The aim of this study was to explore standard anthropometric airway characteristics of patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and determine the incidence and risk factors for difficult ...airway management. Final analysis included 91 patients with polysomnography-verified diagnosis of OSAS who underwent sleep breathing disorder surgery under general anesthesia with direct laryngoscopy oroendotracheal intubation. The incidence of difficult manual mask ventilation during anesthesia induction, difficult intubation and immediate postextubation respiratory complications was 17.6%, 7.7% and 7.7%, respectively. Compared to patients without difficult manual mask ventilation, the group of OSAS patients with difficult manual mask ventilation had a higher rate of body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kgm-2 (p=0.010), Mallampati score ≥3 (p=0.024) and Cormack-Lehane score ≥3 (p=0.002). The OSAS patients with difficult intubation had more Cormack-Lehane score ≥3 (p=0.002) in comparison to those without difficult intubation. Our study demonstrated that manual mask ventilation during anesthesia induction was the most troublesome airway management task in OSAS patients during sleep breathing disorder surgery. Cormack-Lehane score was a relevant determinator of difficult mask ventilation and difficult intubation, while Mallampati score and BMI were relevant determinators only for difficult manual mask ventilation.
Velopharyngeal insufficiency is a disorder where the soft palate directs the air through the nose. It is often present in patients with previous cleft or short palate, but also in many other ...conditions. Symptoms are primarily to be found in speech, with very distinct nasal sound. After clinical evaluation and nasal endoscopy, surgery is considered. Several surgical techniques are in use, with posterior pharyngeal flap pharyngoplasty being most widely used. This method leaves the base of the posterior pharyngeal flap attached to the posterior pharyngeal wall, with two lateral ports on each side of the flap. Permanent nasopharyngeal obstruction is a very challenging pathology for anesthesiologists in case of mandatory nasal intubation since it is a relative contraindication for nasal intubation. Patients with previous palatoplasty will regularly appear in our routine anesthetic practice, in all surgical segments. The high risk of damage to the flap with possible bleeding can put the anesthesiologist in a very unpleasant situation if not aware of the permanent effect of this surgery. During preanesthetic assessment, if there is information on a previous pharyngoplasty, one should consider alternative options for nasotracheal intubation. All nasal insertion procedures must be either avoided or carried out with great caution, under fiberoptic visual control.
According to current European Resuscitation Council guidelines, priorities in advanced life support in adult are chest compression with minimal interruption and early defibrillation. Endotracheal ...intubation is still considered the gold standard in airway management, but guidelines suggest that securing the airway be incremental, ranging from basic techniques to more complex ones. Doctors who work in pre-hospital emergency medicine teams (EMT) in Croatia usually lack sufficient education and expertise. The aim of this study was to determine whether there was a significant difference in recovery of spontaneous circulation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in out-of-hospital setting depending on the EMT airway management technique of choice. This retrospective analysis included data collected during a 10-year period at the Krapina-Zagorje County Emergency Medicine Institute on all patients with CPR performed by EMTs 20 minutes from initial emergency call. The airway management groups included oropharyngeal tube, i-gel supraglottic device, and endotracheal tube. There were 968 patients, mean age 70. In 74.61% of patients, the cause of arrest was of cardiac etiology. Our study did not find a statistically significant in difference of CPR success among the three groups analyzed according to the airway management technique of choice (p=0.74, χ2-test).
SCIWOCTET is a cervical spine injury (CSI) with objective signs of myelopathy, due to trauma, without evidence of ligament injury or bone fractures on x-ray and computed tomography (CT) images. It is ...rare, found in about 3% of patients with CSI. Perioperative manipulation of these patients may cause secondary spinal cord injury. The challenge for the anesthesiologist is to manage an airway with as little movement of the patient's head and neck as possible. A patient is presented after a fall from a motorbike. At hospital admission, he had neurological deficit in the innervation area of the cervical spinal cord. Multi-slice CT of the head and cervical spine was without signs of acute bone trauma. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed and the diagnosis met the criteria defining SCIWOCTET. Elective cervical spine surgery under general anesthesia was performed, the patient was intubated with a rigid bronchoscope using manual in-line immobilization. The selection of instruments and procedures is emphasized. Other procedures, techniques and instruments that can be used for airway management and their influence on the movement of the patient's head and neck are listed. It is concluded that rigid bronchoscopy with the application of manual in-line immobilization is suitable for emergency and elective intubation of patients with cervical spine pathology.
