Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthésie
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Initially introduced as a safer alternative to smoking, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and vaping have since been associated with lung injury. Nevertheless, there is limited perioperative data on their potential contribution to the harmful effects of mechanical ventilation on the lungs. We hypothesized that, in adults undergoing noncardiothoracic surgeries, preoperative vaping/e-cigarette use is associated with hypoxemia during the first postoperative hour, and with an increased incidence of intraoperative and postoperative pulmonary complications. ⋯ Vaping/e-cigarette use was neither associated with clinically significant hypoxemia during the first hour in the postanesthesia care unit nor with an increase in pulmonary complications. Nevertheless, our findings cannot definitively exclude the deleterious effects of vaping and e-cigarette use on the lungs, and anesthesiologists should consider potential perioperative complications.
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Comparative Study
Postoperative analgesic consumption for primary versus first repeat Cesarean delivery: a historical cohort study.
It is unclear if postoperative pain experience and opioid consumption differ in patients undergoing primary vs repeat Cesarean delivery (CD) as prior studies have yielded conflicting results and none used the same patients as their own controls. We sought to compare opioid consumption and pain scores in patients undergoing both a primary and a first repeat CD, using the same patients as their own controls. ⋯ In this retrospective study, we found no differences in postoperative opioid consumption or reported pain scores in patients who underwent both a primary and a first repeat CD.
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Platypnea orthodeoxia syndrome (POS) is a rare cause of hypoxemia. Diagnosis of POS is challenging, requiring a high index of clinical suspicion, special investigations, and collaboration with multiple specialists. ⋯ Platypnea orthodeoxia syndrome is a rare presentation of hypoxemia. Positional changes in oxygenation are the cardinal feature of POS. Discordance between lung imaging and the severity of hypoxemia should prompt investigation for an intracardiac shunt, which can occur in POS even in the absence of increased right-sided heart pressures. Either contrast TTE or transesophageal echocardiography is necessary to make this diagnosis.
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Concerns around delayed emergence and opioid-induced ventilatory impairment in bariatric surgery can lead to intraoperative reliance on short-acting opioids and avoidance of long-acting analgesics with potential sedative effects. Nevertheless, an overly-conservative intraoperative analgesic strategy may result in significant pain at emergence and higher opioid requirements in later phases of care. We sought to establish the pattern of intraoperative analgesic use in bariatric surgical patients as well as their postoperative pain trajectory and opioid requirements. ⋯ In bariatric surgical patients, effective intraoperative analgesic strategies that improve early pain control may have an impact on recovery and pain experience. Judicious use of intraoperative opioids coupled with opioid-sparing multimodal analgesic techniques should be considered and balanced against concerns regarding opioid-related adverse effects in this patient population.