The implementation of a bleeding management protocol supported by POCCT in a cardiac surgery programme was associated with significant reductions in the transfusion of allogeneic blood products, improved outcomes and reduced cost.

For a six-month period, all airway options used for non-emergent patients undergoing thoracic surgery requiring onelung ventilation at a single institution were assessed after introduction of the VivaSight™ double-lumen endotracheal tube (VivaSight-DL), a novel double-lumen tube with an integrated camera. This device displays a continuous view of the position of the tube relative to the carina. A total of 72 patients had lung separation with the VivaSight-DL. Lung separation was achieved on first attempt without additional manipulation in 85% of cases. In only three cases (4%) was a fibreoptic bronchoscope required, in each instance to reposition the tube after intraoperative dislodgement. The VivaSight-DL represents a novel method of one-lung ventilation allowing rapid identification of intraoperative airway problems and reducing the need for fibreoptic bronchoscopy.

(200)PurposeMid-trial, due to safety, the TA+SPU intervention was replaced with a Suture+TA+SPU group.Results: 221 patients were randomised with two post-randomisation exclusions. CVAD failure was

After sternotomy for coronary artery bypass grafting or valvular surgery, many patients experience significant post-sternotomy incisional pain, as well as pain from saphenous vein excision sites, and pericardiotomy and chest tube insertion points 1-5. Prevention and management of this pain continues to be a major challenge and under-treatment of pain postoperatively persists despite good surgical outcomes. Inadequate pain control after cardiac surgery results in increased morbidity, increased hospital length of stay and worsens patients' outcomes 3,5-7. Patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery often have a range of analgesic medications available to alleviate pain. However, in cardiac surgery, the efficacy of these drugs is tempered by side-effects that can interfere with the stability of the surgical intervention. Opioids, the cornerstone of postoperative pain control after cardiac surgery, have numerous deleterious side-effects as do nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; continuous local anaesthetic infusion may contribute to tissue necrosis and infection, and regional neuraxial anaesthesia is still controversial due to the anticoagulation received by this patient population 8-11. Acute postoperative pain is likely to have a neuropathic component, with numerous mechanisms that result in central and peripheral neural sensitisation. Gabapentin is an anti-epileptic drug that decreases neuropathic pain and the nociceptive processes by binding to the α 2 δ subunit of voltagedependent calcium channels 12. There are currently 26 randomised trials and a number of recent metaanalyses 12-17 that demonstrate the efficacy and safety of gabapentin for perioperative pain control. Gabapentin is safe in therapeutic doses with only minimal side-effects or drug interactions that would be concerning in cardiac surgery 12,13,18 , yet the efficacy of gabapentin in the treatment of postoperative

NOTE: This preprint reports new research that has not been certified by peer review and should not be used to guide clinical practice.