TopMedTalk

This piece presents an invaluable wealth of first hand experience in setting up various business cases in relation to perioperative medicine in the UK. At University College London (UCL) cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) was set up as a research tool "but then clinicians came, became interested in the results of the tests and started to ask for tests to be done on their patients for clinical...

The electronic cigarette market is a $14 billion industry worldwide. As of August 2019, 215 cases of severe pulmonary illness related to e-cigarette use are being investigated in the United States. The known hazards of e-cigarette use are rapidly coming to light with the sudden onset of serious bronchiolitis-related pulmonary disease in otherwise healthy people who were known to use e-cigarettes....

"In the elective surgical domain 20% of people who are scheduled to have surgery are not ready for surgery" The road towards economic reality is paved with data; this talk, confidently assertive in tone, provides you with a number of useful facts and reassurances which can be transformed into reasons why you and your patients can enjoy the benefits of prehabilitation; a better value of care and a...

What is a "Respect Officer"? Why is respect so important in perioperative care? How does improving 'the culture of safety' also help to improve outcomes? Should we be overly concerned about high cancellation rates for surgery? And what are the advantages of a preoperative risk assessment clinic (PRAC)? Presented by Desiree Chappell and Monty Mythen with their guest Amir Jaffer , Chief Medical Offi...

What are the aims of The International Prehabilitation Society? Its vision is about "bringing together international multidisciplinary expertise, across healthcare and beyond, creating a platform of shared learning, research and education for the benefit of patients". This piece updates you on the current board members, the roles of committee members, conferences that the society has previously su...

This piece gives you the evidence base required to deliver an even higher standard of perioperative medicine where you work. Hear about the "Fit 4 surgery" studies; the "fit 4 surgery consortium", the ongoing e-studies, key findings, recent studies and the set up in Southampton. Physical fitness is greatly affected by chemotherapy; poor outcomes are significantly linked to physical fitness; learn...

"The people of Wales are particularly unfit", there is a high incidence of smoking, physical inactivity, and alcohol intake. Grim news from one angle but on the other hand it's a huge opportunity to make a massive difference in the prehabilitation stage of the perioperative process. Hear how cancer outcomes are being dramatically improved as a clear pathway of optimisation is rolled out. Presented...

This piece looks at the most recent guidance regarding prehabilitation for cancer, developed and published in 2009 by Macmillan Cancer Care. Extremely well received across the UK, and internationally, here we look at the details and some context in terms of UK national policy. From an NHS England point of view the desire is to ensure that all patients and participants have personalized care embedd...

Pediatric patients can present quite a challenge when emerging from anesthesia. Here we discuss ways to "ACE" your transition to PACU! "A"void Emergence Agitation, and discover the latest evidence about "C"riteria for "E"xtubation in this challenging population. How do the protocols and standard of care compare between the UK and US. What does the evidence tell us? Also, how is Enhanced Recovery A...

It's widely understood that high value care during, before and immediately after surgery is optimal whereas poor quality care in the perioperative period produces long term difficulties which are compounded by the acute stresses produced during and immediately after a procedure. This talk covers three main areas; surgical care for patients in Greater Manchester, "ERAS+"; prehabilitation for cancer...

What do we mean by "nutritionally fit" and why does it matter? How do we identify those most at risk in terms of screening and assessment and what's the difference between these two processes? How can we use screening and assessment to triage patients into care? Also, in the time of COVID19, are there ways we can perform some tasks related to these processes remotely? Presented by Steve Wooton , S...

"The main challenge around the variability in the perioperative period is nomenclature, definitions and standardized endpoints. Well designed and well conducted randomized control trials determine effectiveness to an unbiased comparison of outcomes, events, or endpoints between intervention groups". If data is destiny it is to this that we must look if we want to understand what the future may hol...

How important is it to screen patients and measure their fitness prior to surgery? What is exercise training in the preoperative period? There is a very clear relationship between physical fitness and mortality. Importantly, when we think of prehabilitation, or exercise training, it's good to remember that you get the greatest benefit in the most unfit patients, in terms of mortality reductions. T...

