Patients' expectations of their anesthesiologists.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the patient's perception of the role of an anesthesiologist and the patient's expectations of their anesthesiologist and their anesthesia care. STUDY DESIGN: Questionnaire survey. METHODS: A total of 170 patients attending the preanesthesia clinic answered a survey prior to their clinic interview and another survey the day after their surgery. The questions pertained to their perception of the role of the anesthesia provider, their expectations, and their level of satisfaction. RESULTS: A majority (>75%) of the participants had high expectations of their anesthesia provider. The satisfaction scores were higher among those who felt that their expectations were met and among those who felt that the anesthesiologist explained to them how they would feel after anesthesia. CONCLUSIONS: Because satisfaction is a fulfillment of one's expectations, understanding what the patient expects from their anesthesiologist is the initial step to improve satisfaction scores. The onus is on the anesthesiologist to educate the patient about their role, to set realistic expectations of the postoperative course, and to involve the patient in decisions regarding their anesthesia care.

The effects of propofol and isoflurane on intraoperative motor evoked potentials during spinal cord tumour removal surgery - A prospective randomised trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) elicited intraoperative motor evoked potentials (iMEPs), are suppressed by most anaesthetic agents. This prospective randomised study was carried out to compare the effects of Isoflurane and Propofol on iMEPs during surgery for spinal cord tumours. METHODS: A total of 110 patients were randomly divided into two groups. In group P, anaesthesia was maintained with intravenous propofol (6.6 ± 1.5 mg/kg/hr) and in group I anaesthesia was maintained with isoflurane (0.8 ± 0.1% minimal alveolar concentration (MAC). An Oxygen- air mixture (FiO2-0.3) was used in both groups. TES-iMEPs were recorded from tibialis anterior, quadriceps, soleus and external anal sphincter muscles in 60 of 90 patients. Statistical analysis was performed with Pearson correlation and Paired 't' tests. RESULTS: Successful baseline iMEPs were recorded in 74% of patients in Group P and in 50% of patients in Group I. Age and duration of symptoms influenced the elicitation of baseline iMEPs under isoflurane (r = -0.71, -0.66 respectively, P < 0.01) as compared to propofol (r = -0.60, -0.50 respectively, P < 0.01). The mean stimulus strength required to elicit the baseline iMEPs were lesser in propofol (205 ± 55Volts) as compared to isoflurane (274 ± 60 Volts). Suppression of the iMEP responses was less under propofol (7.3%) as compared to isoflurane anaesthesia (11.3%) in patients with no preoperative neurological deficits. CONCLUSION: iMEPs are better maintained under propofol anaesthesia (6-8 mg/kg/hr) when compared with isoflurane (0.7-0.9 MAC). in patients undergoing surgery for excision of spinal cord tumours.

What Every Anesthesiologist Should Know About the Manual Resuscitation Bag.

The bag-valve-mask or the manual resuscitation bag is life-saving equipment. This article explains its construction, functioning, and limitations. This article also attempts to clarify some common misconceptions such as whether a resuscitation bag can be used to preoxygenate or provide continuous positive airway pressure or positive end-expiratory pressure and the highest percentage of oxygen that it can deliver.

The Effect of Elevated A1C on Immediate Postoperative Complications: A Prospective Observational Study.

IN BRIEF This study examined whether elevated A1C in patients with diabetes is associated with a higher incidence of postoperative infections and other complications. Researchers followed 50 noncardiac surgical patients for 7 postoperative days. Half of the patients had an A1C <7% and the other half had an A1C ≥7%. The two groups were otherwise comparable except that the higher-A1C group had significantly higher pre-induction and postoperative blood glucose levels, with wider variability in the first 24 hours after surgery. During the first postoperative week, 11 patients developed complications, of whom 10 were in the higher-A1C group. Elevated A1C, unlike a single preoperative blood glucose value, may predict difficult postoperative glucose control and postsurgical complications.

An Uncommon Complication with a Supraglottic Airway: The King LT.

General anesthesia was administered in an 18-year-old man for removal of hardware from his right knee using a King Laryngeal Tube supraglottic airway. An hour after extubation, he reported inability to swallow with no respiratory distress. Examination showed an edematous uvula, which took 3 days to subside with anti-inflammatory medication. During the positioning of the King Laryngeal Tube, it was pulled back to ensure adequate ventilation. The inflated cuff could have dragged the uvula and folded it on itself, leading to venous congestion and edema.

