Background: The incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) can be reduced by dexamethasone. Single dose administration may cause elevated blood glucose levels in obese adults. No data are available for children. Objective: The aim was to evaluate perioperative blood glucose changes related to body weight in children who received dexamethasone. Methods: This prospective observational study included 62 children. All patients received total intravenous anesthesia and a single dose of dexamethasone (0.15mg/kg, maximum 8mg). Blood glucose levels were measured up to 6 hours. Standard deviation scores (SDS) were calculated using age- and gender-specific BMI percentiles, p<0.05. Results: 62 children (11.5±2.9years, median SDS 0.43, 29% overweight/obese) were included. Blood glucose level increased from 5.52±0.52 to 6.74±0.84mmol/l 6h after dexamethasone without correlation to the BMI-SDS. Conclusions: This study shows an increase of perioperative blood glucose (normoglycemic ranges) after single dose of dexamethasone but no BMI-dependent effect in children. Therefore, low-dose dexamethasone may be used in obese children for PONV prophylaxis.

Bakgrund: Den postoperativa smärtans utfall påverkas av en rad olika faktorer såsom kirurgins lokalisation och omfattning, barnets ålder och dess förväntningar. I mitten av 1900-talet sågs negativa konsekvenser av att barn blev lämnade ensamma på sjukhus. Detta har lett fram till en mer familjecentrerad vård där föräldrarna har en viktig roll. Vården bygger på ett nära samarbete, där föräldrarna är en bro mellan barnet och vårdpersonalen. Föräldrarna kan med sin närvaro trösta, stötta och hjälpa barnet att lindra sin smärta. Föräldramedverkan kan även innefatta att hjälpa sitt barn med dagliga sysslor samt använda sig av ickefarmakologiska smärtlindringsmetoder. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka faktorer som påverkar föräldramedverkan vid barns postoperativa smärta inom slutenvården. Metod: Studien är en litteraturöversikt av fem kvantitativa och fyra kvalitativa artiklar. Artiklarna analyserades med avseende på likheter och skillnader i resultatet. Resultat: I analysen framkom två kategorier: föräldrakomponenter och omvårdnadsinterventioner. Resultatet visar att emotionella reaktioner påverkar föräldrarnas möjlighet att delta i vården. Känslorna kan antingen hämma eller främja föräldramedverkan. Sjuksköterskan kan genom omvårdnadsinterventioner påverka känslorna och således även utfallet av delaktigheten. Slutsats: Resultatet visar på en rad olika faktorer som har en direkt eller indirekt påverkan på föräldramedverkan. Sammantaget bygger föräldramedverkan på en god relation mellan föräldrarna och sjuksköterskan. Klinisk betydelse: Genom ökad kunskap om vilka faktorer som påverkar föräldramedverkan kan vårdpersonalen påverka utfallet av föräldrarnas delaktighet. En välfungerande föräldramedverkan kan förbättra vården för barn med postoperativ smärta. / Background: The postoperative pain is affected by several components: the location and extent of the surgery, the child’s age and expectations. In family-centred care parents have an important part. This care is based on a close cooperation, where the parents are used as a bridge between the child and the caregivers. By their presence parents can give comfort, support and help the child to relieve the pain. Parental involvement can also include helping the child with daily activities and use non-pharmacological pain relieving methods. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate which factors affect parental involvement in children's postoperative pain during hospitalization. Method: The study is a literature review of five quantitative and four qualitative articles. Analysed with reference to similarities and differences in the result. Results: The analysis revealed two different categories: parental components and nursing interventions. The results show that feelings affect parental participation in the care of the child. Nursing intervention influences parent’s emotions, and therefore the outcome of parental participation. Conclusion: Results indicate a number of factors that have a direct or indirect impact on parental involvement. Overall, parental involvement is based on a good relationship between the parents and the nurse. Clinical Significance: Through increased knowledge of the factors that influence parental involvement, caregivers can affect the outcome of the parental participation. A well functioning parental involvement can benefit the care of children with postoperative pain.

