British journal of anaesthesia
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Myocardial ischaemia reperfusion injury is the leading cause of death in patients with cardiovascular disease. Interventions such as ischaemic pre and postconditioning protect against myocardial ischaemia reperfusion injury. ⋯ There are a number of reasons for this such as dose response, the intensity of the ischaemic stimulus applied, the duration of ischaemia and lost or diminished cardioprotection in common co-morbidities such as diabetes and senescence. This review focuses on current knowledge regarding myocardial ischaemia reperfusion injury and cardioprotective interventions both in experimental animal studies and in clinical trials.
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The emergency surgical airway (ESA) is the final option in difficult airway management. We identified ESA procedures registered in the Danish Anaesthesia Database (DAD) and described the performed airway management. ⋯ The incidence of ESA in the DAD cohort was 0.06 events per thousand. Among ENT patients, the ESA Incidence was 1.6 events per thousand. Airway management was evaluated as satisfactory for 10/27 of the patients. ESA performed by anaesthetists failed in half of the patients.
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There has been a growing interest in using intraoperative neuromonitoring to reduce the incidence of stroke and paralysis in major vascular interventions. Electroencephalography, various neurophysiological evoked potential measurements, transcranial Doppler, and near-infrared spectroscopy are some of the modalities currently used to detect neural injuries. ⋯ In view of the inter-individual differences in anatomy, physiological reserves, and severity of pathological processes, neuromonitoring may be a valuable method to evaluate the well-being of the nervous system during and after surgical interventions. In this review, we summarize some of their applications, efficacies, and drawbacks in major carotid and aortic surgeries.
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The aim of this study was to propose and validate a new clinical score to predict difficult ventilation through a supraglottic airway device. ⋯ The new score for prediction of difficult ventilation through a supraglottic airway device is easy to perform and reliable, and could help anaesthetists plan for difficult airway management.
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Management of acute coagulopathy and blood loss during major vascular procedures poses a significant haemostatic challenge to anaesthetists. The acute coagulopathy is multifactorial in origin with tissue injury and hypotension as the precipitating factors, followed by dilution, hypothermia, acidemia, hyperfibrinolysis and systemic inflammatory response, all acting as a self-perpetuating spiral of events. The problem is confounded by the high prevalence of antithrombotic agent use in these patients and intraoperative heparin administration. ⋯ Fibrinogen and prothrombin complex concentrates administration are recommended during massive transfusion, whereas rFVIIa should be reserved until all means have failed. While debates over the ideal resuscitative strategy continue, the approach to vascular haemostasis should be scientific, rational, and structured. As far as possible, therapy should be monitored and goal directed.