Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthésie
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Failure to manage bleeding in the airway is an important cause of airway-related death. The purpose of this narrative review is to identify techniques and strategies that can be employed when severe bleeding in the upper airway may render traditional airway management (e.g., facemask ventilation, intubation via direct/video laryngoscopy, flexible bronchoscopy) impossible because of impeded vision. An extensive literature search was conducted of bibliographic databases, guidelines, and textbooks using search terms related to airway management and bleeding. ⋯ We provide a structured approach to managing bleeding in the airway that accounts for the source of bleeding and the estimated risk of failure to intubate using direct laryngoscopy or to achieve a front-of-neck access for surgical airway rescue. In situations where these techniques are predicted to be successful, the recommended approach is to identify the cricothyroid membrane (in preparation for rescue cricothyroidotomy), followed by rapid sequence induction. In situations where traditional management of the airway is likely to fail, we recommend an awake approach with one of the aforementioned techniques.
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Patients with cirrhosis and concomitant coronary/valvular heart disease present a clinical dilemma. The therapeutic outcome of major cardiac surgery is significantly poorer in patients with cirrhosis compared with patients without cirrhosis. To address this, we aimed to identify associations between the severity of cirrhosis and post-cardiac surgical outcomes. ⋯ Despite having low median model for end-stage liver disease scores, this small series of cirrhotic patients undergoing cardiac surgery had significantly higher mortality rates and required more organ support postoperatively than propensity score-matched non-cirrhotic patients. Impact de la cirrhose chez les patients subissant une chirurgie cardiaque : une étude de cohorte observationnelle et rétrospective.