Background: The aim of this post hoc analysis of a large cohort study was to evaluate the association between night-time surgery and the occurrence of intraoperative adverse events (AEs) and postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs). Methods: LAS VEGAS (Local Assessment of Ventilatory Management During General Anesthesia for Surgery) was a prospective international 1-week study that enrolled adult patients undergoing surgical procedures with general anaesthesia and mechanical ventilation in 146 hospitals across 29 countries. Surgeries were defined as occurring during 'daytime' when induction of anaesthesia was between 8:00 AM and 7:59 PM, and as 'night-time' when induction was between 8:00 PM and 7:59 AM. Results: Of 9861 included patients, 555 (5.6%) underwent surgery during night-time. The proportion of patients who developed intraoperative AEs was higher during night-time surgery in unmatched (43.6% vs 34.1%; P<0.001) and propensity-matched analyses (43.7% vs 36.8%; P¼0.029). PPCs also occurred more often in patients who underwent night-time surgery (14% vs 10%; P¼0.004) in an unmatched cohort analysis, although not in a propensity-matched analysis (13.8% vs 11.8%; P¼0.39). In a multivariable regression model, including patient characteristics and types of surgery and anaesthesia, night-time surgery was independently associated with a higher incidence of intraoperative AEs (odds ratio: 1.44; 95% confidence interval: 1.09e1.90; P¼0.01), but not with a higher incidence of PPCs (odds ratio: 1.32; 95% confidence interval: 0.89e1.90; P¼0.15). Conclusions: Intraoperative adverse events and postoperative pulmonary complications occurred more often in patients undergoing night-time surgery. Imbalances in patients' clinical characteristics, types of surgery, and intraoperative management at night-time partially explained the higher incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications, but not the higher incidence of adverse events. Clinical trial registration: NCT01601223.

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess whether vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) increases the incidence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), esophagitis and Barrett esophagus (BE) relative to patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) in patients with and without preoperative GERD. Summary of Background Data: Concerns for potentiation of GERD, supported by multiple high-quality retrospective studies, have hindered greater adoption of the VSG. Methods: From the OptumLabs Data Warehouse, VSG and RYGB patients with ≥2 years enrollment were identified and matched by follow-up time. GERD [reflux esophagitis, prescription for acid reducing medication (Rx) and/or diagnosis of BE], upper endoscopy (UE), and re-admissions were evaluated beyond 90 days. Results: A total of 8362 patients undergoing VSG were matched 1:1 to patients undergoing RYGB, on the basis of post-operative follow-up interval. Age, sex, and follow-up time were similar between the 2 groups (P > 0.05). Among all patients, postoperative GERD was more frequently observed in VSG patients relative to RYGB patients (60.2% vs 55.6%, respectively; P < 0.001), whereas BE was more prevalent in RYGB patients (0.7% vs 1.1%; P = 0.007). Postoperatively, de novo esophageal reflux symptomatology was more common in VSG patients (39.3% vs 35.3%; P < 0.001), although there was no difference in development of the histologic diagnoses reflux esophagitis and BE. Furthermore, postoperative re-admission was higher in the RYGB cohort (38.9% vs 28.9%; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Compared to RYGB, VSG may not have inferior long-term GERD outcomes, while also leading to fewer re-hospitalizations. These data challenge the prevailing opinion that patients with GERD should undergo RYGB instead of VSG.

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Kidney transplantation remains the preferred modality of treatment for patients with end-stage renal disease. In Sudan, kidney transplantation accounted for 28% of the total provided renal replacement therapies. A cross-sectional, hospital-based study was conducted in hemodialysis (HD) units in Khartoum State during the period from September 2010 to January 2011. It aimed to determine the main reasons for the currently low renal transplantation rate. Data were obtained by direct interviewing using a specifically pre-coded and pre-tested questionnaire following a pilot study. A total of 462 adult HD patients were randomly selected from the various HD units in Khartoum State; these patients accounted for 16.9% of the total HD population in Khartoum State. The mean age of the study patients was 48.5 ± 23.6 years and 312 (67.5%) were males. Upon interviewing, only 316 patients (68.4%) said that they had been counseled for kidney transplantation. One hundred and twenty-two patients (26.4%) were on the active transplant list; of these, 50% preferred to have their kidney transplantation performed abroad, mostly due to the availability of commercial transplantation and/or a presumed better outcome. The low renal transplantation rate was due to financial constraints in 112 patients (24.2%), lack of medical fitness in 97 patients (21%) and absence of a suitable kidney donor in 92 patients (20%), while 56 patients (12%) were still having misperceptions regarding transplantation and preferred to continue on dialysis. To improve the kidney transplantation rate in Khartoum State, the Sudan program for organ transplantation is expected to take more initiatives to promote and improve the outcome of kidney transplants inside the country and, accordingly, regain the patients' confidence on the health system.