Background: Intraoperative mortality is now rare, but death within 30 days of surgery remains surprisingly common. Perioperative myocardial infarction is associated with a remarkably high mortality. There are strong associations between hypotension and myocardial injury, myocardial infarction, renal injury, and death. Perioperative arterial blood pressure management was thus the basis of a Perioperative Quality Initiative consensus-building conference held in London in July 2017. Methods: The meeting featured a modified Delphi process in which groups addressed various aspects of perioperative arterial pressure.

Intranasal dexmedetomidine produces more sedation than oral midazolam, but with similar and acceptable cooperation.

Gabapentin is a second generation anticonvulsant that is effective in the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain. It was not, until recently, thought to be useful in acute perioperative conditions. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that perioperative administration is efficacious for postoperative analgesia, preoperative anxiolysis, attenuation of the haemodynamic response to laryngoscopy and intubation, and preventing chronic post-surgical pain, postoperative nausea and vomiting, and delirium. This article reviews the clinical trial data describing the efficacy and safety of gabapentin in the setting of perioperative anaesthetic management.