its efficacy and safety in noncardiac surgery. Although usual perioperative care is commonly consistent with a hypertension-avoidance strategy (i.e., most patients continue their antihypertensive medications throughout the perioperative period and intraoperative mean arterial pressures of 60 mmHg are commonly accepted), a hypotension-avoidance strategy may improve perioperative outcomes. Methods The PeriOperative Ischemic Evaluation (POISE)-3 Trial is a large international randomized controlled trial designed to determine if TXA is superior to placebo for the composite outcome of life-threatening, major, and critical organ bleeding, and non-inferior to placebo for the occurrence of major arterial and venous thrombotic events, at 30 days after randomization. Using a partial factorial design, POISE-3 will additionally determine the effect of a hypotension-avoidance strategy versus a hypertension-avoidance strategy on the risk of major cardiovascular events, at 30 days after randomization. The target sample size is 10,000 participants. Patients ≥45 years of age undergoing noncardiac surgery, with or at risk of cardiovascular and bleeding complications, are randomized to receive a TXA 1 g intravenous bolus or matching placebo at the start and at the end of surgery. Patients, health care providers, data collectors, outcome adjudicators, and investigators are blinded to the treatment allocation. Patients on ≥ 1 chronic antihypertensive medication are also randomized to either of the two blood pressure management strategies, which differ in the management of patient antihypertensive medications on the morning of surgery and on the first 2 days after surgery, and in the target mean arterial pressure during surgery. Outcome adjudicators are blinded to the blood pressure treatment allocation. Patients are followed up at 30 days and 1 year after randomization. Discussion Bleeding and hypotension in noncardiac surgery are common and have a substantial impact on patient prognosis. The POISE-3 trial will evaluate two interventions to determine their impact on bleeding, cardiovascular complications, and mortality. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03505723. Registered on 23 April 2018.

Summary Tranexamic acid is an antifibrinolytic drug that is widely used during surgery, but there are concerns about its thromboembolic effects. We aimed to investigate the effect of prophylactic intravenous tranexamic acid on thromboembolic outcomes in patients undergoing non‐cardiac surgery. The MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched. Randomised controlled trials comparing intravenous tranexamic acid with placebo or no treatment in patients undergoing non‐cardiac surgery were included. The primary outcome was a composite of peri‐operative cardiovascular thromboembolic events, defined as any deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, myocardial ischaemia/infarction or cerebral ischaemia/infarction. A total of 191 randomised controlled trials (40,621 patients) were included in the review. The primary outcome occurred in 4.5% of patients receiving intravenous tranexamic acid compared with 4.9% of patients in the control group. Our analysis showed that there was no difference between groups for composite cardiovascular thromboembolic events (risk ratio 1.02, 95%CI 0.94–1.11, p = 0.65, I2 0%, n = 37,512). This finding remained robust when sensitivity analysis was performed with continuity correction and in studies with a low risk of bias. However, in trial sequential analysis, our meta‐analysis only achieved 64.6% of the required information size. There was no association between intravenous tranexamic acid and seizure rate or mortality rate within 30 days. Intravenous tranexamic acid was associated with a reduced blood transfusion rate compared with control (9.9% vs. 19.4%, risk ratio 0.46, 95%CI 0.41–0.51, p < 0.0001). It was encouraging to see the evidence that the administration of intravenous tranexamic in patients undergoing non‐cardiac surgery was not associated with an increased risk of thromboembolic outcomes. However, our trial sequential analysis demonstrated that currently available evidence is not yet sufficient to reach a firm conclusion.