A&A practice
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The use of supraglottic airway devices such as the King LTS-D laryngeal tube has increased in the prehospital setting because of their relative ease of successful insertion, even in the hands of inexperienced providers. However, these devices have their own associated complications. In patients with a known or suspected difficult airway, supraglottic airway device exchanges should occur under controlled conditions using an airway exchange catheter, preferably under direct visualization with a flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope. We report unanticipated difficulties with supraglottic airway exchange caused by a kinked King LTS-D laryngeal tube.
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Severe pain after a hip fracture commonly delays hospital discharge and poses significant nursing problems in patients who are not surgical candidates. We present ultrasound-guided pericapsular hip alcohol neurolysis of the articular branches of the femoral and obturator nerves as a novel approach in the treatment of severe pain after hip fracture. This technique provided excellent pain relief in a 94-year-old patient with intertrochanteric hip fracture until her death 2 months later.
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Baastrup disease is a condition where spinous processes form painful pseudoarticulations. We present a patient with midline axial back pain consistent with Baastrup disease confirmed by computed tomography, which revealed degenerative changes along the opposing surfaces of the spinous processes at L1-2 and L2-3. ⋯ She underwent successful interspinous radiofrequency lesioning, which has not been previously described in the literature. At 4 months follow-up, she reported complete pain relief.
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Patients with end-stage liver disease are often hyponatremic due to multiple physiological processes associated with hepatic failure. For severely hyponatremic patients undergoing liver transplantation, intraoperative management of serum sodium concentration ([Na]s) is challenging. [Na]s tends to increase during transplantation by the administration of fluids with higher sodium concentration than the patient's [Na]s. An overly rapid increase in [Na]s (>1 mEq·L·hour) is difficult to avoid and increases the risk of serious perioperative complications. We report the successful use of intravenous desmopressin to reverse an overly rapid rise in [Na]s during living donor liver transplantation.