Current opinion in anaesthesiology
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Oct 2023
ReviewDiagnosing delirium in perioperative and intensive care medicine.
This article reviews the current literature on instruments used for screening and diagnosing delirium in perioperative and intensive care medicine. It summarizes recent findings to guide clinicians and researchers in choosing the most appropriate tools. ⋯ Overlooking or misdiagnosing delirium may result in poor patient outcomes. Familiarizing healthcare workers with the variety of delirium assessments and selecting the most appropriate tool to their needs is an important step toward improving awareness and recognition of delirium.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Oct 2023
ReviewModulating anesthetic emergence with pathway-selective dopamine signaling.
To summarize the recent preclinical findings investigating dopaminergic circuits for their involvement in reversing anesthetic-induced unconsciousness. ⋯ Potential avenues for accelerating anesthetic emergence may be found through targeting specific arousal-promoting pathways in the brain. Accumulating evidence from rodent studies manipulating cell type- and circuit-specific signaling pathways have identified dopamine as a potent modulator of general anesthesia. Specifically, dopamine signaling along the mesolimbic and mesocortical pathways plays a fundamental role in regulating consciousness.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Oct 2023
ReviewUnanswered questions of anesthesia neurotoxicity in the developing brain.
This article reviews recent advances and controversies of developmental anesthesia neurotoxicity research with a special focus on the unanswered questions in the field both from clinical and preclinical perspectives. ⋯ Advances have been made in the field of developmental anesthetic neurotoxicity over the past few years, including the recognition that anesthetic exposure is associated with deficits in certain cognitive domains but not others. Although the most important question of whether anesthetic agents actually cause long-term neurodevelopmental effects in children has still not been answered, results from recent studies will guide further studies necessary to inform clinical decision-making in children.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Oct 2023
ReviewSpine surgery under neuraxial vs. general anesthesia: the current state of comparative outcomes research.
The impact of primary anesthetic technique on outcomes after spine surgery is controversial. Given frequent calls for well designed prospective comparative studies of neuraxial anesthesia vs. general anesthesia and recent reports of 'awake spine surgery' successes in the surgical literature, an updated evidence review is indicated. ⋯ Our understanding of the risks, benefits and comparative outcomes between neuraxial anesthesia and general anesthesia for spine surgery is evolving. Although the results derived from this body of literature suggest specific benefits of neuraxial anesthesia, further research is required before widespread recommendations for either technique can be made. Until then, both neuraxial anesthesia and general anesthesia are reasonable choices for lumbar spine surgery of short duration, in appropriately selected patients.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Oct 2023
ReviewComparative review of airway anesthesia and sedation methods for awake intubation.
Successful awake intubation hinges upon adequate airway anesthesia and sedation for patient comfort. This review will summarize relevant anatomy and regional anesthesia techniques to achieve airway anesthesia, and compare various airway anesthesia and sedation regimens. ⋯ Emerging evidence has indicated that nerve blocks for airway anesthesia may be superior to other methods of topicalization. Additionally, dexmedetomidine can be useful, both as monotherapy and with supplemental sedatives, to safely provide anxiolysis for the patient and increase success. However, it is crucial to note that the method of airway anesthesia and sedation regimen should be adapted to each patient and clinical situation, and knowledge of multiple techniques and sedation regimens can best equip anesthesiologists to do so.