Seminars in cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
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Semin Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth · Mar 2016
ReviewThe Post-Anesthetic Care of Pediatric Patients With Pulmonary Hypertension.
Few conditions make even the most experienced pediatric anesthesiologists take pause. Pulmonary hypertension is one such condition due to the associated high perioperative morbidity and mortality. Much is written about the intraoperative management of pediatric pulmonary hypertension. ⋯ Last, the readers' attention is drawn to the heterogeneity of pulmonary hypertensive disease. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (precapillary) differs significantly from pulmonary venous hypertension (postcapillary); the anesthetic management for one may be relatively contraindicated in the other. Their dissimilarities justify the need to distinguish them for study and research endeavors.
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Semin Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth · Mar 2016
ReviewNoteworthy Articles in 2015 for Cardiothoracic Critical Care.
In 2015, the demand for the presence of cardiothoracic anesthesiologists outside of the cardiac operating rooms continues to expand. Most notably, cardiothoracic anesthesiologists now find themselves called on to care for patients postoperatively in the cardiothoracic surgical intensive care unit. This article is the first in this annual series to review relevant contributions in postoperative cardiac critical care that may influence the cardiac anesthesiologist. We explore the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, management of postoperative atrial fibrillation and coagulopathy, metabolic support of the critically ill cardiothoracic surgical patient, and new insights into delirium and acute kidney injury.
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Semin Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth · Mar 2016
ReviewNoteworthy Literature in 2015: Anesthesia for Congenital Heart Disease.
This article is a review of the literature published during the 12 months of 2015, which is of interest to the congenital cardiac anesthesiologist. While the review is not exhaustive, it identifies 7 themes in the literature for 2015 and cites 78 peer-reviewed publications.
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Semin Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth · Mar 2016
Case ReportsAnesthetic Management of a Patient With a Giant Right Atrial Myxoma.
Cardiac myxomas account for 50% of all benign primary cardiac tumors. Rarely, these tumors occur in the right atrium (RA; 10% to 20%), with a stalk frequently attached to the interatrial septum. ⋯ Multimodal cardiac imaging inclusive of echocardiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging helps with the diagnosis, preoperative optimization, and formulation of anesthetic and surgical plans. We present a case report highlighting the importance of multimodal imaging, adequate preoperative patient optimization, and the anesthetic considerations in the successful management of a patient with a giant 8.3 × 4.7 cm RA myxoma.
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Semin Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth · Mar 2016
Tailoring the Blood Ordering Process for Cardiac Surgical Cases Using an Institution-Specific Version of the Maximum Surgical Blood Order Schedule.
Excess ordering of blood products for surgical cases is expensive and wasteful. Evidence has shown that institution-specific versions of the Maximum Surgical Blood Order Schedule (MSBOS) lead to better ordering practices. Most MSBOSs recommend a crossmatch for a minimum of 2 units of packed red blood cells (PRBCs) for cardiac surgical cases; however, studies have shown that >50% of these patients receive no transfusions. Our aim was to create a blood order algorithm for cardiac surgical cases that would decrease unnecessary crossmatching. ⋯ Using the gold standard C:tx of >2:1 as an indicator of inappropriate blood utilization, our analysis confirmed that excessive crossmatching occurred for several procedures. Now a subset of cardiac surgical cases only requires a type and screen order prior to surgery.