A series published in Anesthesia & Analgesia, the first articles of which are published in the April 2011 issue of the journal, will discuss emerging strategies for identifying and managing patients at high risk of surgical complications.
The three-month series will focus on a systems approach to high-risk surgery rather than a fragmented disease-oriented approach, according to an introductory editorial by Jukka Takala, MD, of University of Bern in Switzerland.
In one of the first articles of the series, researchers discuss the results of a study that found approximately 12 percent of all patients accounted for more than 80 percent of postoperative deaths, with high use of healthcare resources. According to the study's authors, wide variations in healthcare delivery may lead to significant differences in mortality and complication rates.
They acknowledge that traditional approaches to assessing patient risk, such as the American Society of Anesthesiologists' physical status score, have limits as well as benefits. The authors say there is a "pressing requirement" to develop more precise risk stratification with higher predictive value, especially for patients undergoing emergency surgery who are generally at increased risk of poor outcomes.
Read more on the Anesthesia & Analgesia series on high-risk surgery.
Read more on anesthesia:
-Hemoglobin Monitor May Help Providers Monitor Blood Hemoglobin Levels Noninvasively
-Orphan Drug Could Make Morphine Safer, More Effective
-Anesthesiologists Say Research on Hyperglycemia and SSI 'Not Ready for Prime Time'
The three-month series will focus on a systems approach to high-risk surgery rather than a fragmented disease-oriented approach, according to an introductory editorial by Jukka Takala, MD, of University of Bern in Switzerland.
In one of the first articles of the series, researchers discuss the results of a study that found approximately 12 percent of all patients accounted for more than 80 percent of postoperative deaths, with high use of healthcare resources. According to the study's authors, wide variations in healthcare delivery may lead to significant differences in mortality and complication rates.
They acknowledge that traditional approaches to assessing patient risk, such as the American Society of Anesthesiologists' physical status score, have limits as well as benefits. The authors say there is a "pressing requirement" to develop more precise risk stratification with higher predictive value, especially for patients undergoing emergency surgery who are generally at increased risk of poor outcomes.
Read more on the Anesthesia & Analgesia series on high-risk surgery.
Read more on anesthesia:
-Hemoglobin Monitor May Help Providers Monitor Blood Hemoglobin Levels Noninvasively
-Orphan Drug Could Make Morphine Safer, More Effective
-Anesthesiologists Say Research on Hyperglycemia and SSI 'Not Ready for Prime Time'