Anesthesia and analgesia
-
Anesthesia and analgesia · Apr 2019
ReviewAssessing Long-term Neurodevelopmental Outcome Following General Anesthesia in Early Childhood: Challenges and Opportunities.
Neurodegeneration has been reported in young animals after exposure to all commonly used general anesthetic agents. The brain may be particularly vulnerable to anesthetic toxicity during peak synaptogenesis (in gestation and infancy). Human studies of long-term neurodevelopmental outcome following general anesthesia in early childhood report contradictory findings. ⋯ We discuss potential solutions to these challenges. Further adequately powered, multicenter, prospective randomized controlled trials of anesthetic-induced neurotoxicity in children are required. However, we believe that the inherent methodological challenges of studying anesthetic-induced neurotoxicity necessitate the parallel use of well-designed observational cohort studies.
-
Anesthesia and analgesia · Apr 2019
ReviewNeuroinflammation and Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders.
Neuroinflammation has become a key hallmark of neurological complications including perioperative pathologies such as postoperative delirium and longer-lasting postoperative cognitive dysfunction. Dysregulated inflammation and neuronal injury are emerging from clinical studies as key features of perioperative neurocognitive disorders. These findings are paralleled by a growing body of preclinical investigations aimed at better understanding how surgery and anesthesia affect the central nervous system and possibly contribute to cognitive decline. Herein, we review the role of postoperative neuroinflammation and underlying mechanisms in immune-to-brain signaling after peripheral surgery.
-
Anesthesia and analgesia · Apr 2019
ReviewNeuroinflammation in the Developing Brain: Risk Factors, Involvement of Microglial Cells, and Implication for Early Anesthesia.
Microglia cells, the resident macrophages of the central nervous system, are key actors for specific brain functions that are critical for development and health. Microglial reactivity and functions, even when immature, play a major role if the developing brain is subjected to abnormal perinatal events. Brain exposure to general anesthesia, surgery, or analgesic drugs during early infancy may adversely affect its maturation and plasticity after injury. ⋯ This review recapitulates the most frequent perinatal circumstances associated with exacerbated systemic inflammation and neuroinflammation together with the double-edged role of microglia associated with subsequent brain damage. A role for microglial reactivity in both potential anesthetic toxicity and neuroprotection is emerging. However, further preclinical experiments are needed to better understand regulatory mechanisms of the developing microglia, and interaction between anesthesia and neuroinflammation in the developing brain.
-
Anesthesia and analgesia · Apr 2019
ReviewAnesthetic Management of Emergency Endovascular Thrombectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke, Part 1: Patient Characteristics, Determinants of Effectiveness, and Effect of Blood Pressure on Outcome.
In the United States, stroke ranks fifth among all causes of death and is the leading cause of serious long-term disability. The 2018 American Heart Association stroke care guidelines consider endovascular thrombectomy to be the standard of care for patients who have acute ischemic stroke in the anterior circulation when arterial puncture can be made within 6 hours of symptom onset or within 6-24 hours of symptom onset when specific eligibility criteria are satisfied. The aim of this 2-part review is to provide practical perspective on the clinical literature regarding anesthesia care of patients treated with endovascular thrombectomy. ⋯ With this background, in part 2 (the companion to this article), the observational literature is briefly summarized, largely to identify its weaknesses, but also to develop hypotheses derived from it that have been recently tested in 3 randomized clinical trials of sedation versus general anesthesia for endovascular thrombectomy. In part 2, these 3 trials are reviewed both from a functional outcomes perspective (meta-analysis) and a methodological perspective, providing specifics regarding anesthesia and hemodynamic management. Part 2 concludes with a pragmatic approach to anesthesia decision making (sedation versus general anesthesia) and acute phase anesthesia management of patients treated with endovascular thrombectomy.