Guidance
Recommendations for research
Recommendations for research
The guideline committee has made the following recommendations for research.
Key recommendations for research
1 Preoperative optimisation clinics for older people
What is the clinical and cost effectiveness of preoperative optimisation clinics for older people?
For a short explanation of why the committee made this recommendation for research, see the rationale on preoperative care.
Full details of the evidence and the committee's discussion are in evidence review D: preoperative optimisation clinics for older adults.
2 Oral iron supplementation
For people with iron-deficiency anaemia, how long before surgery should oral iron supplementation be started, and what is the clinical and cost effectiveness of daily oral iron compared with oral iron given on alternate days?
For a short explanation of why the committee made this recommendation for research, see the rationale on preoperative care.
Full details of the evidence and the committee's discussion are in evidence review E: preoperative management of anaemia.
3 Managing anticoagulation treatment for people taking a vitamin K antagonist who need bridging therapy
What is the most clinical and cost-effective strategy, as identified by a consensus survey, for the perioperative management of anticoagulation treatment in people taking a vitamin K antagonist with a target international normalised ratio (INR) of more than 3 who need bridging therapy?
For a short explanation of why the committee made this recommendation for research, see the rationale on preoperative care.
Full details of the evidence and the committee's discussion are in evidence review F: management of anticoagulant medication.
4 Enhanced recovery programmes
What is the clinical and cost effectiveness of enhanced recovery programmes for adults having major emergency surgery?
For a short explanation of why the committee made this recommendation for research, see the rationale on enhanced recovery programmes.
Full details of the evidence and the committee's discussion are in evidence review B: enhanced recovery programmes.
5 Specialist recovery areas
Which patients, other than those known to have a high risk of complications or mortality, would benefit from postoperative care in a specialist recovery area (a high-dependency unit, a post-anaesthesia care unit or an intensive care unit)?
For a short explanation of why the committee made this recommendation for research, see the rationale on postoperative care.
Full details of the evidence and the committee's discussion are in evidence review M: postoperative recovery in specialist areas.
Other recommendations for research
Preoperative carbohydrate drinks
What is the optimal timing of administration of carbohydrate drinks as part of a preoperative fasting strategy?
For a short explanation of why the committee made this recommendation for research, see the rationale on intraoperative care.
Full details of the evidence and the committee's discussion are in evidence review H: preoperative fasting.
Single-dose gabapentin
What is the most clinically and cost-effective timing and dose of a single administration of gabapentin to relieve pain in people undergoing surgery whose pain is expected to be moderate to severe?
For a short explanation of why the committee made this recommendation for research, see the rationale on managing pain.
Full details of the evidence and the committee's discussion are in evidence review N2: managing acute postoperative pain (appendices).