Analgesic efficacy of modified thoracoabdominal nerves block through the perichondrial approach in laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A retrospective study with propensity analysis.

Modified thoracoabdominal nerves block through the perichondral approach (M-TAPA) was recently reported to provide broad analgesia with only a single injection of local anesthetics (LA) on each side. However, the effectiveness of M-TAPA in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is not often reported. We retrospectively evaluated the analgesic efficacy of M-TAPA in patients who underwent LC and compared it with conventional LA infiltration (LAI) by calculating the propensity score. The primary outcome was the frequency of analgesic use after surgery. Although there was no difference in the frequency of analgesic use within 48 hours (P = .063), there was significantly less analgesic use 24-48 hours after surgery in the TAPA group (P = .02). Intraoperative remifentanil administration also significantly decreased in the TAPA group (P < .001). We found that pre-incisional M-TAPA may have an advantage over LAI with respect to analgesia on postoperative day 1.

Long-Axis In-Plane Approach Versus Short-Axis Out-of-Plane Approach for Ultrasound-Guided Central Venous Catheterization in Pediatric Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the occurrence of posterior wall puncture between the long-axis in-plane and the short-axis out-of-plane approaches in a randomized controlled trial of pediatric patients who underwent cardiovascular surgery under general anesthesia. DESIGN: Prospective randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Operating room of Osaka Women's and Children's Hospital. PATIENTS: Pediatric patients less than 5 years old who underwent cardiovascular surgery. INTERVENTIONS: Ultrasound-guided central venous catheterization using the long-axis in-plane approach and short-axis out-of-plane approach. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The occurrence of posterior wall puncture was compared between the long-axis in-plane and short-axis out-of-plane approaches for ultrasound-guided central venous catheterization. Patients were randomly allocated to a long-axis group or a short-axis group and underwent ultrasound-guided central venous catheterization in the internal jugular vein using either the long-axis in-plane approach (long-axis group) or the short-axis out-of-plane approach (short-axis group). After exclusion, 97 patients were allocated to the long-axis (n = 49) or short-axis (n = 48) groups. Posterior wall puncture rates were 8.2% (4/49) and 39.6% (19/48) in the long-axis and short-axis groups, respectively (relative risk, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.076-0.56; p = 0.0003). First attempt success rates were 67.3% (33/49) and 64.6% (31/48) in the long-axis and short-axis groups, respectively (relative risk, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.78-1.39; p = 0.77). Overall success rates within 20 minutes were 93.9% (46/49) and 93.8% (45/48) in the long-axis and short-axis groups, respectively (relative risk, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.90-1.11; p = 0.98). CONCLUSIONS: The long-axis in-plane approach for ultrasound-guided central venous catheterization is a useful technique for avoiding posterior wall puncture in pediatric patients, compared with the short-axis out-of-plane approach.

Transient Neurological Events After Surgery for Pediatric Moyamoya Disease: A Retrospective Study of Postoperative Sedation Practices.

BACKGROUND: Moyamoya disease is a cerebrovascular disease characterized by bilateral stenosis of the intracranial internal carotid arteries and an abnormal collateral vascular network at the base of the brain. Transient neurological events (TNEs), which are episodes of neurological dysfunction lasting <24 hours, are associated with stroke in pediatric patients with Moyamoya disease. Perioperative agitation often occurs in pediatric patients. We hypothesized that anesthetic technique and postoperative sedation would modify the association between TNE and superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) bypass in pediatric patients with Moyamoya disease. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with Moyamoya disease aged 15 years and below who underwent STA-MCA bypass under general anesthesia at a single cerebrovascular center in Japan between January 1999 and March 2016. The primary outcome was TNE. Mixed-effects logistic regression was used to evaluate whether postoperative sedation and anesthetic agents were associated with TNE. RESULTS: Among 277 hemispheres in 154 pediatric patients who underwent STA-MCA bypass, 107 patients (39%) experienced TNE within 1 week after surgery. Crying (adjusted odds ratio, 3.11; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-9.59; P=0.048) was an independent risk factor for TNE. Postoperative sedation was associated with a lower incidence of TNE (adjusted odds ratio, 0.514; 95% confidence interval, 0.264-0.997; P=0.049), but premedication and anesthetic agents were not associated with TNE. CONCLUSION: In pediatric patients with Moyamoya disease, crying was associated with increased TNE and postoperative sedation is associated with decreased TNE.

The risk of postoperative nausea and vomiting between surgical patients received propofol and sevoflurane anesthesia: A matched study.

