Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthésie
-
Colloid solutions are widely used to prevent or to correct hypovolemia in surgical patients. Although more efficacious than crystalloids, they are more expensive and can be associated with adverse effects, in particular when they interfere with the hemostatic system. ⋯ In most cases, the clinical consequences of the biological effects of colloids on hemostasis are limited, provided that safety considerations are observed (maximum daily dosage, duration of treatment, patient's hemostatic status, clinical conditions). The implications may be different in patients with hemostatic disorders, either inherited or related to preoperative antiplatelet or anticoagulant treatment. In these patients, crystalloids, gelatins or even albumin solutions should be preferred when hemodilution exceeds 30% of the circulating blood volume.
-
Variability has been reported in the practices to determine death by neurological criteria for adults and children. The objective of this study was to determine if this variability exists in the Canadian context. ⋯ These findings reinforce the need to standardize the practice of the neurological determination of death in Canadian centres, which has the potential to reduce practice variation. Clear medical standards for NDD augment the quality, rigour and credibility of this determination.
-
Paraplegia is an uncommon yet devastating complication following thoracotomy, usually caused by compression or ischemia of the spinal cord. Ischemia without compression may be a result of global ischemia, vascular injury and other causes. Epidural anesthesia has been implicated as a major cause. This report highlights the fact that perioperative cord ischemia and paraplegia may be unrelated to epidural intervention. ⋯ In this case of paraplegia following thoracic surgery for lung resection, epidural anesthesia/analgesia was not used. The MRI demonstrated evidence of spinal cord ischemia, and no evidence of cord compression. This case highlights that etiologies other than epidural intervention, such as injury to the spinal segmental arteries during thoracotomy, should be considered as potential causes of cord ischemia and resultant paraplegia in this surgical population.
-
Criteria for brain death were first described in 1968, and Canadian guidelines were published in 1988. However, international inconsistency persists in the process of determining brain death. We sought to determine self-reported practices and processes in the determination of brain death amongst Canadian intensive care unit (ICU) physicians. ⋯ Nearly one quarter, and over one half of tertiary care and community hospitals (respectively) in Canada lack an institutional policy on neurological determination of brain death. Canadian ICU physicians are interested in a national standard for the determination of death, and establishment of processes that may improve the clinical determination of death by neurological criteria.