Current opinion in anaesthesiology
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Jun 2023
ReviewThe anesthetic approach to a patient with placenta accreta spectrum.
Placenta accreta poses significant risk of morbidity and mortality to a laboring patient. Here we review available treatment options, highlight trends in bleeding prevention and diagnosis that have been shown to improve patient outcome, and provide best practice suggestions. We also discuss the decision-making process for choice of anesthesia, as it is not based on a gold-standard paradigm. ⋯ Optimal management of PAS begins with early and definitive diagnosis. A multidisciplinary approach along with preparation of special equipment and the use of a check-list maximize the chance for success. Anesthesia could be done with all types of regional or under general, considering case-by-case factors but most importantly choosing according to the institution's best facility and skill.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Jun 2023
ReviewThe role of supraglottic airway devices in obstetric anaesthesia.
To discuss the role of supraglottic airway devices as rescue and primary airway devices in pregnant patients. ⋯ Based on current scientific data, the evidence for the safe use of supraglottic airway devices as primary airway devices during general anaesthesia for caesarean deliveries is not compelling. However, their use as rescue airway devices remains a well established strategy supported by international guidelines.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Jun 2023
ReviewForeign body aspiration in children - being safe and flexible.
Anesthesia for foreign body removal in children can be quite challenging. Even though rigid bronchoscopy is considered the gold standard for foreign body removal, there is increasing evidence for successful foreign body removal using flexible bronchoscopy. This review discusses the recent implications for flexible bronchoscopy for the purpose of foreign body removal and will compare these findings to rigid bronchoscopy. ⋯ Flexible bronchoscopy is a feasible and safe method for removing aspirated foreign bodies in children. In order to improve patient safety during the procedure, it is necessary for a pediatric anesthetist and a pediatric pulmonologist to work closely together. The anesthetist can take care of the administration of the anesthetic and maintenance of the vital functions, and the pulmonologist can carry out a safe and fast bronchoscopy. In the case of foreign body removal by flexible bronchoscopy, the anesthesiological procedure of choice should be general anesthesia with controlled ventilation via a laryngeal mask.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Jun 2023
ReviewCurrent concepts in preoperative anemia management in obstetrics.
The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of currently recommended treatment approaches for anemia during pregnancy, with a special focus on iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia (IDA). ⋯ The treatment of anemia, and more specifically iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy, holds many possibilities for improvement. The fact that the period of risk is known well in advance and thus there is a long optimization phase is per se an ideal prerequisite for the best possible therapy of treatable causes of anemia. Standardization of recommendations and guidelines for screening and treatment of IDA in obstetrics is required for the future. In any case, a multidisciplinary consent is the precondition for a successfully implementation of anemia management in obstetrics to establish an approved algorithm easily enabling detection and treatment of IDA during pregnancy.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Jun 2023
ReviewAnesthetic management of patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy.
Cardiovascular disease is increasingly emerging as a cause of peripartum morbidity and mortality. Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is defined as pregnancy-related heart failure with a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction <45%. PPCM develops in the peripartum phase and is not an aggravation of an existing prepregnancy cardiomyopathy. Anesthesiologists typically encounter these patients in the peripartum phase in a variety of settings and should be aware of this pathology and its implications for the perioperative management of parturients. ⋯ Although PPCM is an overall rare pathology, patients can potentially be encountered by any anesthesiologist in many different settings. Therefore, it is important to be aware of this disease and understand the basic implications for anesthetic management. Severe cases often require early referral to specialized centers for advanced hemodynamic monitoring and pharmacological or mechanical circulatory support.