Capillary Refill Time and Serum Lactate as Predictors of Mortality and Postoperative Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Requirement in Congenital Heart Surgery.

Multiple tissue perfusion markers are described to guide therapy in critically ill pediatric patients undergoing congenital heart surgery. Given the advantages of capillary refill time, our goal is to determine its predictive capacity for mortality and postoperative extracorporeal oxygenation requirements in congenital heart surgery and compare it to serum lactate. We conducted a prospective cohort observational study in a single high-complexity university hospital. Serum lactate and capillary refill time were measured at five predetermined time points: preoperative, immediate postoperative, 6, 12, and 24 h after the surgery. Prolonged immediate postoperative, 6 h, and 12 h capillary refill time measurements turned out to be independent risk factors for both outcomes. The capillary refill time area under the curve ranged between 0.70 and 0.80, while the serum lactate resulted between 0.79 and 0.92 for both outcomes. Both tissue perfusion markers resulted in mortality and extracorporeal oxygenation requirement predictors. Given the advantages of capillary refill time over serum lactate, a monitoring strategy including these two perfusion markers should be considered for congenital heart surgeries.

Crisis anestésica en cirugía laparoscópica: neumotórax espontáneo bilateral. Diagnóstico y manejo, reporte de caso / Anesthesia crisis in laparoscopic surgery: Bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax. Diagnosis and management, case report

Introduction: Laparoscopic surgery as a minimally invasive technique has shown considerable benefit in terms of patient outcomes. However, major complications have been described, including spontaneous pneumothorax, with a 0.4% incidence. An unusual crisis in laparoscopic surgery - spontaneous bilateral pneumothorax - and an updated literature review are discussed with a view to identify the factors related to its occurrence and the prevention and management measures involved. Case presentation: A young man undergoing emergency laparoscopic surgery for abdominal pain. During the intraoperative period the patient developed respiratory impairment and subcutaneous emphysema. Bilateral pneumothorax was documented on chest X ray, though the etiology could not be established. Early diagnosis allowed for timely management with bilateral thoracotomy and extubation at the end of surgery. Conclusion: Spontaneous pneumothorax has been recognized as a potential crisis in laparoscopic procedures. There are multiple cases of this intraoperative complication reported in the literature since 1939. It is worth highlighting that to this date, and despite the advances in surgical techniques, monitoring and anesthetic agents, few elements may be manipulated and only an insightful anesthesiologist may prevent the condition from evolving into major hemodynamic and respiratory morbidity and even death. Few factors such as establishment of pneumoperitoneum and pressure, length of the procedure and type of surgery have been identified. Early diagnosis is based on a high suspicion due to subtle changes in respiratory and hemodynamic parameters that require radiographic confirmation if the patient's condition permits, followed by immediate decompression through thoracotomy.

Introducción: la cirugía laparoscópica como técnica quirúrgica mínimamente invasiva ha demostrado importantes beneficios en el desenlace de los pacientes. Sin embargo, se han descrito complicaciones mayores como el neumotórax espontáneo, con una incidencia de 0,4%. Se presenta una crisis inusual en cirugía laparoscópica, como el neumotórax espontáneo bilateral y una revisión actualizada de la literatura que permita identificar los factores relacionados con su presentación y las medidas de prevención y manejo. Presentación del caso: un hombre joven llevado a cirugía laparoscópica de urgencia por dolor abdominal, en el periodo intraoperatorio presentó deterioro respiratorio y enfisema subcutáneo, documentándose un neumotórax bilateral en una radiografía de tórax, cuya etiología no fue posible establecer. Su rápido diagnóstico permitió el oportuno manejo con toracostomía bilateral y extubación al finalizar la cirugía. Conclusión: el neumotórax espontáneo es reconocido como una potencial crisis en procedimientos laparoscópicos, y desde 1939 la literatura reporta múltiples casos de esta complicación intraoperaroria. Es de resaltar que al presente, a pesar de los avances en la técnica quirúrgica, monitoria y medicamentos anestésicos, pocos elementos pueden ser manipulados y solo la suspicacia del anestesiólogo puede prevenir su evolución a una mayor morbilidad hemodinámica y respiratoria o la muerte. Solo factores como la instauración y presión del neumoperitoneo, duración del procedimiento y tipo de cirugía han sido relacionados. Su rápido diagnóstico reposa en un alto índice de sospecha ante cambios sutiles en parámetros respiratorios y hemodinámicos que deben llevar a una confirmación radiográfica si el estado del paciente lo permite, con posterior descomprensión inmediata con toracostomía.