Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthésie
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Patients with dementia are thought to be more sensitive to anesthesia, although volatile anesthetic requirement has not specifically been evaluated in this population. We tested the hypothesis that patients with dementia having non-cardiac surgery have a lower ratio of bispectral index (BIS) to minimal alveolar concentration (MAC) during the five minutes immediately preceding incision, thus exhibiting deeper hypnotic levels at a given MAC fraction. ⋯ Our results do not support the hypothesis that patients with dementia are more sensitive to volatile anesthetics than patients without dementia.
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When positioning patients with meningocele and meningomyelocele, it is standard practice to avoid direct pressure on the lesions. That caution is intended to prevent injury to neural elements within the lesion and violation of the cerebrospinal fluid space. We herein report an additional hazard of direct intraoperative pressure on such lesions. An adult patient with a lumbosacral pseudomeningocele sustained a cerebral ischemic injury as a consequence of direct pressure on the lesion during general anesthesia. ⋯ In retrospect, the size and leftward extent of the pseudomeningocele were not appreciated preoperatively, and in spite of the care taken, intraoperative pressure was placed on the lesion. This report cautions that intraoperative pressure related to positioning patients with extra-axial lesions containing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), e.g., meningoceles and pseudomeningoceles, can result in increases in CSF pressure and thereby a reduction in cerebral perfusion pressure sufficient to result in cerebral ischemia.
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Case Reports
Novel use of a guidewire to facilitate intubation in an obstructing anterior mediastinal mass.
This report describes the management of a life-threatening tracheal obstruction due to a thymoma in the anterior mediastinum and the use of a guidewire to facilitate intubation. ⋯ Confirmed guidewire placement prior to induction enabled intubation in a setting without cardiothoracic backup capabilities.