Purpose Ketamine is a N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist with strong analgesic properties. Its addition to the treatment of neuropathic pain may reduce pain intensity and improve overall quality of life. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was performed to investigate the addition of ketamine to the treatment of patients with neuropathic pain. Patients and Methods GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach was used to rate the overall certainty of the evidence for each outcome. Eighteen (18) randomized controlled trials including 706 participants were included for further analysis. Results Ketamine addition to standard treatment of neuropathic pain (NP) resulted in a statistically significant reduction of pain intensity at one week after the end of treatment with ketamine (MD −2.14, 95% CI −2.65 to −1.63; p<0.00001) and after 30 days after the end of treatment with ketamine (MD −1.68, 95% CI −2.25 to −1.12; p<0.00001) and a statistically significant increase in discomfort (RR 4.06; 95% CI 1.18 to 13.95; p=0.03), and psychedelic effects (RR 4.94; 95% CI 2.76 to 8.84; p<0.00001). Conclusion There is a statistically significant pain reduction by adding ketamine to the treatment of chronic NP when compared to the standard treatment. However, such pain reduction comes at the expense of adverse outcomes, especially psychedelic effects related to the administration of ketamine. However, the overall quality of certainty of evidence is low due to the clinical heterogeneity among the intervention characteristics of the trials analyzed (different administration routes, dosing regimen, therapy durations, different clinical characteristics of the population investigated). Future large multi-centered trials are necessary to confirm or not the results of the present review.

The management of fluids and electrolytes in neurosurgical patients aims to reduce the risk of cerebral oedema, reduce ICP and at the same time maintain haemodynamic stability and cerebral perfusion. Neurosurgical patients commonly receive diuretics (mannitol and furosemide), developing complications such as bleeding and diabetes insipidus. These patients may require large volumes of intravenous fluids and even blood transfusions for volume resuscitation, treatment of cerebral vasospasm, correction of preoperative dehydration or maintenance of haemodynamic stability. Goal-oriented therapy is recommended in neurological patients, with the aim of maintaining circulating volume and tolerating the changes induced by anaesthesia (vasodilation and myocardial depression).

Introduction: This systematic review aims to summarize the existing evidence relating to preoperative anemia and clinical outcomes in peripheral vascular surgery patients. Methods: The following databases were searched—PubMed, COCHRANE, LILACS, and Science Research—from 1 January 2010 up to 8 May 2020, with the last search performed on 1 January 2021. An additional manual search for potential primary studies was conducted on major journals (e.g., Anesthesiology, the British Journal of Anesthesia and the European Journal of Anaesthesiology) and reference lists of included studies. Google Scholar was also checked for additional eligible studies. Reviewers independently screened potentially eligible articles and extracted data from included studies on populations, interventions, comparisons, and outcomes. This review was registered at PROSPERO as CRD 180954. Results: In total, 6 observational studies with a combined total of 87,327 participants were analyzed. Data collected in this review suggest that preoperative anemia, especially when hemoglobin is <10 g/dL, is associated with an increased risk of red blood cell transfusions (OR: 7.5; 95% CI 6.3–8.9, p < 0.0001), limb amputation (OR: 5.2; 95% CI 3.1–8.6, p < 0.0001), and death (p < 0.0031). Conclusions: These data suggest an association between preoperative anemia, blood transfusion requirements, and other adverse clinical outcomes among patients subjected to peripheral vascular interventions. However, further investigations, particularly randomized controlled trials, are warranted to better understand the association between preoperative anemia and patients’ prognosis.

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