A&A practice
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We present a case of left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction detected by limited bedside transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). This involved a young and otherwise healthy patient presenting for elective hand surgery with a previously undetected cardiac murmur. It highlights the utility of bedside TTE as an assessment tool and shows the importance of anesthesiologists as perioperative physicians.
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Case Reports
Fetus-in-Fetu Airway Teratoma Management of a Newborn in a Low-Resource Country: A Case Report.
A term baby was delivered by cesarean and found to have an unexpected large teratoma attached to its mouth. Surgical excision was planned within 24 hours. Anesthesia concern of airway control required multidisciplinary team consultation, airway and patient preparation, and anticipation for failure. Challenging airway cases in low-resource countries can be successfully managed with deliberate attention to detail, preparation, and experience.
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Case Reports
Peripheral Nerve Block Efficacy on Refractory Neuralgia Complicating Ramsay Hunt Syndrome: A Case Report.
Several case studies have suggested the usefulness of peripheral nerve blocks in the management of various types of chronic pain that are unresponsive to standard medical treatment. We report here the case of a patient with severe neuralgia, secondary to Ramsay Hunt syndrome that was refractory to standard drug therapy. ⋯ Despite transient facial paralysis, pain was markedly reduced for 3 months with self-reported improved quality of life. To our knowledge, this block has never been described previously.
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It is well known that antithrombin (AT) deficiency results in decreased heparin sensitivity, also known as "heparin resistance." However, non-AT-mediated causes of heparin resistance are generally poorly characterized and less prevalent in the literature. We present 2 case reports of non-AT-mediated heparin resistance during cardiac surgery due to paraproteinemia and hyperfibrinogenemia. These cases highlight the challenges posed by unusual conditions in achieving adequate anticoagulation for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The pros and cons of the treatment selections for these cases are discussed, and the potential complications of large doses of unfractionated heparin are considered.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of Twitter Use of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.
Twitter has become a powerful tool for dissemination of information. The objective of this study was to evaluate Twitter usage of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA). All tweets from ASA ("@ASALifeline") and AANA ("@aanawebupdates") were collected over a 1-year time period. ⋯ Twitter use was highest in October for ASA and September for AANA. Both societies are actively using Twitter. Future work should evaluate the impact of societal Twitter use.