OBJECTIVES: The current consensus guidelines for managing postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) suggest that one of anesthetic risk factors is the use of volatile anesthetics. However, in clinical settings, it is rare to perceive propofol to be superior to volatile anesthetics for the prevention of PONV. To assess whether PONV is related to the type of anesthetic delivered, we compared the incidence and duration of PONV between propofol anesthesia and sevoflurane anesthesia. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of an institutional registry containing 21606 general anesthesia cases conducted following ethics board approval. Anesthesia for all patients was managed with propofol or sevoflurane. To avoid channeling bias, a propensity score analysis was used to generate a set of matched cases (propofol anesthesia) and controls (sevoflurane anesthesia), yielding 2554 matched patient pairs. The incidence and sustained rate of symptoms were compared as the primary outcomes. RESULTS: In the unmatched population, a higher incidence of PONV occurred following propofol anesthesia compared to sevoflurane anesthesia (propofol vs. sevoflurane anesthesia: 18.9% vs. 15.3%, respectively, p < 0.0001). The sustained rate of PONV over the course after propofol anesthesia was also higher than that following sevoflurane anesthesia (p < 0.001). Conversely, less PONV occurred after propofol compared to sevoflurane after propensity matching (propofol vs. sevoflurane anesthesia: 20.4% vs. 23.3%, respectively, p = 0.01). However, the sustained rate of PONV over the course after propofol anesthesia did not differ from that following sevoflurane anesthesia (p = 0.09). CONCLUSIONS: Propofol could decrease the incidence of PONV compared with sevoflurane, although the duration of PONV was not affected as found in previous reports.

Life-threatening check valve formation due to tracheobronchial aspergillosis.

A 12-year-old girl receiving chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia had a fever of unknown origin in spite of administration of micafungin. Her respiratory condition suddenly deteriorated. Her trachea was intubated, and positive pressure ventilation was initiated; however, her respiratory condition further deteriorated. Expiratory volume was considerably lower than inspiratory volume. Simultaneously, she developed severe hypotension and bradycardia, and tension pneumothorax was suspected. Emergent chest decompression was subsequently performed; however, her airway resistance was still high. Bronchoscopy was performed to remove a foreign body in the carina. Subsequently, her respiratory status improved. Histopathological examination revealed that the foreign body was a fibrinous blood clot mixed with fungal hyphae of Aspergillus niger. Life-threatening check valve formation due to tracheobronchial aspergillosis under positive-pressure ventilation may be rare; however, once it occurs, prompt establishment of an escape route for trapped air, such as thoracentesis, may be required.

Intractable yawning associated with mature teratoma of the supramedial cerebellum.

Yawning occurs in various conditions such as hypoxia, epilepsy, and sleep disorders including sleep apnea. Intractable yawning associated with a brain tumor has been rarely reported. A 19-year-old woman presented with intractable yawning. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a tumor in the supramedial cerebellum that compressed the dorsal side of the midbrain and upper pons. After subtotal removal of the tumor, the yawning completely disappeared. Postoperative MRI showed resolution of compression of the brainstem. The tumor was histologically diagnosed as a mature teratoma. The present case suggested that the intractable yawning resulted from the tumor compressing the dorsal side of the junction between the midbrain and pons.

Biological characteristics of a cerebellar mass regrowing after removal in a patient with lhermitte-duclos disease: emission tomography studies.

Lhermitte-Duclos disease is a rare disorder characterized by a slowly enlarging mass in the cerebellum. The exact nature of this lesion remains unclear, but it has been variously characterized as hypertrophy, hamartoma or benign neoplasm. Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with (123)I-iomazenil and (99m)Tc-ethyl cysteinate dimer (ECD) display central benzodiazepine receptors that are widely distributed in the normal brain cortex, a combination of brain perfusion, enzymatic activity and blood-brain barrier function, respectively. This report describes the case of a 30-year-old man who developed Lhermitte-Duclos disease. The mass regrew after a subtotal removal 13 years earlier. The cerebellar lesion exhibited hyperperfusion and hypermetabolism on blood flow and a metabolic rate of oxygen imaging on (15)O-gas positron emission tomography (PET), as well as a hyperactivity and a defect in the uptake on (99m)Tc-ECD and (123)I-iomazenil SPECT imaging, respectively. The present Lhermitte-Duclos lesion might have the biological characteristics of both hypertrophy and neoplasm, from the perspective of results from (15)O-gas PET, (99m)Tc-ECD and (123)I-iomazenil SPECT.

