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Browsing by Author "Esteves, S"

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  • Incidence of postoperative residual neuromuscular blockade in the postanaesthesia care unit: an observational multicentre study in Portugal.
    Publication . Esteves, S; Martins, M; Barros, F; Barros, F; Canas, M; Vitor, P; Seabra, M; Castro, M; Bastardo, I
    CONTEXT: Residual neuromuscular blockade still presents despite the use of intermediate duration muscle relaxants and is a risk factor for postoperative morbidity. OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of incomplete postoperative neuromuscular recovery from anaesthesia in a postanaesthesia care unit. DESIGN: Multicentre observational study. SETTING: Public Portuguese hospitals. PATIENTS: Adult patients scheduled for elective surgery requiring general anaesthesia with neuromuscular blocking agents. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: An independent anaesthesiologist measured neuromuscular transmission by the TOF-Watch SX acceleromyograph. Train-of-four ratios at least 0.9 and less than 0.9 were assessed as complete and incomplete neuromuscular recovery following general anaesthesia, respectively. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 350 patients [134 men and 216 women, mean (SD) age 54.3 (15.9) years]. Ninety-one patients had a train-of-four ratio less than 0.9 on arrival in the postanaesthesia care unit, an incidence of residual neuromuscular blockade of 26% [95% confidence interval (CI) 21 to 31%]. The most frequent neuromuscular blockers were rocuronium (44.2%) and cisatracurium (32%). A neuromuscular block reversal agent was used in 66.6% of the patients (neostigmine in 97%). The incidence of residual neuromuscular blockade in patients receiving reversal agents was 30% (95% CI 25 to 37%). There were no statistically significant differences in the occurrence of residual blockade relating to the neuromuscular blocker used, although higher percentages were observed for cisatracurium (32.4%) and vecuronium (32%) compared with atracurium (23.6%) and rocuronium (20.8%). Incomplete neuromuscular recovery was significantly more frequent among patients who had received a reversal agent (30.5 vs. 17.1%, P = 0.01). Incomplete neuromuscular recovery was more frequent in patients given propofol than in those exposed to sevoflurane (26.2 vs. 14.3%). CONCLUSION: The incidence of incomplete neuromuscular recovery of 26% confirms that it is relatively frequent in the postoperative period and calls attention to the dimension of this problem in Portugal
    2013Journal article Restricted access Show more
  • Lenalidomide is effective and safe for the treatment of patients with relapsed multiple myeloma and very severe renal impairment.
    Publication . João, C; Freitas, J; Gomes, F; Geraldes, C; Coelho, I; Neves, M; Lúcio, P; Esteves, S; Esteves, G
    Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and severe renal impairment (SRI) have shorter survival than MM patients without renal failure. Although lenalidomide is a highly active drug, this immunomodulatory agent is frequently neglected in this context due to its predominant renal clearance and, consequently, an increased risk of toxicity. This risk might be overcome with the proper lenalidomide dose adjustment to renal function. This study evaluates the outcomes of 23 relapsed MM patients with SRI (baseline creatinine clearance (CrCl) <30 mL/min) treated with lenalidomide-dexamethasone (LenDex), including 56 % (13 patients) under hemodialysis. The median CrCl at start of LenDex was 19 mL/min; an overall response rate (partial response or better) of 56 % was obtained, with a median follow-up from start of LenDex of 52 months (8-79). The median time until maximal response was 4 months, and in 58 % (7/12), the response was longer than 2 years. Nine percent had renal improvement, but all the 13 patients on hemodialysis remained under treatment. LenDex was interrupted in three cases because of adverse events (infections and cutaneous events); 78 % of the patients were on thromboprophylaxis with aspirin. It is important to notice that, after initial dose adjustment of therapy, there should be a continuous process of dose adjustment, taking into account variations in renal function. Furthermore, lenalidomide dose adjustment should be made according to the individual tolerance, even with stable renal function. LenDex dose adjustment, according to these principles, does not negatively impact response and improves treatment tolerance. It has a clear potential to treat this group of patients and to induce long duration of responses [event-free survival (EFS) 20.5 m and overall survival (OS) 42.6 m].
    2016Journal article Restricted access Show more