The Effects of a Shoulder Roll During Laryngoscopy in Infants: A Randomized, Single-Blinded, Crossover Study.

BACKGROUND: The use of a shoulder roll to view the glottic opening during direct laryngoscopy in infants has been recommended but is not evidence based. METHODS: Twenty infants with normal airways, <6 months of age undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia were randomized to undergo direct laryngoscopy first with a 2-inch vertical shoulder roll and then without, or vice versa. The primary outcome was the difference in the vertical distance between the angle of the laryngoscopist's eye and the operating room table in the 2 positions. Also, the views of the glottic opening in both positions were recorded for each infant and analyzed by a blinded investigator using the percent of glottic opening (POGO). RESULTS: Twenty infants completed the study without complications. The vertical distance did not differ significantly whether the shoulder roll was placed first or second, and there was no evidence of a differential carryover effect in the crossover design (P = .268). The main effect of the shoulder roll on the mean (95% confidence interval [CI]) vertical distances without 47.8 cm (43.5-52.1) and with the shoulder roll 37.2 cm (33.3-41) yielded a mean (95% CI) vertical difference of 10.6 cm (9.3-11.79; P = .0001). The median (interquartile range [IQR]) POGO scores without 100 [86.2, 100] and with the shoulder roll 97.5 [80, 100] did not differ (median difference [95% CI]: 0 [-20 to 0]; P = .39). CONCLUSIONS: A 2-inch shoulder roll lowers the line of sight of the glottic opening compared with no shoulder roll, without affecting the view of the glottic opening during laryngoscopy in infants.

Preprocedural ultrasound versus landmark techniques for spinal anesthesia performed by novice residents in elderly: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Spinal anesthesia using the midline approach might be technically difficult in geriatric population. We hypothesized that pre-procedural ultrasound (US)-guided paramedian technique and pre-procedural US-guided midline technique would result in a different spinal anesthesia success rate at first attempt when compared with the conventional landmark-guided midline technique in elderly patients. METHODS: In this prospective, randomized, controlled study, one hundred-eighty consenting patients scheduled for elective surgery were randomized into the conventional surface landmark-guided midline technique (group LM), the pre-procedural US-guided paramedian technique (group UP), or the pre-procedural US-guided midline technique (group UM) with 60 patients in each group. All spinal anesthesia were performed by a novice resident. RESULTS: The successful dural puncture rate on first attempt (primary outcome) was higher in groups LM and UM (77 and 73% respectively) than in group UP (42%; P < 0.001). The median number of attempts was lower in groups LM and UM (1 [1] and 1 [1-1.75] respectively) than in group UP (2 [1, 2]; P < 0.001). The median number of passes was lower in groups LM and UM (2 [0.25-3] and 2 [0-4]; respectively) than in group UP (4 [2-7.75]; P < 0.001). The time taken to perform the spinal anesthesia was not different between groups LM and UM (87.24 ± 79.51 s and 116.32 ± 98.12 s, respectively) but shorter than in group UP (154.58 ± 91.51 s; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A pre-procedural US scan did not improve the ease of midline and paramedian spinal anesthesia as compared to the conventional landmark midline technique when performed by junior residents in elderly population. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Retrospectively registered at Clinicaltrials.gov, registration number NCT02658058, date of registration: January 18, 2016.

Susceptibility-directed anticoagulation after pancreas transplantation: A single-center retrospective study.

Pancreas transplant achieves consistent long-term euglycemia in type 1 diabetes. Allograft thrombosis (AT) causes the majority of early graft failure. We compared outcomes of four anticoagulation regimens administered to 95 simultaneous kidney-pancreas or isolated pancreas transplanted between 1/1/2015 and 11/20/2018. Early postoperative anticoagulation regimens included the following: none, subcutaneous heparin/aspirin, with or without dextran, and heparin infusion. The regimens were empirically selected based on each surgeon's assessment of hemostasis of the operative field and personal preference. A sonographic-based global scoring system of AT is presented. The 47-month recipients and graft survival were 95% and 86%, respectively. Recipients with or without AT had similar survival. Five and four grafts were lost due to death and AT, respectively. Outcomes of prophylaxis regimens correlated with intensity of anticoagulation. Compared with no anticoagulation, an increase in hemorrhagic complications occurred exclusively with iv heparin. The higher arterial AT score found in regimens lacking antiplatelet therapy highlights the importance of early antiaggregants therapy. Abnormal fibrinolysis was associated with an increase in AT score. Platelet dysfunction, warm ischemia time, and enteric drainage were predictive of AT and, along with other known risk factors, were incorporated into an algorithm that matches intensity of early postoperative anticoagulation to the thrombotic risk.

