Determination of the optimal length of insertion for central venous catheterization via axillary vein cannulation using preoperative chest X-ray- A prospective feasibility study.

Background and Aims: Ensuring safe central venous catheter tip placement is important. Multiple techniques are available to estimate the length of catheter insertion for subclavian and internal jugular approaches. However, the methods to determine the length of insertion for the axillary route have not been validated. The purpose of this feasibility study was to evaluate a simple method for the calculation of catheter length to be inserted and assess whether it accurately predicts the correct tip placement. Material and Methods: A total of 102 patients requiring preoperative central venous cannulation were evaluated, out of which 60 had successful axillary vein (AxV) cannulation. The length of insertion was calculated using the formula: (2/3* A + B) +Y (A: Clavicular length on chest radiograph [CXR], B: Vertical distance between the sternal head and carina on CXR, Y: Perpendicular distance from the skin to the AxV on ultrasound). A postoperative CXR was used to assess the accurate tip placement (2 cm above the carina to 0.5 cm below it). The primary outcome of the study was the rate of successful placement of the central venous catheter (CVC) in terms of the correct position of the tip of the catheter when the length of the catheter inserted was predicted by the formula described previously. Results: Optimal placement was observed in 83.33% of the cases. A higher rate of accuracy was seen in the females (P value = 0.03) and shorter patients (P value = 0.01). A Bland-Altman plot depicted a high degree of agreement. Conclusion: Use of the formula using a CXR and ultrasound allowed P successful placement of the CVC tip at the desired location in 83.33% of the cases.

Colonic interposition for oesophageal replacement surgery in a patient with left broncho-oesophageal fistula: anaesthetic management.

Management of an uncorrected broncho-oesophageal fistula in the perioperative period is a challenge for the anaesthesiologist. Positive pressure ventilation which is inevitable during surgery will lead to gastric insufflation and there is a high risk of aspiration of gastric contents. In this case report, we discuss how we used a double lumen tube to occlude a pericarinal broncho-oesophageal fistula. This method was quite effective as it obviated the need for isolating the lung as well as ensured smooth delivery of positive pressure ventilation during the surgery.

A randomised comparative study of "videoendoscope" with the Truview EVO2, C-MAC D blade videolaryngoscope and the Macintosh laryngoscope.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Videolaryngoscopes are crucial components of a difficult airway cart. Issues of cost and availability, however, remain a problem. We compared the combination of an endoscope used in conjunction with the Macintosh laryngoscope with established videolaryngoscopes and the Macintosh laryngoscope using the intubation difficulty scale (IDS) score. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective randomised study including 120 adult patients, American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I-III, with an anticipated difficult airway scheduled for elective surgery were randomly allocated to one of four groups: Truview EVO2 (group 1), C-MAC D Blade (group 2), videoendoscope (group 3), or Macintosh laryngoscope (group 4). The IDS score was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included the Cormack-Lehane grade, time to tracheal intubation, haemodynamic responses, and adverse events. RESULTS: A significant proportion of patients in groups 2 and 3 had an IDS score of zero (73.3 and 70%, respectively). IDS scores were significantly lower in the C-MAC D blade and videoendoscope groups attributable to differences in parameters N4, N5 and N6 [C/L grades, lifting force and laryngeal pressure required] (P < 0.001). The C-MAC D blade and the Macintosh laryngoscope required less time for intubation as compared to the Truview EVO2 and videoendoscope. No differences were noted in post-intubation haemodynamic parameters and other adverse events. CONCLUSION: The performance of videoendoscope was comparable to C-MAC D Blade and superior to Truview EVO2 and Macintosh laryngoscope with respect to the IDS score and may thereby provide an effective alternative to commercial videolaryngoscopes in low resource settings.