The aim of this study was to assess preoperative airway history data and single anthropometric screening tests of difficult face mask ventilation (FMV) and difficult direct laryngoscopy intubation ...(DLI) in otorhinolaryngological surgery. Final analysis included 62 patients aged ≥14 years undergoing elective surgery with endotracheal intubation at a single center during a one-month period. Data on difficult intubation history, airway symptoms and pathology related to difficult airway were prospectively collected. Han scoring classification of FMV and Intubation Difficulty Score (IDS) were used. There were 14 (22.6%) patients with a history of current airway tumors or abscesses. Only two (3.2%) patients were preoperatively evaluated as anticipated difficult airway. Both were slightly difficult to ventilate and scored IDS 5 and IDS 8. FMV was graded as easy in 50 (80.5%), slightly difficult in 10 (16.1%) and difficult in 2 (3.2%) cases. There were 29 (46.78%) slightly difficult DLIs and one (1.6%) case of difficult DLI. The study confirmed clinically relevant incidence of difficulties with FMV and DLI in otorhinolaryngologic surgery patients. However, there should be stronger evidence to identify a single preoperative variable predicting difficult airway.
Pretilost je često povezana s komorbiditetnim stanjima (opstruktivna apneja u snu, hipertenzija, šećerna bolest tipa 2…). Anestezija temeljena na opioidima povećava rizik od kritičnih respiracijskih ...događaja tijekom oporavka od kirurškog zahvata, pogoršava učestalost i težinu postoperativne mučnine i povraćanja te dovodi do hiperalgezije. Zbog navedenog cilj je izbjeći ili značajno smanjiti primjenu opioida kod kirurškog zahvata na morbidno pretilim bolesnicima. Ovo daje prednost kombinaciji opće i regionalne anestezije. Prikazana su dva slučaja uzdužne resekcije želuca kod morbidno pretilih bolesnika uz anesteziju bez primjene opioida. Primijenjen je obostrani torakalni paravertebralni blok s levobupivakainom i deksametazonom postavljen uz pomoć ultrazvuka na razini Th 4 i Th 7. U operacijskoj dvorani napravljena je indukcija propofolom i esmeronom, a anestezija je održavana istim lijekovima. Na početku operacije pacijentima je za analgeziju dan metamizolnatrij hidrat, a na kraju operacije paracetamol. Ekstubirani su u jedinici za prijeanestezijski i postanestezijski nadzor. Nakon buđenja pacijenti su bili bez bolova, bez mučnine, imali su osjećaj zatezanja šavova i drena kod pomicanja. Na odjelu su dobili nesteroidni antireumatik, a tegobe koje su imali nisu bile posljedica kirurgije niti anestezije. Tijekom razdoblja praćenja (do kirurške kontrole nakon četiri tjedna) pacijenti nisu osjećali bolove vezano uz operaciju. Provedena je anestezija bez opioida, postignuta je odgovarajuća kontrola boli uz brzi oporavak aktivnosti crijeva i ranu mobilnost pacijenata.
Uspostaviti i održati dišni put jedna je od najvažnijih interesnih točaka anesteziologa, no još u dalekoj prošlosti već su i „obični ljudi“ shvatili koliko je važno očuvati dišni put. Tako je krenuo ...dug i fascinantan put tijekom kojega se su se progresivno razvijala pomagala i tehnike namijenjene očuvanju dišnog puta, kao i svijest o važnosti njegovog očuvanja. Od prvih traheotomija tisuću godina prije Krista, preko direktne laringoskopije i ventilacije
bolesnika uz pomoć modernih anestezioloških aparata, došli smo do ere raznih videopomagala: stileta, rigidnih i fleksibilnih bronhoskopa, videolaringoskopa i tako dalje. Veliku ulogu imalo je osvještavanje problema, brojne analize grešaka koje smo kao struka nehotice ostavljali iza sebe tijekom silnih pokušaja i promašaja u nastojanju da učinimo najbolje što možemo za bolesnika. Zahvaljujući tomu i enormnom tehnološkom napretku u zadnjih dvjesto godina, možemo reći da je došlo do revolucije u održavanju dišnog puta. Izazovi u prošlosti naučili su nas mnogo. Međutim, tijekom još uvijek aktualne pandemije COVID-19, opet smo se susreli s novim izazovima dišnog puta, ali iako nitko nije mogao ni približno zamisliti što nas čeka snašli smo se. Za razliku od uobičajenog načina na koji inače radimo u operacijskim dvoranama i jedinicama intenzivne skrbi, vodeći računa o sigurnosti bolesnikova dišnog puta ovaj smo put morali paziti i na to da zaštitimo svoj.