This wide ranging talk asks where and how we should focus on the needs of postoperative care patients. "Brain care has an impact way beyond the acute surgical episode"; how do we minimise the risks of a poor outcome when it comes to postoperative care? "Advanced recovery from anaesthesia and surgery" is a talk originally given at the 8th Australian and New Zealand Symposium of Perioperative Medici...

This piece has been released to coincide with the first virtual International Fluid Academy Day (IFAD). TopMedTalk listeners have enjoyed following the meeting annually for some time now; we're equally as excited about their online proposition. Find out more here: https://www.fluidacademy.org/ This piece digs deep into the realities of coping with COVID 19 patients who have had their care escalate...

This piece has been released to coincide with the first virtual International Fluid Academy Day (IFAD). TopMedTalk listeners have enjoyed following the meeting annually for some time now; we're equally as excited about their online proposition. Find out more here: https://www.fluidacademy.org/ The Perioperative Quality Initiative (POQI) is a vital part of the process needed to more widely implemen...

This piece has been released to coincide with the first virtual International Fluid Academy Day (IFAD). TopMedTalk listeners have enjoyed following the meeting annually for some time now; we're equally as excited about their online proposition. This piece is a chance to hear a now famous discussion which TopMedTalk recorded at the Peroperative Quality Initiative (POQI) at Washington Duke Universit...

This piece focuses upon the unique 'Collaborative Clinical Trials in Anaesthesia biennial conference', of which this was the fifth, organised in Prato, Italy, by Monash University. TopMedTalk was given the chance to listen in on this cutting edge gathering of trialists, academics and practitioners as it happened. We take a deeper dive on the history behind this very special meeting, how it works a...

This piece focuses upon goal directed fluid therapy, with an automated system, for decision support; "a step between a simple monitor and a fully automated system". The "proof of concept" paper we highlight towards the end of the podcast, "Feasibility of closed-loop titration of norepinephrine infusion in patients undergoing moderate - and high-risk surgery" has now been published and can be found...

  "Updates in cardiac devices, Part 2" was a talk originally given at the 8th Australian and New Zealand Symposium of Perioperative Medicine Special Interest Group: "Updates in Perioperative Medicine 360" which took place between November 7th-9th 2019. This piece is focused upon transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) devices. "A balloon valvular plasti in comparison to a TAVI is 90% of the...

"Updates in cardiac devices, Part 1" was a talk originally given at the 8th Australian and New Zealand Symposium of Perioperative Medicine Special Interest Group: "Updates in Perioperative Medicine 360" which took place between November 7th-9th 2019. This piece is a look at some of the new technology which looks set to become more widely used. A leadless pacemaker is a small implantable "bullet li...

The POCAPALOOZA, a celebration of perioperative care that went around the world in the wake of EBPOM 2020. "Early intervention and people taking it seriously is a big thing" The conversation evolves as our guest speaks to the realities of moving internationally to pursue your career in medicine. Can a truly global perspective better position the medical community when it comes to international co-...

"4-10% of opioid naïve patients will continue to use opioids more than 90 days after surgery" Opioids are good for pain control but there's another issue, they also numb emotional pain. How do we responsibly deal with this? It's important to remember: "When you give patients high doses, you're putting them at risk". Long term listeners will recall TopMedTalk spent the best part of our launch year...

"It was successful early on within the National Health Service.. [because] you could eliminate the cost of some unhelpful, unnecessary tests... referrals to other "-ologists"... in our system that works, because more work is just more work. It's not more money." Is the business case for prehabilitation a "slam dunk", as some enthusiasts claim? If so how do you measure value versus volume, is value...

This piece focuses on intensive care, the use of data and the future of fluid therapy research and its related physiological outcomes. The article mentioned in this podcast is here: "Perioperative haemodynamic therapy for major gastrointestinal surgery: the effect of a Bayesian approach to interpreting the findings of a randomised controlled trial" https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/3/e024256 Prese...