Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 2024
ReviewBeyond the Echo: The Evolution and Revolution of Ultrasound in Anesthesia.
This article explores the evolving role of ultrasound technology in anesthesia. Ultrasound emerged decades ago, offering clinicians noninvasive, economical, radiation-free, and real-time imaging capabilities. It might seem that such an old technology with apparent limitations might have had its day, but this review discusses both the current applications of ultrasound (in nerve blocks, vascular access, and airway management) and then, more speculatively, shows how integration of advanced ultrasound modalities such as contrast-enhanced imaging with virtual reality (VR), or nanotechnology can alter perioperative patient care. This article will also explore the potential of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) in augmenting ultrasound-guided anesthetic procedures and their implications for medical practice and education.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 2024
Multicenter Study Observational StudyMulticenter Population Pharmacokinetics of Fentanyl in Neonatal Surgical Patients Using Dried Blood Spot Specimen Collection Demonstrates Maturation of Elimination Clearance.
Fentanyl is widely used for analgesia and sedation in neonates, but pharmacokinetic (PK) analysis in this population has been limited by the relatively large sample volumes required for plasma-based assays. ⋯ A supra-allometric effect on clearance was determined during covariate analyses (exponential scaling factor for body weight >0.75), as has been described in population PK models that account for maturation of intrinsic clearance (here, predominantly hepatic microsomal activity) in addition to scaling for weight, both of which impact clearance in this age group.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 2024
Clinical Outcomes, Blood Utilization, and Ethical Considerations for Pediatric Patients in a Bloodless Medicine and Surgery Program.
Pediatric patients requesting bloodless care represent a challenging clinical situation, as parents cannot legally refuse lifesaving or optimal interventions for their children. Here, we report clinical outcomes for the largest series of pediatric inpatients requesting bloodless care and also discuss the ethical considerations. ⋯ Pediatric patients receiving bloodless care exhibited similar clinical outcomes compared to patients receiving standard care, although larger studies with adequate power are needed to confirm this finding. There were no mortalities among the pediatric bloodless cohort. Although a subset of our pediatric bloodless patients received an allogeneic transfusion, no patients required a court order. When delivered in a collaborative and patient-centered manner, blood transfusions can be safely limited among pediatric patients.
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The monitoring of vital signs in patients undergoing anesthesia began with the very first case of anesthesia and has evolved alongside the development of anesthesiology ever since. Patient monitoring started out as a manually performed, intermittent, and qualitative assessment of the patient's general well-being in the operating room. In its evolution, patient monitoring development has responded to the clinical need, for example, when critical incident studies in the 1980s found that many anesthesia adverse events could be prevented by improved monitoring, especially respiratory monitoring. ⋯ Slower product life cycles in medical devices mean that by carefully observing technologies such as consumer electronics, including user interfaces, it is possible to peek ahead and estimate with confidence the foundational technologies that will be used by patient monitors in the near future. Just as the discipline of anesthesiology has, the patient monitoring that accompanies it has come a long way from its beginnings in the mid-19th century. Extrapolating from careful observations of the prevailing trends that have shaped anesthesia patient monitoring historically, patient monitoring in the future will use noncontact technologies, will predict the trajectory of a patient's vital signs, will add regional vital signs to the current systemic ones, and will facilitate directed and supervised anesthesia care over the broader scope that anesthesia will be responsible for.
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Mechanical ventilation (MV) has played a crucial role in the medical field, particularly in anesthesia and in critical care medicine (CCM) settings. MV has evolved significantly since its inception over 70 years ago and the future promises even more advanced technology. In the past, ventilation was provided manually, intermittently, and it was primarily used for resuscitation or as a last resort for patients with severe respiratory or cardiovascular failure. ⋯ In conclusion, MV has come a long way since its inception, and it continues to play a critical role in anesthesia and in CCM settings. Advances in technology have made MV safer, more effective, affordable, and more widely available. As technology continues to improve, more advanced and personalized MV will become available, leading to better patients' outcomes and quality of life for those in need.