Effects of parental presence during induction of anesthesia on operative and perioperative times in pediatric patients undergoing adenotonsillectomy.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the overall perioperative times among pediatric patients undergoing adenotonsillectomy (AT) who, in the perioperative period, received either parental presence at induction of anesthesia (PPIA), midazolam, both, or neither. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of patients under the age of twelve years who underwent AT during 2018 was performed at a tertiary children's hospital. Exclusion criteria were: patients with concomitant procedures done at the time of AT, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score greater than 3, or unclear documentation of PPIA participation. Patients were categorized into one of four groups: those who received PPIA, those who received midazolam, and those who received both or neither. Time spent in holding, the operating room, and in recovery were recorded. For comparison of continuous variables, either a One-Way ANOVA or a Kruskal-Wallis test was used as appropriate with post-hoc comparisons using a Dunn's Test. RESULTS: A total of 274 patient charts were reviewed. After application of exclusion criteria, 152 charts were included for analysis. A total of 69 patients had PPIA alone, 18 received midazolam alone, 57 received both, and 8 had neither. The median age of the patients was 5.34 years (range 0.62-11.97). There was no significant difference in median time in holding between groups, but there was a significant difference in both OR and recovery time (p = 0.005 and p = 0.021 respectively). On further analysis with post-hoc pairwise comparisons, the only significant difference was between the midazolam only group and the group who received both PPIA and midazolam (p < 0.05), with patients receiving both having a shorter OR duration. CONCLUSION: Patients who received both PPIA and midazolam had a shorter OR duration than patients in the midazolam only group. There were no significant differences found in holding time or recovery time between groups. This supports the conclusion that PPIA can be implemented when deemed appropriate without increasing time spent in the operating room and may even have a beneficial effect when compounded with midazolam.

Body Mass Index and Overall Outcome Following Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: An Obesity Paradox?

BACKGROUND: Conventional understanding of obesity demonstrates negative consequences for overall health, whereas more modern studies have found that it can provide certain advantages. The current literature on the effect of body mass index (BMI) in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is similarly inconsistent. METHODS: cohort of 406 patients with SAH were retrospectively reviewed and stratified into 3 BMI categories: normal weight, 18.5-24.9 kg/m2; overweight, 25-29.9 kg/m2; and obese, >30 kg/m2. Neurologic status, the presence of clinical cerebral vasospasm, and outcome as assessed by the modified Rankin scale (mRS) were obtained. RESULTS: Statistical differences were evident for all outcome categories. A categorical analysis of the different groups revealed that compared with the normal weight group, the overweight group had an odds ratio (OR) for mortality of 0.415 (P = 0.023), an OR for poor mRS score at 90 days of 0.432 (P = 0.014), and an OR for poor mRS score at 180 days of 0.311 (P = 0.001), and the obese group had statistically significant ORs for poor mRS score at 90 days of 2.067 (P = 0.041) and at 180 days of 1.947 (P = 0.049). These significant ORs persisted in a multivariable model controlling for age and Hunt and Hess grade. CONCLUSIONS: The overweight group exhibited strikingly lower odds of death and poor outcome compared with the normal weight group, whereas the obese group demonstrated the opposite. These associations persisted in a multivariable model; thus, BMI can be considered an important predictor of outcome after SAH.