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Chapter 66. Regional Anesthesia and Perioperative Outcome
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One outcome advantage of regional anesthesia over general anesthesia involves:
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A. Higher billing compliance
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B. 10 times lower rate of prostate cancer
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C. Elimination of anesthesia-induced metastatic brain cancer
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D. Reducing the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation and subsequent immune suppression
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D is correct. General anesthesia is worse from an oncologic standpoint when compared to sedation or regional anesthesia.1
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Pain itself has what impact on the immune system?
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A. Counteracts opioid-induced immune suppression
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B. Suppresses natural killer (NK) cell function
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C. Reduces immune-related cancer metastasis
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D. Possesses cytotoxic properties
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B is correct. Pain suppresses NK cell function.2
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Epidural for thoracotomy surgery has what affect post-procedure?
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A. Significantly lower rates of post-thoracotomy pain at 6 months post-procedure
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B. Slightly lower rates of post-thoracotomy pain at 6 months post-procedure
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C. Thoracotomy pain is not affected after 1 month post-procedure.
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D. Thoracotomy pain decreases initially in the first week and then remains the same.
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A is correct. Epidural has a both a short-term and long-lasting advantage when used for thoracotomy.3
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Some economic benefits of regional anesthesia are:
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A. Larger bundled payments
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B. Higher billing compliance
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C. Both shorter length of hospital stay and lower resource utilization
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D. Quicker time to rehabilitation facilities and shorter turnover time
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C is correct. Hospitals and patients benefit from regional anesthesia as length of stay and resource utilization goes down.4
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Major perioperative outcome improvements related to regional anesthesia include:
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A. Decreased rate of mechanical ventilation and blood transfusion
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B. 10 times lower rate of deep vein thrombosis
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C. Shorter stay in rehabilitation facilities
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D. Decreased number of aneurysm ruptures
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A is correct. With regional anesthesia, decreased blood loss from a sympatholytic effect occurs, and there is better pulmonary function, which ...