Standardized uptake value in high uptake area on positron emission tomography with 18F-FRP170 as a hypoxic cell tracer correlates with intratumoral oxygen pressure in glioblastoma.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to clarify the reliability of positron emission tomography (PET) using a new hypoxic cell tracer, 1-(2-[(18)F]fluoro-1-[hydroxymethyl]ethoxy)methyl-2-nitroimidazole ((18)F-FRP170). PROCEDURES: Twelve patients with glioblastoma underwent (18)F-FRP170 PET before tumor resection. Mean standardized uptake value (SUV) and normalized SUV were calculated at regions within a tumor showing high (high-uptake area) and relatively low (low-uptake area) accumulations of (18)F-FRP170. In these areas, intratumoral oxygen pressure (tpO2) was measured using microelectrodes during tumor resection. RESULTS: Mean tpO2 was significantly lower in the high-uptake area than in the low-uptake area. A significant negative correlation was evident between normalized SUV and tpO2 in the high-uptake area. CONCLUSION: The present findings suggest that high accumulation on (18)F-FRP170 PET represents viable hypoxic tissues in glioblastoma.

Use of magnetic resonance imaging to identify the edge of a dural tear in an infant with growing skull fracture: a case study.

PURPOSE: Growing skull fractures can be a challenging surgical problem facing pediatric neurosurgeons. The goal of this manuscript was to describe an effective surgical method used to treat a growing skull fracture. METHODS: We present a case study of a 2-month-old boy who fell from his mother's arms and hit his head on the floor; he underwent X-ray, magnetic resonance (MR), and computed tomography (CT) imaging before cranioplasty with dural plasty. RESULTS: X-ray performed on admission revealed a diastatic fracture with a gap of 8 mm in the right frontal bone and a linear fracture in the right occipital bone. X-ray performed 37 days after injury demonstrated that the gap had increased to 25 mm, and the patient was diagnosed with a growing skull fracture of the right parietal bone. Cranioplasty with dural plasty was performed on day 39. A combination of MR and CT images enabled the edge of the dural tear to be plotted on a three-dimensional image of the skull, and this was used to estimate the location of the edge of the dural tear on the scalp. CONCLUSIONS: We achieved excellent outcomes in terms of bony coverage and dural plasty. The combination of MR and CT images may be recommended for surgical repair of growing skull fracture in children.

Quantitative analysis of magnetic resonance imaging susceptibility artifacts caused by neurosurgical biomaterials: comparison of 0.5, 1.5, and 3.0 Tesla magnetic fields.

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is an important diagnostic tool for neurosurgical diseases but susceptibility artifacts caused by biomaterial instrumentation frequently causes difficulty in visualizing postoperative changes. The susceptibility artifacts caused by neurosurgical biomaterials were compared quantitatively by 0.5, 1.5, and 3.0 Tesla MR imaging. MR imaging of uniform size and shape of pieces ceramic (zirconia), pure titanium, titanium alloy, and cobalt-based alloy was performed at 0.5, 1.5, and 3.0 Tesla. A linear region of interest was defined across the center of the biomaterial in the transverse direction, and the susceptibility artifact diameter was calculated. Susceptibility artifacts developed around all biomaterials at all magnetic field strengths. The artifact diameters caused by pure titanium, titanium alloy, and cobalt-based alloy increased in the order of 0.5, 1.5, to 3.0 Tesla magnetic fields. The artifact diameter of ceramic was not influenced by magnetic field strength, and was the smallest of all biomaterials at all magnetic field strengths. The artifacts caused by biomaterials except ceramic increase with the magnetic field strength. Ceramic instrumentation will minimize artifacts in all magnetic fields.

Quantification of susceptibility artifacts produced on high-field magnetic resonance images by various biomaterials used for neurosurgical implants. Technical note.

Although various biomaterials such as ceramics or titanium alloy are widely used in neurosurgery, the susceptibility artifacts that appear around these materials cause problems when a magnetic resonance (MR) imager is used to assess lesions after surgery. The purpose of the present study was to quantify the susceptibility artifacts produced by various biomaterials used for neurosurgical implants. Using a 3-tesla MR imaging unit, we obtained MR images of various biomaterials, including six types of ceramics, a cobalt-based alloy (Elgiloy), pure titanium, a titanium alloy, and stainless steel. All implants shared a uniform size and shape. In each image, a linear region of interest was defined across the center of the biomaterial in the transverse direction, and the diameter of the susceptibility artifact was calculated. The ceramics produced a considerably smaller artifact diameter than those produced by other biomaterials. Among the types of ceramics, zirconia was found to produce the smallest artifact diameter. Among the remaining biomaterials, the diameters of the artifacts decreased in order from that associated with stainless steel to those associated with cobalt-based alloys, pure titanium, and titanium alloy. Little difference was observed between the artifact diameters associated with pure titanium and titanium alloy. Ceramics are the most suitable biomaterials for minimizing artifacts in high-field MR imaging.