Low-dose ketamine infusion for labor analgesia: A double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Most primary and secondary level hospitals in developing countries provide inadequate labor analgesia due to various medical, technical and economic reasons. This clinical trial was an effort to study the efficacy, safety and feasibility of intravenous (IV) ketamine to provide labor analgesia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 70 parturients were consented and randomly assigned to receive either IV ketamine or 0.9% saline. A loading dose of ketamine (0.2 mg/kg) was followed-by an infusion (0.2 mg/kg/h) until the delivery of the neonate. Similar volume of saline was infused in the placebo-group. Intramuscular meperidine was the rescue analgesic in both groups. The pain score, hemodynamic parameters of mother and fetus and the anticipated side-effects of ketamine were observed for. The newborn was assessed by the Neonatologist. RESULTS: The pain score showed a decreasing trend in the ketamine group and after the 1(st) h more than 60% of women in the ketamine group had pain relief, which was statistically significant. There was no significant clinical change in the maternal hemodynamics and fetal heart rate. However, 17 (48.5%) of them had transient light headedness in the ketamine group. All the neonates were breast fed and the umbilical cord blood pH was between 7.1 and 7.2. The overall satisfaction was significantly high in the intervention group (P = 0.028). CONCLUSION: A low-dose ketamine infusion (loading dose of 0.2 mg/kg delivered over 30 min, followed-by an infusion at 0.2 mg/kg/h) could provide acceptable analgesia during labor and delivery.

Oral bisoprolol improves surgical field during functional endoscopic sinus surgery.

BACKGROUND: The success of functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) depends on visual clarity of the surgical field, through the endoscope. The objective of this double-blind, randomized, controlled study was to determine if a pre-operative dose of bisoprolol (2.5 mg) would reduce the bleeding during FESS and improve the visualization of the operative field. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty American Society of Anesthesiologists I or II patients, scheduled for FESS were randomized to receive either a placebo (Group A) or 2.5 mg of bisoprolol (Group B) 90 min prior to the surgery. All the patients received standard anesthesia and monitoring. The aim was to maintain the mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 60-70 mmHg, by titrating dose of isoflurane and fentanyl. The concentration of isoflurane used was recorded every 15 min. At the end of the surgery, the volume of blood loss was measured and the surgeon was asked to grade the operative field as per the Fromme-Boezaart Scale. RESULT: The blood loss was significantly (P < 0.0001) more in the control group (398.67 ± 228.79 ml) as compared with that in the bisoprolol group (110.67 ± 45.35 ml). The surgical field was graded better in those who received bisoprolol as compared with those in the control group (P - 0.0001). The volume percent of isoflurane and the dose of fentanyl used was significantly lower in those who received bisoprolol. During the operative period, the MAPs were 70.0 ± 2.7 (Group A) and 62.6 ± 3.6 mmHg (Group B) and the heart rate was 99.8 ± 5.0/min (Group A) and 69.2 ± 4.4/min (Group B). These differences were statistically significant ( P - 0.001). CONCLUSION: This clinical trial has demonstrated that administration of a single pre-operative dose of bisoprolol (2.5 mg) can significantly reduce the blood loss during FESS and improve the visualization of the operating field.

Low-concentration, continuous brachial plexus block in the management of Purple Glove Syndrome: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Purple Glove Syndrome is a devastating complication of intravenous phenytoin administration. Adequate analgesia and preservation of limb movement for physiotherapy are the two essential components of management. CASE PRESENTATION: A 26-year-old Tamil woman from India developed Purple Glove Syndrome after intravenous administration of phenytoin. She was managed conservatively by limb elevation, physiotherapy and oral antibiotics. A 20G intravenous cannula was inserted into the sheath of her brachial plexus and a continuous infusion of bupivacaine at a low concentration (0.1%) with fentanyl (2 mug/ml) at a rate of 1 to 2 ml/hr was given. She had adequate analgesia with preserved motor function which helped in physiotherapy and functional recovery of the hand in a month. CONCLUSION: A continuous blockade of the brachial plexus with a low concentration of bupivacaine and fentanyl helps to alleviate the vasospasm and the pain while preserving the motor function for the patient to perform active movements of the finger and hand.