British journal of anaesthesia
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Review
Propofol infusion syndrome: a structured literature review and analysis of published case reports.
Propofol infusion syndrome is a rare, potentially fatal condition first described in children in the 1990s and later reported in adults. We provide a narrative review of what is currently known about propofol infusion syndrome, including a structured analysis of all published case reports; child and adult cases were analysed separately as propofol is no longer used for long-term sedation in children. The review contains an update on current knowledge of the pathophysiology of this condition along with recommendations for its diagnosis, prevention, and management. ⋯ The cumulative dose of propofol was associated with an increased number of clinical features and the number of organ systems involved in adult cases only. Clinicians should consider propofol infusion syndrome in cases of unexplained metabolic acidosis, ECG changes, and rhabdomyolysis. We recommend early consideration of continuous haemofiltration in the management of propofol infusion syndrome.
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Caudal epidural blockade in children is one of the most widely administered techniques of regional anaesthesia. Recent clinical studies have answered major pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic questions, thus providing the scientific background for safe and effective blocks in daily clinical practice and demonstrating that patient selection can be expanded to range from extreme preterm births up to 50 kg of body weight. This narrative review discusses the main findings in the current literature with regard to patient selection (sub-umbilical vs mid-abdominal indications, contraindications, low-risk patients with spinal anomalies); anatomical considerations (access problems, age and body positioning, palpation for needle insertion); technical considerations (verification of needle position by ultrasound vs landmarks vs 'whoosh' or 'swoosh' testing); training and equipment requirements (learning curve, needle types, risk of tissue spreading); complications and safety (paediatric regional anaesthesia, caudal blocks); local anaesthetics (bupivacaine vs ropivacaine, risk of toxicity in children, management of toxic events); adjuvant drugs (clonidine, dexmedetomidine, opioids, ketamine); volume dosing (dermatomal reach, cranial rebound); caudally accessed lumbar or thoracic anaesthesia (contamination risk, verifying catheter placement); and postoperative pain. ⋯ Performed on sedated children, they enable not only early ambulation, but also periprocedural haemodynamic stability and spontaneous breathing in patient groups at maximum risk of a difficult airway. These are important advantages over general anaesthesia, notably in preterm babies and in children with cardiopulmonary co-morbidities. Compared with other techniques of regional anaesthesia, a case for caudal blocks can still be made.
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Comparative Study
Vasoactive-inotropic score and the prediction of morbidity and mortality after cardiac surgery.
The vasoactive-inotropic score (VIS) predicts mortality and morbidity after paediatric cardiac surgery. Here we examined whether VIS also predicted outcome in adults after cardiac surgery, and compared predictive capability between VIS and three widely used scoring systems. ⋯ In adults after cardiac surgery, VISmax predicted a composite of unfavourable outcomes and predicted mortality up to 1 yr after surgery.
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Perioperative infection and sepsis are of fundamental concern to perioperative clinicians. However, standardised endpoints are either poorly defined or not routinely implemented. The Standardised Endpoints in Perioperative Medicine (StEP) initiative was established to derive a set of standardised endpoints for use in perioperative clinical trials. ⋯ We defined a consensus list of standardised endpoints related to infection and sepsis for perioperative trials using an established and rigorous approach. Each endpoint was evaluated with respect to validity, reliability, feasibility, and patient centredness. One or more of these should be considered for inclusion in future perioperative clinical trials assessing infection, sepsis, or both, thereby permitting synthesis and comparison of future results.