LAUSR

We read with interest the article by Kahn and Anyanwu in the Christmas 2018 issue of the European Journal of Anaesthesiology. This case–control study extends previous findings from a case report published in 1997 by Litscher and Schwarz. The latter two researchers merely assessed cerebral oximeter readings in a single Styrian pumpkin, which suggested itself since both researchers at that time worked at the University of Graz, the capital of Styria. Finally, knowledge in this field has now been extended and the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) values of other vegetables (i.e. yams, courgettes and butternut squashes) are no longer a secret to the anaesthesia world. However, since the early study by Litscher and Schwarz (who used historic controls), we are no longer astounded that NIRS values of the newly investigated vegetables did not differ to a great degree from those obtained over the foreheads of members of the control group comprised of cardiac surgeons and cardiac anaesthesiologists.