Journal of clinical anesthesia
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We report the application of ultrasound prescans for spinal anesthesia to morbid obesity patient. A 38-year-old woman with a body mass index (BMI) of 50 (weight: 110 kg; height: 148 cm) was scheduled to undergo pilonidal cyst resection at the bottom of the tailbone. Spinal anesthesia was selected for the procedure, because the patient's position during the surgery was prone and the patient had morbid obesity. ⋯ The transverse view of the patient's lumbar spine showed the posterior dura, transverse process, and posterior vertebral body below the thick fat tissue. At this point, spinal anesthesia was successfully performed. Pre-insertion ultrasound guidance for spinal anesthesia was useful in this morbidly obese patient with a BMI of 50.
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Case Reports
A patient with postpolio syndrome developed cauda equina syndrome after neuraxial anesthesia: A case report.
Combined spinal anesthesia and postoperative epidural analgesia is widely used in orthopedic surgery. Uncommon but serious neurologic complications of neuraxial anesthesia (NA) include direct trauma during needle or catheter insertion, central nervous system infections, and neurotoxicity of local anesthetics. Cauda equina syndrome (CES) is a rare complication after NA but can result in severe neurologic deterioration that may require surgical intervention. ⋯ Perioperative observations and follow-up examinations, including magnetic resonance imaging, revealed no evidence of direct needle- or catheter-induced trauma, spinal hematoma, spinal ischemia, intraneural anesthetic injection, or infection. We speculate that CES symptoms were observed because of enhanced sensitivity to a combination of regional anesthetic technique-related microtrauma and neurotoxicity of bupivacaine and ropivacaine. Thus, practitioners should be aware that patients with preexisting neurologic diseases may be at increased risk for CES after NA.
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Comparative Study
The effect of second-stage pushing and body mass index on postdural puncture headache.
To explore how pushing during labor and body mass index affect the development of postdural puncture headache in parturients who experienced dural puncture with Tuohy needles. ⋯ Parturients who did not push before delivery and parturients with body mass index ≥50kg/m(2) were less likely to develop postdural puncture headache in a univariate analysis. Similar trends were demonstrated in a multivariate model, but were no longer statistically significant.
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To determine whether having preoperative airway photographs will change the preanesthetic airway plan. ⋯ Our findings suggest that the addition of dynamic airway photographs to preoperative airway reports affects airway management plans among a variety of anesthesia care providers. In general, dynamic airway photographs can aid preoperative airway management planning.
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Observational Study
Determination of insertion depth of flexible laryngeal mask airway in pediatric population-A prospective observational study.
The purpose of this study was to determine the ideal insertion depth of the flexible laryngeal mask airway (FLMA) by elucidating the relationships between insertion depth and patient's age, body weight, height, and other parameters. We also evaluated an insertion technique that uses the change in intracuff pressure for proper positioning of the FLMA in cases where it is difficult to sense resistance during FLMA insertion. ⋯ The FLMA insertion depth can be calculated using height and weight. Continuous monitoring of intracuff pressure during FLMA insertion is a useful alternative insertion method in cases where resistance is difficult to sense.