The impact of percutaneous tracheostomy on intensive care unit practice and training.

We studied the impact of introducing percutaneous tracheostomy to our intensive care unit on the incidence and timing of tracheostomy and on the implications for surgical training. The proportion of patients receiving intensive care who underwent tracheostomy doubled from a median of 8.5% to 16.8% (p < 0.01) following the introduction of the percutaneous technique with the procedure being undertaken significantly earlier during the intensive care stay. The opportunity for surgical trainees to gain experience in open surgical tracheostomy has been virtually lost. The increase in tracheostomy rate may reflect a previous under-utilisation caused by the logistic problems of transferring a critically ill patient to theatre, or alternatively a relaxation of the indications for tracheostomy caused by a perceived benefit for the patient. An increased workload may also have contributed to the rise. Surgical trainees should be encouraged to learn percutaneous techniques and training opportunities in open surgical techniques should be maximised.

Thoracic electrical bioimpedance measurement of cardiac output and cardiovascular responses to the induction of anaesthesia and to laryngoscopy and intubation.

Noninvasive methods of determining cardiac output (by thoracic electrical bioimpedance) and arterial pressure (by intermittent oscillometry) were used to record minute-by-minute changes in heart rate, mean arterial pressure, stroke volume, cardiac output and systemic vascular resistance following induction of general anaesthesia and laryngoscopy and intubation in 60 healthy female patients who were either unpremedicated, or premedicated with temazepam or papaveretum-hyoscine. Anaesthesia was induced with a sleep dose (3-5 mg.kg-1) of thiopentone and maintained with 70% nitrous oxide in oxygen with 0.5-1% enflurane. Tracheal intubation was facilitated by administration of vecuronium 0.1 mg.kg-1. Mean arterial pressure and cardiac output decreased maximally 5 min after induction in all premedication groups by mean estimates of 21-25% and 14-22% respectively. Heart rate increased initially one minute after induction, but decreased to less than the baseline value 5 min after induction. Systemic vascular resistance was unchanged. The stimulus of laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation was accompanied by a significant pressor response and tachycardia one minute after intubation (with mean increases in mean arterial pressure and heart rate of 29-34% and 22-33% respectively). The increase in mean arterial pressure was secondary to an increase in systemic vascular resistance (36-57%), and was accompanied by a decrease in stroke volume (-25 to -31%). These changes were significant in all three groups. Cardiac output decreased only in unpremedicated patients. There were wide variations in the different haemodynamic indices.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Recovery and morbidity after daycase anaesthesia. A comparison of propofol with thiopentone-enflurane with and without alfentanil.

The anaesthetic conditions, recovery and side effects for 48 hours postoperatively were compared after anaesthesia for day surgery using propofol or thiopentone-enflurane with and without alfentanil. Propofol provided good conditions for surgery with faster immediate recovery (p less than 0.001); patients who received it were fit for discharge significantly sooner (p less than 0.001). Visual analogue scores of postoperative wellbeing showed an improvement in both propofol groups (p less than 0.01); after thiopentone and enflurane the scores were reduced and took 2 days to return to the pre-operative values. There was a significant (p less than 0.001) reduction in postoperative morbidity in both the groups that received propofol up to 24 hours after discharge. The addition of alfentanil improved anaesthetic conditions and reduced postoperative morbidity with both propofol and thiopentone-enflurane.