Anesthesia progress
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Anesthesia progress · Jan 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyDexmedetomidine sedation with and without midazolam for third molar surgery.
Twenty-four patients were randomly divided into 2 groups. Intraoperatively, one group received a continuous intravenous infusion of dexmedetomidine alone, whereas the other received a continuous dexmedetomidine infusion plus a small dose of midazolam. Early measurements of patient anxiety and psychomotor performance were lower in patients who had received midazolam. ⋯ This effect, however, did not translate into increased patient satisfaction in the group receiving midazolam. Our findings suggest a prolonged discharge time for patients who had been given midazolam that may be clinically significant. Overall, dexmedetomidine showed an unpredictable sedative response and may be less practical than more common alternatives for oral surgery procedures.
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Anesthesia progress · Jan 2014
Comparative StudyComparison of insertion of the modified i-gel airway for oral surgery with the LMA Flexible: a manikin study.
We previously modified the i-gel airway to enable its use in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery and reported its fabrication methods. In general, the standard i-gel airway is quick to insert and has a high success rate, but the modified i-gel airway has yet to be assessed for these attributes. We, therefore, set out to compare the ease of insertion of the modified i-gel airway with the LMA Flexible to investigate the usefulness of the modified i-gel airway. ⋯ Mean insertion time over 3 attempts was significantly shorter for the modified i-gel™ airway (18.9 ± 4.7 seconds) than the LMA Flexible (24.9 ± 5.1 seconds, P < .001). The rate of successful insertions as a total of all 3 attempts was significantly higher for the modified i-gel airway (56/60 times, 93.3%) than the LMA Flexible (45/60 times, 75%; P = .012). When used by an inexperienced operator, the modified i-gel™ airway is faster and has a higher success rate than the LMA Flexible, suggesting that it can be easily manipulated during insertion.
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This was judged to be the first place winning submission for the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology Student Essay Award. Acetaminophen is an old drug that is now available in an intravenous formulation. Its advantages and disadvantages are reviewed, including its potential role in multimodal postoperative pain therapy.
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Anesthesia progress · Jan 2014
Case ReportsCuffed oropharyngeal airway for difficult airway management.
Difficulties with airway management are often caused by anatomic abnormalities due to previous oral surgery. We performed general anesthesia for a patient who had undergone several operations such as hemisection of the mandible and reconstructive surgery with a deltopectoralis flap, resulting in severe maxillofacial deformation. This made it impossible to ventilate with a face mask and to intubate in the normal way. ⋯ We therefore decided to perform retrograde intubation and selected the cuffed oropharyngeal airway (COPA) for airway management. We inserted the COPA, not through the patient's mouth but through the abnormal oropharyngeal space. Retrograde nasal intubation was accomplished with controlled ventilation through the COPA, which proved to be very useful for this difficult airway management during tracheal intubation even though the method was unusual.
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The risk for complications while providing dental procedures is greatest when caring for patients having significant medical compromise. It is comforting that significant adverse events can generally be prevented by careful preoperative assessment, along with attentive intraoperative monitoring and support. Nevertheless, the office team must be prepared to manage untoward events should they arise. This continuing education article will address basic emergency drugs that should be available in all dental practices and additional agents that become essential for those practices providing various levels of procedural sedation or general anesthesia.