No abstract

We observed that PRF of the DRG was significantly more efficacious in HD and SS than in FBSS patients. The application of PRF was not effective in FBSS.

SummaryCancellation of scheduled surgery is undesirable for patients and an inefficient use of resources. We prospectively collected data for 52 consecutive months in a public general hospital to estimate the prevalence and causes. The overall cancellation rate was 6.5% (2559 of 39 115 scheduled operations). Cancellation by broad category was for 'medical reasons' in 50%, 'patient-related factors' in 23%, and due to 'administrative ⁄ logistic problems' in 25%. The commonest specific causes within these categories were respectively: infections ⁄ fever (18%), patient did not attend (20%) and lack of theatre time (23%). This data will help direct resources to target prevention of cancellations as a result of these main problems.

A simple index such as the RISK-VAS scale was the best predictor of serious post-operative complications. The functional level before the fracture, measured with the Barthel index, had a major influence on the ambulation recovery.

We compared different concentrations of epidural bupivacaine and ropivacaine thought to be equipotent. Both solutions were equally efficient in providing highly effective epidural analgesia for labor with minimal motor block. These findings suggest that bupivacaine may be more potent than ropivacaine.