European Society of Anaesthesiology.

Patients exposed to a surgical safety checklist experience better postoperative outcomes, but this could simply reflect wider quality of care in hospitals where checklist use is routine.

Background The Clavien–Dindo classification is perhaps the most widely used approach for reporting postoperative complications in clinical trials. This system classifies complication severity by the treatment provided. However, it is unclear whether the Clavien–Dindo system can be used internationally in studies across differing healthcare systems in high‐ (HICs) and low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). Methods This was a secondary analysis of the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), a prospective observational cohort study of elective surgery in adults. Data collection occurred over a 7‐day period. Severity of complications was graded using Clavien–Dindo and the simpler ISOS grading (mild, moderate or severe, based on guided investigator judgement). Severity grading was compared using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Data are presented as frequencies and ICC values (with 95 per cent c.i.). The analysis was stratified by income status of the country, comparing HICs with LMICs. Results A total of 44 814 patients were recruited from 474 hospitals in 27 countries (19 HICs and 8 LMICs). Some 7508 patients (16·8 per cent) experienced at least one postoperative complication, equivalent to 11 664 complications in total. Using the ISOS classification, 5504 of 11 664 complications (47·2 per cent) were graded as mild, 4244 (36·4 per cent) as moderate and 1916 (16·4 per cent) as severe. Using Clavien–Dindo, 6781 of 11 664 complications (58·1 per cent) were graded as I or II, 1740 (14·9 per cent) as III, 2408 (20·6 per cent) as IV and 735 (6·3 per cent) as V. Agreement between classification systems was poor overall (ICC 0·41, 95 per cent c.i. 0·20 to 0·55), and in LMICs (ICC 0·23, 0·05 to 0·38) and HICs (ICC 0·46, 0·25 to 0·59). Conclusion Caution is recommended when using a treatment approach to grade complications in global surgery studies, as this may introduce bias unintentionally.

Background:Several adjuvants have been proposed to prolong the effect of peripheral nerve blocks, one of which is buprenorphine. In this randomized double blinded placebo controlled trial we studied whether the addition of buprenorphine to a femoral nerve block prolongs analgesia in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty in a fast track surgery protocol.Methods:The treatment group (B) was given an ultrasound-guided femoral nerve block with ropivacaine 0.2% and 0.3mg buprenorphine. We choose to use 2 control groups. Group R was given a femoral nerve block with ropivacaine 0.2% only. Group S also received 0.3 mg buprenorphine subcutaneously. Only patients with a successful block were enrolled in the study.Results:We found no difference in our primary outcome parameter of time to first rescue analgesic. We found lower opioid use and better sleep quality the first postoperative night in patients receiving buprenorphine perineurally or subcutaneously. Buprenorphine did not lead to any significant change in pain or mobilization. We found a high overall incidence of nausea and vomiting.Conclusion:In patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty, in the setting of a fast track surgery protocol, the addition of buprenorphine to a femoral nerve block did not prolong analgesia.