Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2010
Implantation of 3951 long-term central venous catheters: performances, risk analysis, and patient comfort after ultrasound-guidance introduction.
Despite evidence demonstrating improved safety with ultrasound-guided placement of central venous catheters (CVC) in comparison with the use of anatomical landmarks, ultrasound guidance is still not routinely used by all physicians when obtaining central venous access. ⋯ Ultrasound guidance reduces complications and improves patient comfort. Further studies are needed to define whether acute leukemia patients should be considered a separate category with regard to the higher incidence of infections.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyCorrelations between controlled endotracheal tube cuff pressure and postprocedural complications: a multicenter study.
Postoperative respiratory complications related to endotracheal intubation usually present as cough, sore throat, hoarseness, and blood-streaked expectorant. In this study, we investigated the short-term (hours) impact of measuring and controlling endotracheal tube cuff (ETTc) pressure on postprocedural complications. ⋯ ETTc pressure estimated by palpation with personal experience is often much higher than measured or what may be optimal. Proper control of ETTc pressure by a manometer helped reduce ETT-related postprocedural respiratory complications such as cough, sore throat, hoarseness, and blood-streaked expectoration even in procedures of short duration (1-3 hours).
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2010
Feedback mechanisms including real-time electronic alerts to achieve near 100% timely prophylactic antibiotic administration in surgical cases.
Administration of prophylactic antibiotics during surgery is generally performed by the anesthesia providers. Timely antibiotic administration within the optimal time window before incision is critical for prevention of surgical site infections. However, this often becomes a difficult task for the anesthesia team during the busy part of a case when the patient is being anesthetized. ⋯ Installation of AIMS itself did not improve antibiotic compliance over that achieved with paper anesthesia records. However, real-time guidance and reminders through electronic messages generated by a computerized decision support system (Smart Anesthesia Messenger, or SAM) significantly improved compliance. With such a system a consistent compliance of >99% was achieved.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2010
Case ReportsCase report: pediatric liver retransplantation on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation-dependent child.
We describe the perioperative management of a venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenator-dependent child requiring liver retransplantation after emergent hepatectomy because of an ischemic liver graft. This child required renal replacement and inotropic support as well as treatment for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). We describe each step in this child's perioperative management leading to the successful liver retransplantation. This is the first description, to our knowledge, of a pediatric patient undergoing liver transplantation while supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).