Emergency endovascular stent graft repair for acute blunt thoracic aortic injury: a retrospective case control study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare surgical and endovascular stent graft (ESG) treatment of blunt thoracic aortic injury (BAI) in the emergency setting. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective case control study in two surgical intensive care units of a university hospital. PATIENTS: 30 patients who presented with BAI between 1995 and 2005: 17 treated surgically and 13 by ESG. The two groups were comparable for the severity of trauma and mean delay before treatment; the mean age was higher in the ESG group (46+/-18 vs. 35+/-15 years). RESULTS: In the surgical group time spent in the operating theater was longer (310+/-130 vs. 140+/-48 min) and blood losses higher (2000+/-1300 vs. no significant bleeding); aortic clamping time was 48+/-20 min. The mortality rate was 15% with ESG (n=2) and 23% with surgery (n=4). Complications of the procedure were more frequent in the surgical group (1 vs. 7). In the ESG group there was one pulmonary embolism. In the surgical group there were three neurological complications, one acute aortic dissection, one perioperative rupture, one periprosthetic leak, and one septic shock. Two complications (postoperative aortic dissection and paraplegia) appeared in the same patient in the surgical group. Intensive care unit length of stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, and catecholamine support were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Stent graft for emergency treatment of BAI is efficient and is associated with fewer complications than surgical treatment.

Right ventricular function after coronary surgery with or without bypass.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Myocardial protection during aortic clamp period may sometimes be inadequate, especially for the right. The aim of this study was to compare right ventricle function after cardiac surgery with or without bypass. METHODS: Patients undergoing multivessel coronary surgery with proximal severe right coronary lesion were included in a prospective observational cohort study including 29 patients undergoing coronary surgery with or without bypass. All patients were monitored with a pulmonary artery catheter with continuous right ventricular function. Right ventricular ejection fraction was measured at the arrival in ICU, 1, 3, 6, and 18 hours later. RESULTS: The number of grafts that was higher in the bypass group (4.0 +/- 1.3) than in the off-pump group (2.6 +/- 0.6, p = 0.001). In the on-pump group, the right ventricular ejection fraction significantly decreased from 32.9 +/- 2.8 at arrival in ICU to 26.1 +/- 2.4, 6 hours later whereas in the off-pump group, it did not significantly change (32.4 +/- 1.8 to 31.9 +/- 2.3). Meanwhile, at the same time intervals, CVP was significantly lower in the off-pump group. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with severe right coronary stenosis, off-pump cardiac surgery seemed to provide better right ventricular protection.

Compliance with guidelines on antibiotic prophylaxis in total hip replacement surgery: results of a retrospective study of 416 patients in a teaching hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To assess compliance of anesthesiologist practices in antibiotic prophylaxis during total hip replacement (THR) surgery with the French Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care consensus-based guidelines. DESIGN: Retrospective review of medical records. Compliance of anesthesiologist practices with the guidelines was assessed according to antibiotic prophylaxis use, antimicrobial agent, dosage of first injection, time from first dose to incision, and total duration of antibiotic prophylaxis. SETTING: Orthopedic surgery wards in a 2,200-bed French teaching hospital. PATIENTS: A random sample of 416 patients undergoing THR from January 1999 to December 2000. RESULTS: Three hundred eighty-six (93%) of the sampled medical records were usable. Antibiotic prophylaxis was used for 366 (95%) of the patients. Total duration of prophylaxis did not exceed 48 hours in 98% (359 of 366) of the patients. Drug selection complied with national guidelines in 259 (71%) of the patients. Dosage and timing of the first injection were appropriate in 98% (290 of 296) and 80% (236 of 296) of the patients, respectively, who received one of the recommended antibiotics. Overall, 53% (203 of 386) of the patients met all five criteria. In multivariate analysis, there was a significant anesthesiologist effect on overall compliance with the guidelines (likelihood ratio chi-square with 9 degrees of freedom, 25.7; P < .01). Undergoing surgery during 2000 was the only patient characteristic associated with an increased rate of appropriate practices (adjusted OR, 1.56; CI95 1.02-2.38). CONCLUSION: The overall compliance rate should be improved by disseminating the guidelines and the results of this study following audit and feedback.

Propofol and sufentanil titration with the bispectral index to provide anesthesia for coronary artery surgery.

BACKGROUND: To provide anesthesia for cardiac surgery, hypnotics and opioids are frequently titrated on variables such as mean arterial pressure and heart rate. In this study conducted in patients scheduled to undergo coronary artery bypass grafting, propofol and sufentanil, both administered by computer-controlled infusion, were titrated on the Bispectral Index (BIS) values using a predefined algorithm. METHODS: After written informed consent, 110 patients, 95 men and 15 women aged 61 (9) yr [mean (SD)], were randomly allocated to receive predicted sufentanil effect site concentrations (Ce) of 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, and 1.5 ng/ml, decreased by a third after sternotomy (groups 1-5). Target induction propofol concentration was 1.5 microg/ml and subsequently adjusted on BIS values. The following parameters were recorded: BIS values, predicted propofol Ce, the number of changes of propofol target, mean arterial pressure, heart rate, the number of bolus injection and doses of vasoconstrictor and vasodilator drugs, time to tracheal extubation, postoperative awareness and satisfaction scores, and cumulative morphine doses for the first postoperative day. RESULTS: One patient randomized to group 1 required 0.75 ng/ml sufentanil Ce instead of 0.5 ng/ml for increased BIS values on tracheal intubation. BIS values were similar in the five groups. The predicted propofol Ce values were different (P < 0.05; analysis of variance) among the five groups: 1.59 (0.47) to 1.23 (0.25) microg/ml in group 1 and group 4, respectively. Significantly fewer changes of propofol target were required in group 4 as compared to group 1. There were no differences among the five groups for mean arterial pressure, heart rate, time to tracheal extubation, awareness, satisfaction scores, and morphine requirements. CONCLUSION: These results suggest the BIS, as part of an algorithm that uses both the absolute BIS value and its increase following tracheal intubation, can be used to effectively titrate both propofol and sufentanil. A predicted sufentanil Ce of 1.25 ng/ml before and 0.8 ng/ml after sternotomy was associated with the lowest predicted propofol Ce and fewer changes of propofol target. Lower sufentanil concentrations required higher propofol concentrations and more frequent changes of the target propofol concentration and were associated with similar hemodynamic tolerance.