Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Mar 2016
ReviewAcute kidney injury following liver transplantation: a systematic review of published predictive models.
Acute kidney injury is a frequent postoperative complication amongst liver transplant recipients and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. This systematic review analysed the existing predictive models, in order to solidify current understanding. Articles were selected for inclusion if they described the primary development of a clinical prediction model (either an algorithm or risk score) to predict AKI post liver transplantation. ⋯ The common risk factors identified within this systematic review provide a minimum list of variables, which future studies should address. Research in this area would benefit from prospective, multi-site studies with larger cohorts as well as the subsequent internal and external validation of predictive models. Ultimately, the ability to identify patients at high risk of post-transplant AKI may enable early intervention and perhaps prevention.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Mar 2016
Intravenous lipid emulsion for levobupivacaine intoxication in acidotic and hypoxaemic pigs.
Intravenous lipid emulsion is, in some countries, the recommended treatment for local anaesthetic toxicity. Systemic local anaesthetic toxicity results in hypoxaemia and acidosis, and whether this influences the effects of lipid therapy on drug concentrations and cardiovascular recovery is currently unknown. Twenty anaesthetised pigs were given a 3-mg/kg bolus of levobupivacaine followed by a five minute phase of hypoventilation and 1 mmol/kg of lactic acid in one minute. ⋯ Five pigs developed marked hypotension: one in both groups died, while two in the Lipid group and one in the Ringer group needed adrenaline. Administration of lipid emulsion did not improve cardiovascular recovery from levobupivacaine toxicity exacerbated by acidosis and hypoxaemia. Lipid emulsion did not entrap levobupivacaine or affect levobupivacaine pharmacokinetics.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Mar 2016
Spontaneous ventilation using Propofol TCI for microlaryngoscopy in adults: a retrospective audit.
We conducted a retrospective audit of 285 adult elective microlaryngoscopy cases in our institution over a three-and-a-half year period. Conventional anaesthesia with intubation and mechanical ventilation was the most common technique, used in 71% of cases. Tubeless spontaneous ventilation during total intravenous anaesthesia with a target-controlled infusion of propofol (SVTCI) was the most common alternative. ⋯ The most common SVTCI technique since 2013 involved adjusting the target-controlled infusion rate during induction using a formula we developed based on intermittently increasing the target rate, such that the predicted plasma concentration minus the predicted effect site concentration was maintained at 1 µg/ml. We found that this method maintained ventilation during induction more reliably than other SVTCI strategies, and was associated with fewer complications than other spontaneous ventilation techniques or mechanical ventilation: it was associated with only one (3.1%) failed induction and one (3.9%) episode of apnoea. Jet ventilation was associated with the most severe complications, including two cases of barotrauma.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Mar 2016
Learning from defects using a comprehensive management system for incident reports in critical care.
Incident reporting systems are often used without a structured review process, limiting their utility to learn from defects and compromising their impact on improving the healthcare system. The objective of this study is to describe the experience of implementing a Comprehensive Management System (CMS) for incident reports in the ICU. A physician-led multidisciplinary Incident Report Committee was created to review, analyse and manage the department incident reports. ⋯ There was a significant decrease in the time needed to close incident report after implementing the CMS (median of 70 days [Q1-Q3: 26-212] versus 13 days [Q1-Q3: 6-25, P<0.001]). A physician-led multidisciplinary CMS resulted in significant improvement in the output of the incident reporting system. This may be important to enhance the effectiveness of incident reporting systems in highlighting system defects, increasing learning opportunities and improving patient safety.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Mar 2016
Risk factors for bleeding complications after percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy: a ten-year institutional analysis.
Bleeding complications after percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) are infrequent but may have a tremendous impact on a patient's further clinical course. Therefore, it seems necessary to perform risk stratification for patients scheduled for PDT. We retrospectively reviewed the records of 1001 patients (46% male, mean age 68.1 years) undergoing PDT (using the Ciaglia Blue Rhino® technique with direct bronchoscopic guidance) in our cardiothoracic ICU between January 2003 and February 2013. ⋯ Patients in Group A had a significantly higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score on the day of PDT (P=0.042), higher prevalence of renal replacement therapy on the day of PDT (P=0.026), higher incidence of coagulopathy (P=0.043), lower platelet counts (P=0.037), lower fibrinogen levels (P=0.012), higher proportion of PDTs performed by residents (P=0.034) and higher difficulty grading of PDT (P=0.001). Using logistic regression analyses, difficult PDT, less experienced operator, Simplified Acute Physiology Score>40 and low fibrinogen levels were independent predictors of clinically significant bleeding after PDT. Low fibrinogen levels, as well as difficult PDT, less experienced operator and Simplified Acute Physiology Score>40 are associated with an increased risk for bleeding during PDT.