Pedijatrijska je populacija po mnogo čemu specifična. Iako na prvi pogled djeca djeluju kao umanjena verzija odraslih, oni se uvelike razlikuju u anatomiji, kao i fiziologiji. Kada govorimo o ...pedijatrijskoj anesteziji moramo imati na umu sve anatomske, fiziološke, farmakodinamske i farmakokinetičke razlike jer će one uvelike utjecati na sve aspekte anestezije – od uvoda, preko osiguravanja i održavanja dišnog puta, do konačnog buđenja iz anestezije i ekstubacije. Kada se fiziološkim i anatomskim varijancama u pedijatrijskoj populaciji pridruže još stanja ili sindromi koji mogu dodatno otežati uspostavu dišnog puta ili ventilaciju, suočavamo se s problemom koji treba ozbiljno shvatiti i trenutno reagirati. U nebrojeno je mnogo istraživanja odavno dokazano da hipoventilacija s posljedičnom hipoksijom i hiperkarbijom može iznimno brzo rezultirati kobnom respiratornom insuficijencijom koju, ako se promptno ne reagira, u stopu može pratiti kardijalni arest. Uz pregled literature prikazujemo i primjer četveromjesečnog djeteta kod kojega je bila planirana operacija rascjepa usne u općoj endotrahealnoj anesteziji. Nakon uvoda u anesteziju, uz otežani prikaz laringealnih struktura direktnom laringoskopijom, uz pomoć videolaringoskopa i dobru vizualizaciju glotisa pokušana je intubacija koja nije bila izvediva zbog nemogućnosti plasiranja
tubusa kroz preusku rimu glotidis. Operativni zahvat je odgođen za mjesec dana. U drugom pokušaju dijete je uspješno intubirano i operirano, bez ikakvih komplikacija. Zbog anatomskih i fizioloških varijacija vezanih za životnu dob svakog pojedinog djeteta, zatim različitih vrsta i opsega rascjepa, potreban je individualizirani pristup. Važno je prepoznati i situacije u kojima ne treba inzistirati na kirurškoj ili anesteziološkoj intervenciji, već odustati i malo pričekati kako bi se anatomski odnosi uslijed somatskog rasta okrenuli u djetetovu korist.
Uvod i cilj: Pojam jednodnevne kirurgije datira iz početka 20. stoljeća. James Nicoll objavio je 1909. godine u časopisu British Medical Journal rezultate kod 8.988 djece operirane po principu ...jednodnevne kirurgije. Prema Međunarodnom udruženju za jednodnevnu kirurgiju (IAAS), pacijent u jednodnevnoj kirurgiji definiran je planiranim prijamom u zdravstvenu ustanovu s ciljem dijagnostičkog i/ili operativnog zahvata, gdje se po zahvatu
očekuje brz oporavak te ne postoji potreba za hospitalizacijom – otpušta se kući isti dan. Razvoj kirurških metoda, anestezioloških tehnika i metoda analgezije doprinosi eksponencijalnom porastu broja pacijenata zbrinutih po principu jednodnevne kirurgije. Metode: U radu prikazujemo pregled literature putem baze podataka MEDLINE koristeći ključne pojmove. Cilj je prikaz osnovnog koncepta uspjeha jednodnevne kirurgije: kritičan preoperativni probir, odabir najbolje anesteziološke i kirurške tehnike, otpust prema važećim kriterijima. Rezultati: Izbor pacijenata s obzirom na dob, težinu, komorbiditete, ASA status te socijalni aspekt ako je sagledan individualno i praćen zahvatom koji je definiranim vremenskim trajanjem i niskom incidencijom postoperativnih komplikacija uz korištenje optimalnih anestezioloških tehnika i lijekova rezultira dobrim postoperativnim uspjehom uz ekonomske uštede. Zaključak: Prednosti jednodnevne kirurgije jasne su i dokazane: usmjerena je na pacijenta, nosi niži rizik
postoperativnih komplikacija i hospitalnih infekcija, ekonomična je.
Goldenhar syndrome, also known as oculoauriculovertebral dysplasia, is a rare congenital condition characterized by facial, cranial, vertebral, ocular, auricular and cardiac abnormalities. This ...syndrome is associated with hemifacial microsomia due to inadequate growth of the mandible and vertebral anomaly of the cervical part of the spine. For anesthesiologists, airway management is of great interest because of facial and oral abnormalities such as mandibular hypoplasia and limitation of neck movement. Considering different conditions of Goldenhar syndrome, every patient should be preoperatively evaluated in order to make the plan for the anticipated difficult airway management. We report a case of a 2.5-year-old boy undergoing palatoplasty, who required general anesthesia and orotracheal intubation. Our decision to intubate with direct laryngoscopy and with slight external pressure on the larynx proved successful.