Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Apr 2023
ReviewRemedē Systems: Transvenous Pacing of the Phrenic Nerve.
The remedē System (ZOLL Medical, Minnetonka, MN; Fig 1), which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in October of 2017, is a transvenous device that stimulates the phrenic nerve for the treatment of central sleep apnea, which is often associated with heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Given the similarity in implantation procedure to pacemakers and implantable cardioverter/defibrillators, the remedē System implantation often occurs in the electrophysiology laboratory. Despite the transvenous nature and close proximity to cardiac structures on radiographic imaging, the remedē System does not have any cardiac pacing function/antiarrhythmia therapies, and it is important for an anesthesiologist to be able to recognize and manage such a device if they were to come across one preoperatively.
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The common conception of "heparin rebound" invokes heparin returning to circulation in the postoperative period after apparently adequate intraoperative reversal with protamine. This is believed to portend increased postoperative bleeding and provides the rationale for administering additional empiric doses of protamine in response to prolonged coagulation tests and/or bleeding. However, the relevant literature of the last 60+ years provides only a weak level of evidence that "rebounded" heparin itself is a significant etiology of postoperative bleeding after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. ⋯ Literature searches were conducted via PubMed using the following MeSH terms: heparin rebound, heparin reversal, protamine, platelet factor 4, and polybrene. Relevant English language articles were reviewed, with subsequent references obtained from the internal citations. Perspective is provided for both those who use HepCon-guided management and those who do not, as are practical recommendations for the modern era based on the published data and conclusions of the various investigators.
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Apr 2023
Systemic Heparinization After Neuraxial Anesthesia in Vascular Surgery: A Retrospective Analysis.
The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine's guidelines recommend a 1-hour interval after neuraxial anesthesia (NA) before systemic heparinization to mitigate the risk of spinal hematoma (SH). The study authors aimed to characterize the time interval between NA and systemic heparinization in vascular surgery patients (primary outcome). The secondary outcomes included the historic incidence of SH, and risk estimation of the SH formation based on available data. Heparin dose, length of surgery, difficulty and/or the number of NA attempts, and patient demographics were recorded. ⋯ The vast majority of vascular surgery patients at the authors' center received heparin within 1 hour of NA. Further studies are required to assess if their findings are consistent in other vascular surgery settings and/or centers.
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Apr 2023
Noninvasive Assessment With Transthoracic Echocardiography in End-Stage Heart Failure.
Heart failure is a common cardiac condition that carries a substantial risk of morbidity and mortality despite advances in management. Echocardiography plays a central role in its diagnosis, elucidation of mechanisms, and detailed hemodynamic analysis. In this E-Challenge, the authors review a few transthoracic echocardiographic findings that yield insights into the hemodynamics.