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Background: It has been known that the type of anesthesia can affect the stress response to surgery in form of hyperglycemia. This study aims to evaluate and compare the influence of general anesthesia (GA) and spinal anesthesia (SA) on pregnant women who are scheduled to undergo cesarean section (CS) and to understand the impact of obstetrical factors on the maternal hyperglycemic-stress response during CS., Methods: Prospectively, we identified, assessed and followed those pregnant women who were scheduled to undergo elective CS surgery. The included group comprises any women who was scheduled to undergo an elective CS. The preoperative and postoperative blood glucose levels were measured and compared between both groups (GA and SA groups)., Results: The study included 302 patients who satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study. GA was more commonly utilized in cesarean sections (56.6%) compared with SA (43.4%). The average gestational age at time of delivery was 37.4 weeks. The post-operative readings were significantly higher in the GA group with a mean sugar level of 110.1 mg/dL and a mean sugar level in the SA group of 87.7 mg/dL (P = 0.00). After performing multiple regression analysis, it was revealed that the type of anesthesia is the most independent factor affecting the postoperative sugar level., Conclusion: GA causes higher blood glucose concentrations than SA, which indicates that the impact of GA on hormonal stress response and metabolic hemostasis is greater than in SA., (© 2021 The Authors.)

Background: A high incidence of joint laxity has been reported among Asians compared with Western populations, but clear differences between more specific ethnic populations have not been established. This study aimed to determine the average knee laxity in the Malaysian and Jordanian populations., Methods: Jordanian and Malaysian medical students from our institution were invited to participate in the study. General demographic data and factors affecting joint laxity were obtained from each participant using a printed questionnaire. Both knees were examined using the anterior drawer test while in 90° of flexion. Knee laxity was measured by three separate independent investigators through a knee laxity tester., Results: One hundred and eighty-six participants (95 females) were enrolled in the study. Among them, 108 Malaysians participated. The Jordanians had significantly higher knee laxity in both knees compared with the Malaysians. The mean average right knee laxity for Jordanians was 2.98 mm vs. 2.72 mm for Malaysians (P = 0.005). Similarly, the mean average left knee laxity for Jordanians was 2.95 mm, while for Malaysians, it was 2.62 mm (P = 0.0001). Furthermore, smokers had significantly more laxity in both knees. After performing a multivariate linear regression analysis for all factors, race was the only independent factor that affected knee laxity in both knees., Conclusions: Race is directly associated with knee laxity. Jordanians tend to have more laxity in knee joints compared with Malaysians. Larger multi-center and genetic studies are recommended to establish the racial differences between different ethnic groups., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)