Anesthesia and analgesia
-
Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 2024
The Incidence and Predictors of Failed Spinal Anesthesia After Intrathecal Injection of Local Anesthetic for Cesarean Delivery: A Single-Center, 9-Year Retrospective Review.
The incidence of failed spinal anesthesia varies widely in the obstetric literature. Although many risk factors have been suggested, their relative predictive value is unknown. The primary objective of this retrospective cohort study was to determine the incidence of failed spinal anesthesia for cesarean deliveries at a tertiary care obstetric hospital, and its secondary objectives were to identify predictors of failed spinal anesthesia in the obstetrics population and quantify their relative importance in a predictive model for failure. ⋯ Spinal anesthesia failed to provide a pain-free surgery in 4.1% of our cesarean deliveries. Previous cesarean delivery was the most important predictor of spinal failure. Other important predictors included tubal ligation, lower BMI, and longer surgery duration.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 2024
Overcoming Obstacles: The Legacy of Fidel Pagés, Founder of the Epidural, 100 Years After His Passing.
Fidel Pagés, a Spanish surgeon, tragically died in 1923 at the age of 37, just 2 years after his publication "Anestesia Metamérica," the first description of human thoracolumbar epidural anesthesia. In the intervening 100 years, epidural anesthesia has faced countless obstacles, starting with the dissemination of his initial report, which was not widely read nor appreciated at the time. ⋯ Even today, while epidural anesthesia is widely embraced, particularly in obstetric and chronic pain medicine, the pressures of the operating room for efficiency and a low tolerance for failure, pose modern-day challenges. Here, we revisit Pagés' original report and highlight the key innovations that have allowed for the evolution of this essential anesthesia technique.