A&A practice
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Postdural puncture headache (PDPH) is a complication of dural puncture. An epidural blood patch (EBP) is the standard treatment; however, when EBP fails, alternative treatments and/or diagnoses must be considered. We present a case of orthostatic headache initially diagnosed as PDPH but likely due to spontaneous intracranial hypotension. It is imperative for anesthesiologists, as members of an interdisciplinary peripartum team, to be familiar with the evaluation and treatment of postpartum headache and recognize when further workup and consultation may be indicated.
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Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a rare but devastating condition with mortality rates as high as 60%-80%., We report a case of AFE complicating the labor of a parturient with no reported risk factors. She received general anesthesia for emergent cesarean delivery (CD), after which she developed a pulseless electrical activity (PEA) event requiring resuscitation, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and postpartum hemorrhage with undetectable fibrinogen activity by ROTEM FIBTEM assay. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy was successfully initiated, and she was discharged home without neurologic sequelae. ECMO therapy can be considered for the treatment of AFE even in the absence of fibrinogen activity.
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We report a case of severe shivering resulting in rhabdomyolysis while on venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) that resolved after hyperthermia was induced using the ECMO circuit. The patient developed shivering approximately 24 hours after venoarterial ECMO cannulation for refractory ventricular tachycardia. ⋯ Suspecting sepsis as the etiology of shivering, the ECMO circuit temperature was increased to 38 °C, and the shivering was resolved. This case demonstrates therapeutic hyperthermia to treat infection-induced severe shivering and rhabdomyolysis while on ECMO.
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We present the case of a 7-month-old infant undergoing thoracotomy and left lower lobe lobectomy who experienced a significant complication related to lung isolation with a bronchial blocker. Despite good isolation and seemingly appropriate positioning, the bronchial blocker became entrapped within the staple line at the bronchial stump. Fortunately, the surgeon was able to free the blocker. Going forward, we recommend clinicians be vigilant in positioning the blocker just distal to the carina in all cases and, further, consider retracting the blocker into the trachea before surgical intervention on the airway to avoid inadvertent entrapment of the device.
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Endoscopic nasal septoplasty is a commonly performed otolaryngology procedure, not known to cause persistent postsurgical pain or hypersensitivity. Here, we discuss a unique case of persistent nasal pain that developed after a primary endoscopic septoplasty, which then progressed to marked mechanical and thermal allodynia following a revision septoplasty. Pain symptoms were found to be mediated by the maxillary division of the trigeminal nerve and resolved after percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of bilateral maxillary nerves. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of maxillary nerve-mediated nasal allodynia after septoplasty.