Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
-
J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Feb 2023
ReviewAn Expert Review of Chest Wall Fascial Plane Blocks for Cardiac Surgery.
The recent integration of regional anesthesia techniques into the cardiac surgical patient population has become a component of enhanced recovery after cardiac surgery pathways. Fascial planes of the chest wall enable single-injection or catheter-based infusions to spread local anesthetic over multiple levels of innervation. Although median sternotomy remains a common approach to cardiac surgery, minimally invasive techniques have integrated additional methods of performing cardiac surgery. ⋯ Any of these techniques has the potential to provide bilateral chest wall analgesia. The relative novelty of these techniques requires ongoing research to be strategic, thoughtful, and focused on clinically meaningful outcomes to enable widespread evidence-based implementation. This review article discusses the key perspectives for performing and assessing chest wall blocks in a cardiac surgical population.
-
J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Feb 2023
Multicenter StudyImpact of Preoperative Hematocrit, Body Mass Index, and Red Cell Mass on Allogeneic Blood Product Usage in Adult Cardiac Surgical Patients: Report From a Statewide Quality Initiative.
The study aims were to evaluate current blood transfusion practice in cardiac surgical patients and to explore associations between preoperative anemia, body mass index (BMI), red blood cell (RBC) mass, and allogeneic transfusion. ⋯ Transfusion probability modeling based on calculated RBC mass eliminated sex differences in transfusion risk based on preoperative hematocrit, and may better delineate which patients may benefit from more rigorous perioperative blood conservation strategy.