Epidural analgesia for percutaneous kyphoplasty in a patient with multiple medical comorbidities.

Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure intended to stabilize the fractured bone and restore bone height. It involves percutaneous introduction of an inflatable bone tamp into a fractured vertebral body, followed by injection of bone cement into the ballooned pocket. Anesthetic options typically considered for this procedure include intravenous sedation or general anesthesia. These patients are often elderly, frail, in significant pain, and may poorly tolerate sedation or general anesthesia in the prone position. Spinal anesthesia has been suggested as an alternative method. However, it has major limitations. We would like to report a case of a 79-year-old patient with multiple comorbidities, who presented for kyphoplasty, where epidural anesthesia was conducted and successfully provided adequate analgesia as well as optimal surgical conditions.

Half dose sugammadex combined with neostigmine is non-inferior to full dose sugammadex for reversal of rocuronium-induced deep neuromuscular blockade: a cost-saving strategy.

BACKGROUND: Sugammadex reverses the effect of rocuronium more rapidly and effectively than neostigmine, at all levels of neuromuscular blockade (NMB). However, its cost is prohibitive. The combination of half dose sugammadex with neostigmine would be non-inferior to full dose sugammadex for the reversal of deep NMB. This approach would reduce the cost of sugammadex while preserving its efficacy. METHODS: Patients were randomly allocated to receive sugammadex 4 mg/kg (Group S) or sugammadex 2 mg/kg with neostigmine 50 µg/kg and glycopyrrolate 10 µg/kg (Group NS) for reversal of rocuronium deep NMB. The primary outcome was the percentage of patients who recovered to 90% Train of Four (TOF) ratio within 5 min. The non-inferiority margin was set at 10%. RESULTS: Twenty eight patients were enrolled in each group. The number of patients who reached 90% TOF ratio within 5 min was 27 out of 28 (96%) in group S versus 25 out of 28 (89%) in group NS by intention-to-treat (difference: 7%, 95% CI of the difference: -9% to 24%). The number of patients who reached 90% TOF ratio within 5 min was 26 out of 26 (100%) in group S versus 23 out of 25 (92%) in group NS by per-protocol (difference: 8%, 95% CI of the difference: -6% to 25%). CONCLUSIONS: Sugammadex 2 mg/kg with neostigmine 50 µg/kg was at worst 9% and 6% less effective than sugammadex 4 mg/kg by intention-to-treat and by per-protocol analysis respectively. Hence, the combination is non-inferior to the recommended dose of sugammadex. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT 02375217 , registered on February 11, 2015.

PATIENT-VENTILATION ASYNCHRONY CAUSING NEGATIVE PRESSURE PULMONARY EDEMA IN AN INTUBATED OBESE PATIENT.

Negative pressure pulmonary edema is a potentially life-threatening condition that may occur when a large negative intrathoracic pressure is generated against a 'physically' obstructed upper airway during emergence from anesthesia. We report a 35 year old male patient who is morbidly obese and undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass who developed negative pressure pulmonary edema without any evidence of a 'physical' upper airway obstruction. In our patient, the negative pressure pulmonary edema occurred after complete reversal of neuromuscular blockade and during manual positive pressure ventilation with the endotracheal tube still in place and in the presence of an oral airway. Since the patient was still intubated and had an airway in place with no possibility for physical obstruction, we speculate that the occurrence of the negative pressure pulmonary edema was mainly due to a 'functional' obstruction secondary to the severe patient-ventilation asynchrony that ensued upon reversal of the neuromuscular blockade.