Anesthesia-related cardiac arrest in children: the Thai Anesthesia Incidents Study (THAI Study).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The Thai Anesthesia Incidents study (THAI Study) is the first national study of anesthesia outcomes during anesthesia practice in Thailand. The authors extracted data of 25,098 pediatric cases from the THAI Study in order to examine the incidence, suspected causes, contributory factors, and suggested corrective strategies associated with anesthesia-related cardiac arrest. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A multi-centered prospective descriptive study was conducted among 20 hospitals across Thailand over a year between March 1, 2003 and February 28, 2004. Data of cardiac arrests in children aged 15 years and younger were collected during anesthesia, in the recovery room and 24 hours postoperative period, and reviewed independently by at least two reviewers. RESULTS: Incidence of anesthesia- related cardiac arrest was 5.1 per 10,000 anesthetics, with 46% mortality rate. Infants accounted for 61% of cases. Incidences of overall cardiac arrest and anesthesia-related arrest were significantly higher in infants than older children and in children with ASA physical status 3-5 than those with ASA physical status 1-2. Most of the anesthesia-related arrests occurred in the operating room (61%) during induction or maintenance of anesthesia (84%). Respiratory-related cardiac arrest was the most common suspected cause of anesthesia-related cardiac arrest. Improving supervision, additional training, practice guidelines, efficient blood bank, equipment maintenance, and quality assurance monitoring are suggested corrective strategies to improve the quality of care in pediatric anesthesia. CONCLUSION: The incidence of anesthesia-related cardiac arrest was 5.1:10,000 anesthetics. Major risk factors were children younger than 1 year of age and ASA 3-5. The identifications of airway management and medication-related problems as the main causes of anesthesia-related cardiac arrest have important implications for preventive strategies.

Incidence and risk factors of hypotension during spinal anesthesia for cesarean section at Siriraj Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: Spinal anesthesia is commonly used for cesarean section. Its major adverse effect is hypotension. The objective of this study is to determine the incidence and risk factors of hypotension during spinal anesthesia for cesarean section. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The authors retrospectively reviewed anesthetic records of 991 patients who received spinal anesthesia for cesarean section at Siriraj Hospital. Exclusion criteria were patients with pregnancy included hypertension, received combination of spinal block with other type of anesthesia. RESULTS: The incidence of hypotension (the lowest systolic blood pressure < or = 100 mm Hg) was 76.%. The parameter with increased incidence of hypotension included patient's height < 155 cm (adjusted odd ratio (OR) 1.93, 95%CI 1.19-3.14), baseline systolic blood pressure < or = 120 mmHg (OR 2.14, 95%CI 1.53-2.99) and analgesic level > or = T5 (OR 1.83, 95%CI 1.18-2.84). CONCLUSION: The risk factors associated with increased incidence of hypotension are the patient 's height, baseline systolic blood pressure and level of blockade.

Neuropsychological alterations after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate neuropsychological dysfunction in patients following elective coronary artery bypass graft surgery at Siriraj Hospital. PATIENTS AND METHOD: One hundred and ten patients who were scheduled for elective coronary artery bypass graft surgery were included in this study. We used the Thai Mental State Examination (TMSE) in order to detectthe presence of cognitive impairment aftercoronary artery bypass graft surgery. The examinations were conducted on two consecutive occasions; first preoperatively, the day before surgery, secondly on the third - fifth postoperative day. The patients' clinical characteristics were assessed perioperatively. RESULTS: The overall occurrence of neuropsychological deficit was 18.18 per cent. Predictors of neuropsychological dysfunction were older age and preexisting disease such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and renal insufficiency. Other risk factors such as gender, history of congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, diabetes mellitus, dysrhythmia, cardiopulmonary bypass time, hemoglobin during cardiopulmonary bypass <7 g/dl, hemoglobin on admission to surgical cardiac care unit <10 g/dl, and atrial fibrillation arising after surgery were not significant. CONCLUSION: Neuropsychological impairments after coronary artery bypass graft surgery are relatively common. This study did not find an increased incidence with respect to gender as other studies have done. However, long-term follow-up of these patients would be very valuable.

Comparison of different doses of epidural morphine for pain relief following cesarean section.

Although epidural opioid analgesia after cesarean section can provide excellent postoperative pain relief, serious complications may occur after epidural morphine. Therefore, we performed this study to compare the efficacy and side effects of three different doses of epidural morphine for analgesia following cesarean section. Ninety healthy pregnant women who underwent cesarean delivery were randomly assigned to receive either 2.5, 3 or 4 mg of epidural morphine for postoperative analgesia. Pain intensity at rest and on movement using a visual analogue scale (0-10) was regularly assessed for 48 hours, the time to first analgesic requirement, the total analgesic dose, patient satisfaction and side effects were recorded. Chi square and ANOVA tests were used for statistical analyses. We were unable to demonstrate any difference in pain relief, patient satisfaction, and side effects among the three groups. Epidural morphine provided sufficient pain relief for approximately 24 hours. About 27 per cent of the patients from each group were pain-free for up to 48 hours without further analgesics. Mild pruritus and nausea occurred in all three groups and there was no significant difference between them. No serious complications were observed. In conclusion low dose epidural morphine is effective in providing adequate analgesia following cesarean delivery.

Tranexamic acid as a means of reducing the need for blood and blood component therapy in children undergoing open heart surgery for congenital cyanotic heart disease.

Children undergoing cardiac operations using cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) are at risk of significant postoperative bleeding and the need for transfusion. The antifibrinolytic drug, tranexamic acid, decreases blood loss in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery. However, its efficacy has not been extensively studied in patients with cyanotic congenital heart defects (CHD). Using a prospective, randomized, double-blind study design, we examined 67 children undergoing repair of cyanotic CHD. After induction of anesthesia and prior to skin incision, patients received 15 mg/kg of tranexamic acid intravenously. At the end of CPB, a second bolus of tranexamic acid (15 mg/kg) or saline placebo was administered. Postoperative blood loss and transfusion requirements from the period after protamine administration until 24 hours after admission to the intensive care unit were recorded. In addition, the hematocrit, platelet count and other indices of coagulation were recorded every 6 hours. There was no significant difference in postoperative blood loss between the treated and the placebo group (12.51 +/- 13.20 ml/kg per 24 hours, in the tranexamic acid group, vs 10.68 + 6.38 ml/kg per 24 hours, in the placebo group). Also there was no significant difference in the amounts of blood and blood products administered between the two groups. No adverse effects of tranexamic acid were found in this study. In conclusion, there was no significant difference in postoperative blood loss or blood and blood product requirement between those children with cyanotic CHD undergoing open heart surgery who received a single dose of tranexamic acid compared with those who received two doses.