Despite multiple interventions, the incidence of chronic pain after mastectomy could be as high as 50% after surgery. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) before anesthesia induction in reducing chronic pain and to compare the effect of combined acupoint TEAS with that of single acupoint TEAS. A multicenter randomized clinical trial. The study was conducted at six medical centers in China from May 2016 to April 2018. Final follow-up was on October 26, 2018. Eligible patients were women scheduled for radical mastectomy under general anesthesia. Patients were randomly and equally grouped into sham control (n = 188), single acupoint (PC6, n = 198), or combined acupoints (PC6 and CV17, n = 190) TEAS groups using a centralized computer-generated randomization system. TEAS was applied for 30 min before anesthesia induction. The sham-operated control group received electrode attachment but without stimulation. Anesthesiologists, surgeons, and outcome assessors were blinded to the interventions. The primary endpoint was the incidence of chronic pain 6 months after surgery. Incidences were compared among the groups using the unadjusted χ² test. Of the 576 randomized patients, 568 completed the trial. In the intention-to-treat analysis, post-mastectomy pain at 6 months was reported in 42 of 190 patients (22.1%) in the combined acupoints group, 65 of 188 patients (34.6%) in the sham-operated group (P = 0.007; relative risk [RR], 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.68, 0.52-0.89), and 72 of 198 patients (36.4%) in the single acupoint group (P = 0.002; RR, 95% CI: 0.72, 0.55-0.93). Remifentanil consumption during surgery and postoperative nausea and vomiting at 24 h after surgery were lower in the combined acupoint group than that in the sham-operated group. TEAS at combined acupoints before surgery was associated with reduced chronic pain 6 months after surgery. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02741726. Registered on April 13, 2016.

Article: Remimazolam versus propofol for procedural sedation and anesthesia: a systemic review and meta-analysis - Minerva Anestesiologica 2022 Nov 03 - Minerva Medica - Journals

Our study aspires to understand the impact of miR-27b on myocardial fibrosis as well as its functional mechanism. 12 days post the ligation of coronary artery in rats, the expression of miR-27b in the peri-infarction region was elevated. Treating cultivated rat neonatal cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) with angiotensin II (AngII) also enhanced the miR-27b expression. Forced expression of miR-27b promoted the proliferation and collagen production in rat neonatal CFs, as revealed by cell counting, MTT assay, and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. FBW7 was found to be the miR-27b's target since the overexpression of miR-27b reduced the transcriptional level of FBW7. The enhanced expression of FBW7 protein abrogated the effects of miR-27b in cultured CFs, while the siRNA silence of FBW7 promoted the pro-fibrosis activity of AngII. As to the mechanism, we found that the expression of FBW7 led to the degradation of Snail, which is an important regulator of cardiac epithelial-mesenchymal transitions. Importantly, inhibition of miR-27b abrogated the coronary artery ligation (CAL) induced cardiac fibrosis in vivo, suggesting that it might be a potential target for the treatment of fibrosis associated cardiac diseases.

Background: Postoperative cognitive complications are major challenges for postoperative recovery. Acupuncture-related techniques have been used for treating neurocognitive dysfunctions. However, whether they help to prevent postoperative cognitive complicationss remains unclear. We intend to evaluate the effect of acupuncture-related techniques on the incidence of postoperative cognitive complications (PCC) in patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia. Methods: Based on PRISMA guidelines, a search of PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and ClinicalTrials.gov was performed to identify eligible trials published from inception to June 6, 2021. The search was performed in June 2021. The inclusion criteria were prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trials that compared acupuncture-related techniques with other techniques or non-acupuncture treatment in patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia. Pooled odds ratios (ORs), 95% CIs, and P values were estimated for end points using fixed and random effects statistical models. Results: The analysis included 12 studies with 1058 patients. Compared with patients not receiving acupuncture, patients treated with acupuncture-related techniques had a lower incidence of PCCs (OR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.59; P < 0.001; n = 968) and lower levels of biomarkers, including IL-6, TNF-α, and S100β. Acupuncture with needles and without needles showed similar effects on the prevention of PCCs. The effects of acupuncture-related techniques on PCCs were observed in both English and non-English articles. Subgroup analyses showed that both agitation and/or delirium (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.34 to 0.76; P < 0.001; n = 490) and delayed cognitive recovery (OR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.21 to 0.51; P < 0.001; n = 478) were reduced after treatment with acupuncture-related techniques. In adult studies evaluating MMSE scores, the scores were not different between groups (SMD, − 0.71; 95% CI, − 1.72 to 0.3; P = 0.17; n = 441). Conclusions: Acupuncture-related techniques, including needle techniques and electrical techniques, are associated with fewer postoperative cognitive complications, suggesting that acupuncture could be considered a potential option in the perioperative setting. Additional research is needed to develop higher-quality evidence and optimal regimens. Trial registration: PROSPERO (CRD42021258378).

Background: Norepinephrine infusion decreases hypotension after spinal anesthesia during cesarean section. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of norepinephrine infusion and ephedrine bolus against post-spinal hypotension in parturients. Methods: In this double-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trial, parturients scheduled for elective cesarean section were randomly allocated to receive norepinephrine infusion (0.05 μg·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹) just before spinal anesthesia continuing for 30 min or ephedrine bolus (0.15 mg/kg) just before spinal anesthesia. A rescue bolus (5 μg norepinephrine for the norepinephrine group, and 5 mg ephedrine for the ephedrine group) was administered whenever hypotension occurred. Our primary outcome was the incidence of hypotension within 30 min of spinal anesthesia administration. Secondary outcomes included maternal and neonatal outcomes 30 min after spinal block, and neonatal cerebral oxygenation 10 min after birth. Results: In total, 190 patients were enrolled; of these patients, 177 were included in the final analysis. Fewer patients suffered hypotension in the norepinephrine group than in the ephedrine group (29.5% vs. 44.9%, odds ratio [OR]: 0.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.28–0.95, P = 0.034). Moreover, the tachycardia frequency was lower in the norepinephrine group than in the ephedrine group (OR: 0.22, 95% CI: 0.11–0.44, P < 0.001), and patients suffered less nausea and vomiting (OR: 0.28, 95% CI: 0.11–0.70, P = 0.004). There was no difference in Apgar scores and umbilical arterial blood gas analysis between the two groups. However, neonatal cerebral regional saturations were significantly higher after birth in the norepinephrine group than in the ephedrine group (mean difference: 2.0%, 95% CI: 0.55%–3.45%, P = 0.008). Conclusion: In patients undergoing elective cesarean section with spinal anesthesia, norepinephrine infusion compared to ephedrine bolus resulted in less hypotension and tachycardia, and exhibited potential neonatal benefits. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02542748; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT02542748