Marija Žaja

In hip fracture patients, who are mostly elderly, preexisting anemia can be worsened when combined with trauma and surgery. To this date, there is no unequivocal approach about transfusion thresholds. We analyzed hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Hct) levels at three time points in surgical patients with proximal femoral fractures (PFF) to see which levels were triggers for transfusions and whether transfusions were related to mortality after hospital discharge. A total of 956 patients were operated on from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2022 at the University Hospital of Split and included in the study. There were more women (74%); 47% patients had admission Hb < 120 g/L. Transfusion was given preoperatively to 88, intraoperatively to 74 and postoperatively to 309 patients. Transfusion thresholds were as follows: Hb 84 g/L preoperatively, 99 intraoperatively and 83 postoperatively. After hospital discharge, 10.79% of patients died within the 1st month and 23% within 6 months. In the group of non-survivors, 60% of patients had admission Hb ≤ 117 g/L and the proportion of patients transfused preoperatively was two times higher. Preoperative transfusion thresholds could be set to higher levels for patients with surgically treated PFF. However, that could increase mortality even more. Further investigation is necessary.

Background: Ketofol admixture has been proposed to be useful for sedation and general anesthesia. The beneficial effect of the combination of ketofol with lidocaine may be a shortened time of anesthesia and recovery period. This study aimed to establish the effect of total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with ketofol and ketofol with lidocaine on recovery in children. Methods: Two hundred children from the ages of 1–12 years who underwent short surgical procedures were randomly allocated into two groups. Propofol mixtures (ketofol) were prepared for group l. A ratio of 1:4 of ketofol was used for induction and for the maintenance of anesthesia a ratio of was used 1:7. For the induction and maintenance of anesthesia ketofol with lidocaine (lidoketofol) was used in group II. The McFarlan infusion regimen was used with reduction. The extubating time, anesthesia duration and the length of stay in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) were recorded. Results: Extubation time showed to be considerably shorter in the lidoketofol group than in the ketofol group (120 s versus 240 s; p < 0.00001). The anesthesia duration was also significantly shorter in the lidoketofol group (35 min vs. 50 min; p < 0.00001). The lidoketofol group showed to have a lower length of stay in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) than the ketofol group (20 min vs. 35 min; p < 0.00001). The lidoketofol group showed lower fentanyl consumption per kg (2.1 µg per kg vs. 2.3 µg per kg; p < 0.056) and lower propofol consumption (6.6 mg per kg vs. 7.6 mg per kg; p < 0.032). Conclusion: The recovery in pediatric anesthesia can improve with usage of TIVA with ketofol plus lidocaine admixture with a reduced McFarlan dose regimen.