Positional Oxygenation Changes in an Adult Patient With Scimitar Syndrome: A Case Report.

Scimitar syndrome is a rare complex of congenital anomalies of the cardiopulmonary system. In patients with scimitar syndrome, the right pulmonary vein abnormally drains into the inferior vena cava, right atrium, coronary sinus, azygos vein, portal vein, or hepatic vein. The syndrome gets its name from the Turkish sword-like image that appears on chest x-ray. Some patients with scimitar syndrome survive in adulthood undiagnosed. Herein, we discuss positional oxygenation and hemodynamic changes associated with scimitar syndrome, especially in the left lateral decubitus position, detected during preoperative anesthetic examination in an adult patient who underwent general anesthesia for left mastectomy.

Effects of sociodemographic factors and maternal anxiety on preoperative anxiety in children.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of sociodemographic factors and maternal anxiety levels on behaviour in children undergoing surgery. METHODS: This study included children aged 3-12 years who were scheduled for surgery, and their respective mothers. Each mother completed a questionnaire concerning sociodemographic and economic characteristics. Maternal anxiety was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) form Tx-1, following transfer of the child to the operating room. An anaesthesiologist rated preoperative anxiety in each child using the Frankl Behaviour Rating Scale (FBRS) and Venham Picture Test (VPT). RESULTS: One hundred children (mean ± SD age 7 ± 2.7 years) who received dental (47%), plastic (39%) or urological (14%) surgery, and 100 mothers (mean ± SD age 34 ± 6.6 years) were included. A statistically significant difference between maternal STAI Tx-1 scores and children's VPT scores was revealed. There was no significant difference between maternal STAI Tx-1 scores and children's FBRS scores. Maternal education level and socioeconomic status had no effect on FBRS, VPT and STAI Tx-1 scores. CONCLUSION: Maternal knowledge and experience of anaesthesia, and high levels of maternal anxiety, may be related to increased anxiety in children undergoing surgery.