Anaesthesia
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Letter Practice Guideline
Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association and Difficult Airway Society guidelines for the management of difficult and failed tracheal intubation in obstetrics.
The Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association and Difficult Airway Society have developed the first national obstetric guidelines for the safe management of difficult and failed tracheal intubation during general anaesthesia. They comprise four algorithms and two tables. A master algorithm provides an overview. ⋯ The table is also intended to be used as a teaching tool to facilitate discussion and learning regarding the complex nature of decision-making when faced with a failed intubation. Table 2 gives practical considerations of how to awaken or proceed with surgery. The background paper covers recommendations on drugs, new equipment, teaching and training.
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Comparative Study
A comparison of ventilator-associated pneumonia rates determined by different scoring systems in four intensive care units in the North West of England.
Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a common healthcare-associated infection with significant mortality, morbidity and healthcare cost, and rates have been proposed as a potential quality indicator. We examined ventilator-associated pneumonia rates as determined by different diagnostic scoring systems across four adult intensive care units in the North West of England. We also collected clinical opinions as to whether patients had ventilator-associated pneumonia, and whether patients were receiving antibiotics as treatment. ⋯ There was significant within-unit heterogeneity for ventilator-associated pneumonia rates calculated by the various scoring systems (all p < 0.001). Clinical opinion and antibiotic use did not correlate well with the scoring systems (k = 0.23 and k = 0.17, respectively). We therefore question whether the ventilator-associated pneumonia rate as measured by existing tools is either useful or desirable as a quality indicator.
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We report 13 cases of presumed rocuronium-induced anaphylaxis in which sugammadex was administered with the intention of reversing the immunological reaction. Of these 13 cases, eight (62%) were later confirmed to be type-1 hypersensitivity reactions to rocuronium, three (23%) were triggered by an antibiotic and two (15%) were non-immunologically mediated. ⋯ Of the three cases in which the treating anaesthetist thought that sugammadex had been beneficial, one was not caused by rocuronium, one had no improvement in blood pressure and one required 8.5 times as much adrenaline in boluses after, compared with the period before, sugammadex administration. These data suggest that sugammadex does not modify the clinical course of a suspected hypersensitivity reaction.
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The optic nerve sheath diameter has been verified by various clinical studies as a non-invasive indicator of intracranial hypertension. The aim of this study was to compare the optic nerve sheath diameter before and immediately after ventriculo-peritoneal shunt surgery in children with hydrocephalus. ⋯ The mean (SD) optic nerve sheath diameters were 5.4 (0.6) mm (right) and 5.3 (0.7) mm (left) before surgery and 4.4 (0.5) mm (right) and 4.5 (0.7) mm (left) after surgery (p < 0.0001 for before and after comparisons for both eyes). The technique allows rapid and non-invasive assessment of intracranial pressure to guide appropriate postoperative management.
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Comparative Study
A comparison of the ease of tracheal intubation using a McGrath MAC(®) laryngoscope and a standard Macintosh laryngoscope.
We compared the McGrath MAC(®) videolaryngoscope when used as both a direct and an indirect laryngoscope with a standard Macintosh laryngoscope in patients without predictors of a difficult tracheal intubation. We found higher median Intubation Difficulty Scores with the McGrath MAC as a direct laryngoscope, 1 (0-3 [0-5]) than when using it as an indirect videolaryngoscope, 0 (0-1 [0-5]) or when using the Macintosh laryngoscope, 0 (0-1 [0-5]), p = 0.04. This was mirrored in the subjective user reporting, scored out of 10, of difficulty for each method 3.0 (2.0-3.4 [0.5-80]); 2.0 (1.0-3.9 [0-70]) and 2.0 (1.0-3.3 [0-70]), respectively (p = 0.01). ⋯ There was no difference between the groups in time taken to intubate or incidence of complications. There was no statistical difference in the performances as measured between the McGrath MAC used as an indirect videolaryngoscope and the Macintosh laryngoscope. We cannot recommend that the McGrath videolaryngoscope be used as a direct laryngscopic device in place of the Macintosh.