ABSTRACT
Refractory hypotension is a known entity in liver transplantation. Catecholamine and vasopressin infusions are first-line therapies. There has been recent interest in angiotensin II (Ang-2) as an alternative vasopressor; however, liver failure patients were excluded from the original trials. Ang-2 has potential in this patient population. This case discusses a patient who received an infusion of Ang-2 during a liver transplant for combined liver failure-induced distributive shock and septic shock. It is the first known successful use of intraoperative Ang-2 in this situation, and it shows that Ang-2 may be safe in liver transplantation when traditional therapies fail.
Subject(s)
Hypotension , Liver Transplantation , Shock , Angiotensin II , Humans , Hypotension/chemically induced , Hypotension/drug therapy , Shock/drug therapy , Vasoconstrictor Agents/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Some patients infected with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) require endotracheal intubation, an aerosol-generating procedure that is believed to result in viral transmission to personnel performing the procedure. Additionally, donning and doffing personal protective equipment can be time consuming. In particular, doffing requires strict protocol adherence to avoid exposure. We describe the Emory Healthcare intubation team approach during the COVID-19 pandemic. This structure resulted in only 1 team member testing positive for COVID-19 despite 253 patient intubations over a 6-week period with 153 anesthesia providers on service.
Subject(s)
Betacoronavirus/pathogenicity , Coronavirus Infections/therapy , Infection Control/methods , Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional/prevention & control , Intubation, Intratracheal/adverse effects , Occupational Exposure/prevention & control , Occupational Health , Patient Care Team , Pneumonia, Viral/therapy , COVID-19 , Checklist , Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis , Coronavirus Infections/transmission , Coronavirus Infections/virology , Decontamination , Equipment Contamination/prevention & control , Humans , Intubation, Intratracheal/instrumentation , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/diagnosis , Pneumonia, Viral/transmission , Pneumonia, Viral/virology , Risk Assessment , Risk Factors , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The significance of intraoperative anesthesia handoffs on patient outcomes are unclear. One aspect differentiating the disparate results is the treatment of confounding factors, such as patient comorbidities and surgery time of day. We performed this study to quantify the significance of confounding variables on composite adverse events during intraoperative anesthesia handoffs. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we analyzed data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project (ACS NSQIP). We examined the effects of intraoperative handoffs between anesthesia personnel. A total of 12,111 cases performed examined at two hospitals operated by a single healthcare system that were that included in the ACS NSQIP database performed. The presence of attending and anesthetist or resident handoffs, patient age, sex, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status (ASA-PS) classification, case length, surgical case complexity, and evening/weekend start time were measured. RESULTS: A total of 2586 of all cases in the NSQIP dataset experienced a handoff during the case. When analyzed as a single variable, attending handoffs were associated with higher rates of adverse outcomes. However, once confounding variables were added into the analysis, attending handoffs and complete care transitions were no longer statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Inclusion of significant covariates is essential to fully understanding the impact provider handoffs have on patient outcomes. Case timing and lengthy case duration are more likely to result in both a handoff and an adverse event. The impact of handoffs on patient outcomes seen in the literature are likely due, in part, to how covariates were addressed.
