Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2013
The hemodynamic management of 5177 neurosurgical and orthopedic patients who underwent surgery in the sitting or "beach chair" position without incidence of adverse neurologic events.
A small number of highly publicized case reports describe ischemic brain or spinal cord injury after surgery in the sitting ("beach chair") position. The incidence of such catastrophic outcomes remains unknown, as does the relationship between arterial blood pressure management and injury, because few hemodynamic details were included with those 4 cases. To add quantitative data to the discussion of anesthesia in the sitting position, we examined the detailed hemodynamics of a large number of patients managed at our institution who sustained no similar catastrophic outcomes. ⋯ This study provides a descriptive summary of intraoperative blood pressure changes, measured either invasively or noninvasively, and referenced to either head or heart level, but never lower than heart level, in patients under general anesthesia in the sitting position who sustained no catastrophic outcomes.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2013
Editorial CommentA beach chair, comfortably positioned atop an iceberg.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2013
Multicenter StudyThe risk and outcomes of epidural hematomas after perioperative and obstetric epidural catheterization: a report from the Multicenter Perioperative Outcomes Group Research Consortium.
In this study, we sought to determine the frequency and outcomes of epidural hematomas after epidural catheterization. ⋯ In this series, the 95% CI for the frequency of epidural hematoma requiring laminectomy after epidural catheter placement for perioperative anesthesia/analgesia was 1 event per 22,189 placements to 1 event per 4330 placements. Risk was significantly lower in obstetric epidurals.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2013
Technical communication: inhaled anesthetic agent-vaporizer mismatch: management in settings with limited resources: don't try this at home.
Agent-specific vaporizers minimize opportunities for error and evidence our specialty's commitment to patient safety as a general principle. End-tidal anesthetic gas concentration monitoring is a useful adjunct whenever inhaled anesthetics are used in operating rooms. Due to their expense and required maintenance, end-tidal anesthetic gas monitors are not commonly used in developing nations. ⋯ Mismatching of inhaled agent and vaporizer is a dangerous practice and should not be performed unless it is absolutely necessary. Such situations may arise in remote locations where neither end-tidal anesthetic gas monitoring nor vaporizer-specific agent is available. We hope our article provides guidance in such situations.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2013
Increased red blood cell transfusions are associated with worsening outcomes in pediatric heart transplant patients.
Red blood cell (RBC) transfusions are associated with increased morbidity. Children receiving heart transplants constitute a unique group of patients due to their risk factors. Although previous studies in nontransplant patients have focused primarily on the effects of postoperative blood transfusions, a significant exposure to blood occurs during the intraoperative period, and a larger percentage of heart transplant patients require intraoperative blood transfusions when compared with general cardiac surgery patients. We investigated the relationship between clinical outcomes and the amount of blood transfused both during and after heart transplantation. We hypothesized that larger amounts of RBC transfusions are associated with worsening clinical outcomes in pediatric heart transplant patients. ⋯ The majority of pediatric patients undergoing orthotropic heart transplantation receive RBC transfusions, with the largest amount transfused in the operating room. Escalating amounts of RBC transfusions are independently associated with increased length of intensive care unit stay, inotrope scores, and major adverse events. Since heart allografts are a limited resource, improvement in the blood transfusion and conservation practices can enhance clinical outcomes in pediatric heart transplant patients.