Annals of cardiac anaesthesia
-
The risk assessment of epidural hematoma due to catheter placement in patients undergoing cardiac surgery is essential since its benefits have to be weighed against risks, such as the risk of paraplegia. We determined the risk of the catheter-related epidural hematoma in cardiac surgery based on the cases reported in the literature up to September 2012. ⋯ The present risk calculation does not justify not offering epidural analgesia as part of a multimodal analgesia protocol in cardiac surgery.
-
Cardiac surgery exerts a significant strain on the blood bank services and is a model example in which a multi-modal blood-conservation strategy is recommended. Significant bleeding during cardiac surgery, enough to cause re-exploration and/or blood transfusion, increases morbidity and mortality. Hyper-fibrinolysis is one of the important contributors to increased bleeding. ⋯ TA has been shown to increase seizure activity, whereas, EACA seems to have the least side effects. Apparently, these agents do not differentiate between pathological and physiological fibrinolysis and prevent all forms of fibrinolysis leading to possible thrombotic side effects. It would seem prudent to select the right agent knowing its risk-benefit profile for a given patient, under the given circumstances.
-
Review Case Reports
Anesthesia for off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery.
The evolution of techniques and knowledge of beating heart surgery has led anesthesia toward the development of new procedures and innovations to promote patient safety and ensure high standards of care. Off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery has shown to have some advantages compared to on-pump cardiac surgery, particularly the reduction of postoperative complications including systemic inflammation, myocardial injury, and cerebral injury. Minimally invasive surgery for single vessel OPCAB through a limited thoracotomy incision can offer the advantage of further reduction of complications. ⋯ The use of high thoracic epidural analgesia and fast-track anesthesia offers particular benefits in beating heart surgery. The excellent analgesia, the ability to reduce myocardial oxygen consumption, and the good hemodynamic stability make high thoracic epidural analgesia an interesting technique. New scenarios are entering in cardiac anesthesia: ultra-fast-track anesthesia with extubation in the operating room and awake surgery tend to be less invasive, but can only be performed on selected patients.
-
Acute kidney injury (AKI), a recognized complication of cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality (15-30%) with approximately 1% of all the affected patients requiring dialysis. Early detection of AKI would enable intervention before occurrence of irreversible injury and might minimize the morbidity and mortality. Recently developed biomarkers of AKI facilitate its earlier discovery and help assessment of its severity and prognosis. In this article, we review the causes of well-known yet inexplicable association between CPB and AKI, the advances in pathophysiologic basis, the diagnostics and the management options.
-
Cardiac injuries are classified as blunt and penetrating injuries. In both the injuries, the major issue is missing the diagnosis and high mortality. Blunt cardiac injuries (BCI) are much more common than penetrating injuries. ⋯ Herein, we review the causes, diagnosis, and management of BCI. In conclusion, traumatic cardiac injury is a major challenge in critical trauma care, but the guidelines are lacking. A high index of suspicion, application of current diagnostic protocols, and prompt and appropriate management is mandatory.