Journal of clinical anesthesia
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To evaluate the efficacy of a bundled intervention to improve the quality of the operating room to intensive care unit (ICU) clinical handover. ⋯ The implementation of a bundled handover intervention was associated with increased stakeholder satisfaction as well as a perception of increased efficacy and quality of the overall handover process and postoperative anesthesia documentation.
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We describe a case of living unrelated renal transplantation from a non-malignant hyperthermia (MH) susceptible donor to an MH-susceptible recipient, along with its intraoperative and perioperative considerations. The renal transplant recipient reported a personal history of MH requiring intensive care unit admission. A nontriggering anesthetic was therefore chosen for the unrelated donor to avoid possible triggering via the transplanted kidney to the MH-susceptible recipient. This case provides a unique opportunity to review the concepts of antigen transfer related to transplant anesthesia, as well as the importance of communication among anesthesia and surgical teams to promote patient safety.
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Reintubations are associated with significantly increased morbidity and mortality, increased hospital length of stay, and increased cost. Our aim was to assess the national incidence and associated risk factors for unanticipated early postoperative reintubations. ⋯ A number of risk factors correlate with an increased risk of unanticipated early postoperative reintubations, including extremes of age, patients with greater medical comorbidities, longer operations, and patients undergoing thoracic procedures.
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Case Reports Comparative Study
Comparative efficacy of stellate ganglion block with bupivacaine vs pulsed radiofrequency in a patient with refractory ventricular arrhythmias.
There is increasing interest in interventional therapies targeting the cardiac sympathetic nervous system to suppress ventricular arrhythmias. In this case report, we describe an 80-year-old patient with ischemic cardiomyopathy and multiple implantable cardioverter-defibrillator shocks due to refractory ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation who was unable to continue biweekly stellate ganglion block procedures using bupivacaine 0.25% for suppression of his arrhythmias. ⋯ This represents the first report of a pulsed radiofrequency stellate ganglion lesion providing long-term suppression of ventricular arrhythmias. Further study of this technique in patients with refractory ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation is warranted.
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To compare opioid consumption among patients who receive a continuous adductor canal block (ACB) versus continuous femoral nerve block (FB) for total knee arthroplasty analgesia in the presence of an intermittent sciatic nerve catheter (iSB). ⋯ In the first 2 days after a total knee arthroplasty, opioid consumption in patients with continuous ACB/iSB was not significantly different from patients receiving continuous FB/iSB. Continuous adductor canal block appears to provide adequate analgesia when compared to continuous femoral blockade.