Ambulatory surgery is common and develops alongside surgery and anesthetic methods. Time admitted is short and aftercare takes place in the home environment. Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate which symptoms patients experience after ambulatory surgery related to anesthesia. Furthermore how strongly symptoms affect the patient. Symptoms appear as a result of anesthesia and surgery and can therefore be interpreted as nursing induced suffering. Method: Participants were recruited at ambulatory clinics at a Swedish university hospital spring, 2015.  Prior to the study permission was granted from the clinic managers. The study is a quantitative descriptive longitudinal study.  Data collection forms were administered and data collection was performed by phone. Incisional pain, headache, neck pain, hoarseness, postoperative sore throat, nausea, drowsiness, post-discharge urine retention and numbness were requested parameters. Answers were evaluated as; none-existing, mild, moderate and severe. Data was measured at 48 hours and postoperative day seven. Result: The study included 67 participants. The various symptoms were all apparent to some extent by some of the participants at 48 hours. Concerning headache, neck pain, hoarseness, sore throat, nausea, urine retention and numbness most were symptom free. Incisional pain and drowsiness however affected the participants noticeably. Seven days after surgery there was an overall improvement throughout the parameters. Although incisional pain and drowsiness also lessened some participants still evaluated their experience moderate to severe. Conclusion: The majority of the day surgery patients were content with their care, in our study 97% were satisfied. There was an improvement within the experienced symptoms after seven days compared to after 48 hours. There is room for improvement concerning pain management and time for recovery in the home environment as drowsiness was still an evident issue. / Dagkirurgi är vanligt och drivs framåt av utvecklingen inom kirurgi och anestesi. Vårdtiden är kort och mycket av eftervården sker i hemmet. Syfte: Syftet var att undersöka vilka symptom patienter upplever efter genomgången dagkirurgi relaterat till anestesi. Vidare undersöks hur starkt olika symptom påverkar patienten. Symptom efter anestesi och kirurgi uppkommer till följd av omvårdnaden och kan därför tolkas som ett vårdlidande. Metod: Deltagare har rekryterats från dagkirurgiska avdelningar vid ett mellansvenskt universitetssjukhus våren 2015. Tillstånd inhämtades före studien från verksamhetschefer. Studien är en beskrivande kvantitativ longitudinell studie och data har samlats in med frågeformulär där svaren delgivits via telefon. Parametrarna smärta i operationsområde, huvudvärk, smärta i nacke, heshet, smärta i svalg, illamående, trötthet, urinretention samt känselbortfall har efterfrågats. Svaren har delgivits på en skala som graderats i nivåer från; inte alls, mild, måttlig och svår.  Mättillfällen var efter 48 timmar samt sju dagar postoperativt. Resultat: Studien har 67 deltagare. Efter 48 timmar upplevdes de olika symptomen alltid av någon deltagare, men vid huvudvärk, smärta i nacke, heshet, smärta i svalg, illamående, urinretention samt känselbortfall var de flesta symptomfria. Smärta i operationsområdet och trötthet påverkade dock patienterna påtagligt. Efter sju dagar upplevdes förbättring i alla parametrar. Smärta i operationsområdet samt trötthet minskade, men upplevdes fortfarande av vissa som måttlig och svår. Slutsats: De flesta dagkirurgiska patienterna är nöjda med sin vård, 97% i vår studie. En förbättring i upplevda symptom finns efter sju dagar jämfört med efter 48 timmar. Förbättringspotential finns inom smärtlindring och vidare bör utrymme för återhämtning finnas då trötthet visat sig vara förekommande

