Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2016
Central Nervous System-Toxic Lidocaine Concentrations Unmask L-Type Ca2+ Current-Mediated Action Potentials in Rat Thalamocortical Neurons: An In Vitro Mechanism of Action Study.
High systemic lidocaine concentrations exert well-known toxic effects on the central nervous system (CNS), including seizures, coma, and death. The underlying mechanisms are still largely obscure, and the actions of lidocaine on supraspinal neurons have received comparatively little study. We recently found that lidocaine at clinically neurotoxic concentrations increases excitability mediated by Na-independent, high-threshold (HT) action potential spikes in rat thalamocortical neurons. Our goal in this study was to characterize these spikes and test the hypothesis that they are generated by HT Ca currents, previously implicated in neurotoxicity. We also sought to identify and isolate the specific underlying subtype of Ca current. ⋯ At clinically CNS-toxic concentrations, lidocaine unmasked in thalamocortical neurons evoked HT action potentials mediated by the L-type Ca current while substantially suppressing Na-dependent excitability. On the basis of the known role of an increase in intracellular Ca in the pathogenesis of local anesthetic neurotoxicity, this novel action represents a plausible contributing candidate mechanism for lidocaine's CNS toxicity in vivo.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2016
Observational StudyFeasibility of Report Cards for Measuring Anesthesiologist Quality for Cardiac Surgery.
In creating the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System, Congress has mandated pay-for-performance (P4P) for all physicians, including anesthesiologists. There are currently no National Quality Forum-endorsed risk-adjusted outcome metrics for anesthesiologists to use as the basis for P4P. ⋯ The impact of anesthesiologists on the total variability in cardiac surgical outcomes was probably about one-fourth as large as the surgeons' contribution. None of the anesthesiologists caring for cardiac surgical patients in New York State over a 3+ year period were identified as performance outliers. The use of a performance metric based on death or major complications for P4P may not be feasible for cardiac anesthesiologists.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2016
The Gly16 Allele of the Gly16Arg Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism in the β2-Adrenergic Receptor Gene Augments Perioperative Use of Vasopressors: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
Arterial hypotension is frequent in patients undergoing anesthesia and may aggravate the outcome. Common genetic variations may influence the cardiovascular response to anesthesia. In this retrospective cohort study, we tested whether variation in the gene encoding the β2-adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) influences perioperative arterial blood pressure and consequently the use of vasopressors. ⋯ Gly16 carriers received larger amounts of vasopressor compared with Arg16 homozygotes. This corresponds to previous studies demonstrating that the Gly16 allele in ADRB2 is associated with vasodilation and high cardiac output.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2016
Comparative Study Observational StudyBacterial Contamination of the Anesthesia Workplace and Efficiency of Routine Cleaning Procedures: A Prospective Cohort Study.
In this prospective cohort study, 200 decontamination (cleaning and disinfection) procedures of the anesthesia workplace either by anesthesia nurses or by specially trained housekeeping staff were monitored. Time used by housekeeping staff was shorter (1.2 ± 0.1 vs 2.6 ± 0.2 minutes on average, data are mean ± SEM; P < 0.0001) with less visible marker spots (14.4 ± 0.68 [55%] vs 17.3 ± 0.75 [66.7%] on average, data are mean ± SEM; P = 0.0041), and the bacterial load showed a decrease (≅67%, P < 0.0001) compared with anesthesia nurses. Specially trained housekeeping staff outperformed anesthesia nurses in cleaning the anesthesia workplace. Specific training for anesthesia workplace cleaning is supported by these findings.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2016
The Use of Somatosensory Evoked Potentials to Determine the Relationship Between Intraoperative Arterial Blood Pressure and Intraoperative Upper Extremity Position-Related Neurapraxia in the Prone Surrender Position During Spine Surgery: A Retrospective Analysis.
Peripheral nerve injury is a significant perioperative problem. Intraoperative position-related neurapraxia may indicate impending peripheral nerve injury and can be detected by changes in somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP). The purpose of this retrospective analysis of spine surgeries performed under general anesthesia with SSEP monitoring was to determine the relationship between intraoperative mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and intraoperative upper extremity position-related neurapraxia in the prone surrender (superman) position. ⋯ In this study, we identified the changes in intraoperative MAP as independent predictors associated with upper extremity position-related neurapraxia in the prone surrender position under general anesthesia.