Minerva anestesiologica
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Minerva anestesiologica · May 2022
ReviewPerioperative management of severe brain injured patients.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of mortality and disability worldwide. Head injured patients may frequently require emergency neurosurgery. ⋯ This practical concise narrative review focused mainly on: 1) the management of severe TBI patients with neurosurgical lesions admitted to a spoke center (i.e. hospital without neurosurgery) and therefore needing a transfer to the hub center (i.e. hospital with neurosurgery); 2) the management of severe TBI patients with intracranial hypertension/brain herniation awaiting for neurosurgery; and 3) the neuromonitoring-oriented management in the immediate post-operative period. The proposals presented in this review mainly apply to severe TBI patients admitted to high-income countries.
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Minerva anestesiologica · May 2022
Severe secondary peritonitis: impact of inappropriate initial antimicrobial therapy on prognosis and potential carbapenem-sparing.
Initiation of antimicrobial therapy (IAT) with broad-spectrum antibiotics is usual in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients with secondary peritonitis. Carbapenems are widely proposed by recent guidelines contrasting with current antibiotic stewardship policies of carbapenem-sparing. However, prognosis of inappropriate IAT remains unclear in these patients and broad-spectrum antibiotics are probably overused. We aimed to assess the role of inappropriate IAT in ICU patients with secondary peritonitis and the use of carbapenems in our IAT regimens. ⋯ In our study, inappropriate IAT was not associated with a worse prognosis and carbapenems were overused. Extensive delivery of carbapenems proposed by recent guidelines could be reconsidered in the management of these patients.
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Minerva anestesiologica · May 2022
High flow nasal oxygen, procedural sedation, and clinical governance.
Procedural sedation for therapeutic and diagnostic procedures can now be achieved through deep sedation techniques that guarantee procedural success. Deep sedation techniques are delivered in a variety of non-theatre environments where the usual levels of anesthetic equipment are not practical or economical. Hypoxic events are particularly frequent, and challenge sedation providers. ⋯ Deep sedation services are increasingly applied to subjects with complex co-morbidities, sometimes excluded for safety reasons from surgery under general anesthesia. The development of deep sedation services, delivered by non-anesthesia personnel, to patients with complex co-morbidities requires that services implement appropriate clinical governance tools to prevent deep sedation being the wild west of anesthesia services. Therefore, whilst high flow nasal oxygen may reduce the incidence of peri-procedural hypoxia, the introduction of clinical governance tools and the systematic introduction of initiatives to improve quality, will maintain the safety of deep sedation services.
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Mallampati Class Zero airway describes a visible epiglottis on pharyngoscopic view. It was first noted by Tobold A in 1869 and was proposed as a new class in modified Mallampati Classification by Ezri T. et al. We aim to summarize the current knowledge about Mallampati Class Zero airway and its implication on airway management. ⋯ Mallampati Class Zero is associated with an easy airway and it should be included as a different class in the modified Mallamapti classification, which would also contribute to its spread between professionals involved in the airway management and will favour increasing investigation and knowledge about it.