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.

Delayed HRR, a robust measure of parasympathetic dysfunction, is independently associated with leukocyte ratios indicative of systemic inflammation. These results further support a role for parasympathetic modulation of systemic inflammation in humans.

Myocardial injury is common among patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. In this study, the frequency was not affected by cardiac output-guided fluid and low-dose inotropic therapy.

ISRCT registry, ISRCTN88456378.