Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Failed airway management in the obstetric patient undergoing general anaesthesia is associated with major sequelae for the mother and/or fetus. Effective and adequate pre-oxygenation is an important safety strategy and a recommendation in all current major airway guidelines. ⋯ We review the current literature surrounding high flow nasal oxygen relevant to the pregnant woman. We also propose a basis for potential advantages and complications for its use in this context.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jan 2018
The establishment of an anaesthetist-managed intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring service and initial outcome data.
Neurophysiological monitoring has been recommended to reduce the risk of neurological damage during a wide variety of surgeries. While the concept of an anaesthesia-led intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) service is not new, the quality of this service provision has not been studied. ⋯ Our results identified that an anaesthesia-led IONM service was able to achieve a reliable signal in 95.4% of cases and capture significant alerts in 15.6% of these cases with sensitivity, specificity, false positive and negative rates consistent with published data. Our results indicate an anaesthesia-led IONM service is effective in identifying patients at an increased risk of an adverse outcome.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jan 2018
Observational StudyThe effect of sevoflurane on the transmural dispersion of repolarisation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a prospective observational study.
The 'torsadogenic' property of a drug is linked to its ability to increase the transmural dispersion of repolarisation, represented by the interval between the peak of, and the end of, the T-wave (Tp-e interval) in an electrocardiogram. Reports have consistently shown that sevoflurane does not increase the Tp-e interval. Type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for increased QTc (rate-corrected QT interval), QTcd (rate-corrected QTc dispersion: difference between the maximum and the minimum QTc interval), and Tp-e, as well as the rate-corrected Tp-e (Tp-e/QTc ratio). ⋯ No significant increase in QTc was observed in the diabetic group. There were no between or within group differences observed for QTcd. Our findings suggest that sevoflurane does not have a significant predictable pro-arrhythmic effect in type 2 diabetic patients in the absence of other factors affecting ventricular repolarisation.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jan 2018
Observational StudyAssociations of fluid amount, type, and balance and acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major surgery.
Fluid administration has been reported to be associated with an increased risk of acute kidney injury (AKI). We assessed whether, after correction for fluid balance, amount and chloride content of fluids administered have an independent association with AKI. We performed an observational study in patients after major surgery assessing the independent association of AKI with volume, chloride content and fluid balance, after adjustment for Physiological and Operative Severity Score for enUmeration of Mortality and morbidity (POSSUM) score, age, elective versus emergency surgery, and duration of surgery. ⋯ After adjustments, a 100 ml greater mean daily fluid balance was artificially associated with a 5% decrease in the instantaneous hazard of AKI: adjusted Hazard Ratio (aHR) 0.951, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.935 to 0.967, P <0.001. However, after adjustment for the proportion of chloride-restrictive fluids, mean daily fluid amounts and balances, POSSUM morbidity, age, duration and emergency status of surgery, and the confounding effect of fluid balance, every 5% increase in the proportion of chloride-liberal fluid administered was associated with an 8% increase in the instantaneous hazard of AKI (aHR 1.079, 95% CI 1.032 to 1.128, P=0.001), and a 100 ml increase in mean daily fluid amount given was associated with a 6% increase in the instantaneous hazard of AKI (aHR 1.061, 95% CI 1.047 to 1.075, P <0.001). After adjusting for key risk factors and for the confounding effect of fluid balance, greater fluid administration and greater administration of chloride-rich fluid were associated with greater risk of AKI.