Bakgrund/syfte: Smärtlindring via PCA-pump är en effektiv och säker metod vid postoperativ vård. Den syftar till att ge patienten större möjlighet att påverka sin smärtlindring. Tidigare studier påvisar att många patienter upplever sin kunskap om PCA- pumpen som otillräcklig. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka vilken grad av självskattad kunskap patienter upplever sig ha om PCA-pumpen vid smärtlindring med hjälp av PCA vid postoperativ vård. Dessutom undersöks om utförlig information, både muntlig och skriftlig, leder till ökad kunskap beträffande PCA-pumpen samt om patientinformation om PCA- pumpen minskar patientens självskattade smärta vid smärtlindring med hjälp av PCA-pump postoperativt. Metod: En deskriptiv konsekutiv enkätinsamling genomfördes på fem kirurgavdelningar vid ett sjukhus i mellersta delen av Sverige. 26 patienter deltog i studien. Resultat: Denna studie påvisade ett positivt samband mellan patientinformation och smärtlindring (r = 0,74, p = 0,0005). Det framkom även ett positivt samband mellan att få utförlig information om PCA-pumpen, muntlig och skriftlig, och ökad kunskap om PCA- pumpen hos patienten (r = 0,61, p = 0,0009). Självskattad kunskap om PCA pumpen och dess funktioner var i genomsnitt 6,3/10. Studien påvisade även att kombinerad smärtlindring med PCA-pump och EDA postoperativt leder i genomsnitt till ett VAS-värde som var 1,57 lägre efter administrering, i jämförelse med de som endast hade smärtlindring via PCA-pump, resultatet var dock inte signifikant (p = 0,1). Slutsats: Patientinformation kan spela en stor roll kring smärtlindringen hos patienter med PCA-pump. Utveckling av kvalitetsdokument för hur patientinformationen skall utföras kliniskt kan leda till en ökad smärtlindring hos patienter som vårdas postoperativt med PCA- pump. Mera forskning och större undersökningsgrupper behövs för att styrka generaliserbarheten och validiteten. / Background: Pain relief through PCA pump is an effective and safe method for the treatment of postoperative pain. It aims to provide the patient with greater ability to influence their pain. Previous studies shows that many patients experience their knowledge of the PCA pump as inadequate. This study aims to examine the degree of self-assessed knowledge patients feel that they have on the PCA pump during pain treatment through PCA in postoperative care. The study also aims to examine if detailed information, both verbal and written, will lead to increased knowledge regarding the PCA pump and whether extended information about PCA pumps reduces the patients self-rated pain during pain relief through PCA pump postoperatively. Method: A descriptive consecutive survey data collection was conducted on five surgical wards in the middle part of Sweden. 26 patients participated in this survey. Results: This study showed a positive correlation between patients and pain relief (r = 0,74, p = 0,0005). It was also a positive correlation between getting detailed information, both verbal and written, and increased knowledge for the patient (r = 0,61, p = 0,0009). Self-perceived knowledge of the PCA pump and its functions were an average of 6.3/10. The study also showed that combined pain treatment using the PCA-pump and EDA postoperatively leads to an avarage VAS-value that was 1,57 lower after administration, in comparison with those who only had pain treatment through the PCA-pump, the result was not significant (p = 0,1). Conclusion: Patient information can play a big role on pain relief in patients with PCA pump. Development of quality document for how patient information is to be performed clinically may lead to increased pain relief in patients treated postoperatively with PCA pump. More research and larger study groups are needed to demonstrate the generalizability and validity.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of three different glycemic control conditions (tight, conventional, and standard) in the intraoperative period on: 1) postoperative surgical site infections, and 2) postoperative procalcitonin, and C-reactive protein levels in patients undergoing open-heart surgery. Secondary aims of the study were to investigate the effects of the three glycemic treatment conditions on: 1) intraoperative blood glucose; 2) intraoperative glycemic stability; and 3) intensive care unit length of stay, in patients undergoing open-heart surgery. An experimental design with a multilevel, single factor, within-subjects design was utilized. Patients were nested within anesthesia provider teams. The design was counterbalanced by means of a Latin square, where each of three anesthesia provider teams dispensed each of three glycemic control conditions once. Thirty-seven participants were randomized to either tight glycemic control (n =15), which maintained blood glucose 110-149 mg/dl via continuous intravenous insulin infusion, conventional glycemic control (n = 11), which maintained blood glucose 150-180 mg/dl via continuous intravenous insulin infusion, or standard glycemic control (n =11) which maintain blood glucose 150-180 mg/dl via intravenous bolus injections of insulin. The main findings of this study were that there were no significant differences between the three glycemic interventional treatment groups in 1) thirty-day surgical site infections, 2) postoperative C-reactive protein or procalcitonin concentrations 3) intensive care unit length of stay, 4) intraoperative blood glucose levels, or 5) glycemic stability. An association between intraoperative peak blood glucose and surgical site infection was established. Participants that experienced higher peak blood glucose levels intraoperatively exhibited increased surgical site infections. Procalcitonin levels were significantly elevated in participants that experienced a surgical site infection, but C-reactive protein showed no significant difference between participants with or without a surgical site infection. Coronary artery bypass graft surgery concomitant with valve replacement surgery was associated with a higher rate of surgical site infections compared coronary artery bypass graft surgery or valve surgery independently. In conclusion, an association was found between higher peak intraoperative blood glucose levels and increased surgical site infections, therefore maintaining intraoperative blood glucose levels below 180 mg/dl via a continuous intravenous infusion of insulin, may reduce postoperative surgical site infections in the open-heart patient. The use of tight glycemic control during the intraoperative period can be achieved safely, with the use of judicious protocols, but its benefits remain unproven. Inflammatory biomarker procalcitonin was predictive of infection, where C-reactive protein was not. The addition of procalcitonin to routine postoperative blood work, in open-heart patients, may benefit providers in the diagnosis and early treatment of surgical site infections. This study was underpowered. Further studies with appropriate sample size, may be able to determine if tight glycemic control, compared to moderate glycemic control, in the intraoperative period is of benefit to patients undergoing open-heart surgery.

Aim: To assess the ability of critical flicker frequency (CFF) and optimal reading speed (ORS) to predict the potential vision in patients with cataract with and without ocular comorbidity. Methods: The two novel tests were compared with two well established potential vision tests (PVTs), the potential acuity meter (PAM) and the laser interferometer (LI). Measurements were made preoperatively in 1 eye of 88 subjects using the battery of 4 PVTs. Postoperative measurements were made with the CFF and the ORS. The subjects studied were consecutive cases over a 12-month period who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and agreed to participate in this study. Results: CFF was the PVT most resistant to the presence of cataract. Both CFF and ORS give a similar predictive precision in the presence of cataract and ocular comorbidity, although CFF seems more precise when the cataract is dense. Conclusions: The PAM and the LI showed a limited clinical capability in predicting postoperative visual acuity, particularly with dense opacities. The CFF shows the most promise as a PVT, particularly with dense cataract. Further evaluation is required for both CFF and ORS.

