Saudi journal of anaesthesia
-
Difficult airway continued to be a major cause of anesthesia-related morbidity and mortality. Successful airway management depends on direct laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation. Difficult laryngoscopy is a resultant of incomplete structural arrangements during the process of head positioning. Through clinical history, examination of the patients along with craniofacial indices alerts the anesthetist for difficult laryngoscopy. But it does not predict all causes of difficult laryngoscopy during pre-anesthetic evaluation. The maxillo-pharyngeal angle, an upper airway anatomical balance, was proposed for better understanding the pathophysiology of difficult laryngoscopy. In our study we have assess difficult laryngoscopy by electronically measuring maxillo-pharyngeal angles on a lateral cervical radiograph. This angle is normally greater than 100°. Less than 90° angle suggests either impossible or difficult direct laryngoscopy when all known craniofacial indices were within the normal range. Cervical radiographic assessment is a simple, economical, and non-invasive predictive method for difficult laryngoscopy. It should be used routinely along with other indices as pre-anesthetic airway assessment criteria to predict the difficult laryngoscopy. ⋯ Lateral cervical radiographic assessment should be used as pre-anesthetic airway assessment criteria to predict the difficult laryngoscopy as it is a simple, safe and non-invasive method.
-
To compare two different supraglottic airway devices, the laryngeal mask airway (LMA) and the I-gel, regarding easiness of insertion of the device, leak pressure, gastric insufflation, end tidal CO(2), oxygen saturation, hemodynamic and postoperative complications in anesthetized, spontaneously ventilated adult patients performing different non-emergency surgical procedures. ⋯ Both LMA and I-gel do not cause any significant alteration in the hemodynamic status of the patients, end tidal CO(2), and SPO(2). The postoperative complications were not significantly different except nusea and vomiting was statistically significant higher in LMA group (P=0.032). among both LMA and I-gel patients. Insertion of I-gel was significantly easier and more rapid than insertion of LMA. Leak pressure was significantly higher with I-gel than LMA and thus incidence of gastric insufflation was significantly lower with I-gel.
-
To study the effect of oral gabapentin used as preemptive analgesia to attenuate post operative pain in patients undergoing abdominal surgery under general anesthesia. ⋯ A single oral dose of gabapentin given pre-operatively enhanced the analgesic effect of Tramadol as it also reduced the requirement of rescue analgesia with Diclofenac.
-
This report describes a case of masseter muscle rigidity encountered at the start of an elective gynaecological procedure. At preoperative assessment, the patient, a 41-year old woman with a previous non-eventful surgical and anesthetic history was given a Mallampati score of 3. ⋯ Laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation were not possible leading to the eventual use of a laryngeal mask airway and resulting in a successful anaesthetic outcome. A number of possibilities that may account for this situation as well as viable options for airway access in such cases are discussed below.
-
Little is known about the relationship between sedative drugs used preoperatively and postoperative delirium. Melatonin is a drug used to sedate patients preoperatively and is hypothesized by recent works to have a curative effect on postoperative delirium. ⋯ Postoperative delirium is affected with the drug used for preoperative sedation. Melatonin was successful in decreasing postoperative delirium when used preoperatively and in treating more than half of patients developed postoperative delirium when used for three postoperative nights.