Over the last 25 years, inadequate pain management for postoperative children continues to be reported in the literature. Inadequate postoperative pain management leads to detrimental physiological and psychological effects, and lengthens children's hospitalisation. Parental participation can improve the quality of care in hospital and after discharge. Both pain management and parental participation are influenced by the attitudes of nurses and parents. However, only little attention has been paid to this field particularly in Taiwan. The purpose of the present study was: firstly, to understand nurses' and parents' attitudes toward pain management and parental participation in postoperative child care. Secondly, to explore the personal factors affecting their attitudes to pain management and parental participation. The third purpose was to compare nurses' and parents' attitudes toward pain management and parental participation in postoperative care of children in Taiwan. A descriptive, cross sectional design was used to survey paediatric nurses (n=63) and parents (n=133) of children from 0 to 17 years old who had undergone surgery in three Taiwan teaching hospitals. The findings indicate that misconceptions about pain medications were found in both parents and nurses. Both parents and nurses held neutral to positive attitudes towards parental participation and postoperative pain management. Both parents and nurses who had higher education levels had more positive attitudes toward the use of pain medication. Parents who were younger, had a higher education level, had previous experience of caring for their child during hospitalisation, had previous experience with their child having surgery and who had younger children, had more positive attitudes toward parental participation. Nurses who had more working experience with children had more positive attitudes toward parental participation. Nurses and parents all had higher agreement in using non-pharmacological methods for children's postoperative pain relief. Nurses had more agreement than the parents in the subscale of "parent-professional collaboration" and another five items in the PPAS questionnaire which included parents being allowed to change simple dressings, restrain their child, and feed their baby; parents being informed; and enhanced professional-patient relationship with parental involvement. Parents had more positive attitudes than nurses to the subscale of "parent presence" and the parents were more in favour than nurses of the provision of facilities such as free meals or parking fees. Improvement in the quality of children's pain management requires more education to enhance nurses' and parents' knowledge and attitudes toward children's pain management and parental participation. Additional programs are needed that target nurses with less paediatric experience as well as older parents to develop more positive attitudes to parental participation. Paediatric nurses need to be aware and satisfy parents' desire to be present during their child's hospitalisation, as well as help parents to clarify their misconceptions about side effects and tolerance of analgesics utilisation.

Typescript (Photocopy) / Includes two papers co-authored by the author as appendix D. / Bibliography: leaves 397-425 / xvii, 425 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dept. of Psychology, University of Adelaide, 1991

Sleep disruption has been implicated in morbidity after major surgery since 1974. Sleep-related upper airway obstruction has been associated with death after upper airway surgery and profound episodic hypoxaemia in the early postoperative period. There is also evidence for a rebound in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep that might be contributing to an increase in episodic sleep-related hypoxaemic events later in the first postoperative week. Speculation regarding the role of REM sleep rebound in the generation of late postoperative morbidity and mortality has evolved into dogma without any direct evidence to support it. The research presented in this thesis involved two main areas: a search for evidence of a clinically important contribution of REM sleep rebound to postoperative morbidity, and a re-examination of the role of sleep in the causation of postoperative episodic hypoxaemic events. To assess the latter, a relationship between airway obstruction under anaesthesia and the severity of sleep-disordered breathing was sought. In 148 consecutive sleep clinic patients, 49% of those with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) had a number of events in non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) that was greater than or equal to that in REM and 51% had saturation nadirs in NREM that were equal to or worse than their nadirs in REM. This suggests SDB is not a REM-predominant phenomenon for most patients. Of 1338 postoperative deaths occurring over 6.5 years in one hospital only 37 were unexpected, most of which were one or two days after surgery with no circadian variation in the time of death, casting further doubt on the potential role of REM rebound. Five of nine subjects studied preoperatively had moderately severe SDB. Unrecognised and significant SDB is common in middle-aged and elderly patients presenting for surgery suggesting overall perioperative risk of important adverse events from SDB is probably small. In 17 postoperative patients, sleep macro-architecture was variably altered with decreases in REM and slow wave sleep while stage 1 sleep and a state of pre-sleep onset drowsiness, both associated with marked ventilatory instability, were increased. Sleep micro-architecture was also changed with an increase in power in the alpha-beta electroencephalogram range. These micro-architectural changes result in ambiguity in the staging of postoperative sleep that may have affected the findings of this and other studies. Twenty-four subjects with airway management difficulty under anaesthesia were all found to have some degree of SDB. Those with the most obstruction-prone airways while anaesthetised had a very high incidence of severe SDB. Such patients warrant referral to a sleep clinic.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.