Search

This is a case of acute spontaneous thoracic epidural hematoma in a laboring patient at term who presented with severe preeclampsia and acute spinal cord compression, paraplegia, and sensory loss below T8. In early labor, at home, the patient experienced sudden lumbar back pain that progressed to mid-scapular pain leading to paraplegia and T8 sensory loss within one hour of onset of pain. Her symptoms were caused by a spontaneous thoracic epidural hematoma. Upon arrival at the first hospital, the correct presumptive diagnosis was made in the emergency room, magnesium sulfate was administered, and the patient was transferred to our medical center. Her hypertension was not treated despite severe preeclampsia in order to maintain spinal cord perfusion pressure. Following cesarean section under general anesthesia, thoracic laminectomy was performed and an epidural hematoma compressing the spinal cord to 2-3 mm was evacuated 13 h after the onset of symptoms. After approximately three months of paraplegia, five months with quad-walker and cane use, the patient can now walk with a cane or other minimal support but has remaining bowel and bladder problems. The conflicting anesthetic management objectives of severe preeclampsia and acute paraplegia secondary to spinal epidural hematoma required compromise in the management of her preeclampsia in order to preserve spinal cord perfusion.

Study Objectives: To compare the effects of four techniques for preventing or blunting the hypertensive response to the insertion of Mayfield headrest skull pins: intravenous (IV) alfentanil (ALF), esmolol (ESM), thiopental sodium (TPL), and local anesthesia using plain lidocaine (Xylocaine; XYL)., Design: Randomized open study., Patients: 40 adult patients undergoing intracranial or spinal surgery requiring the use of Mayfield headrest skull pins for head positioning and immobilization., Interventions: 20 minutes after anesthetic induction, and 2 to 3 minutes prior to the insertion of headrest skull pins, one of three drugs was administered IV: ALF 10 mcg/kg, ESM 1 mg/kg, or TPL 1.5 mg/kg. The fourth drug, XYL, was administered by injection into the scalp., Measurements and Main Results: Blood pressure and heart rate (HR) were recorded immediately prior to and after pin insertion with balanced general anesthesia, and at 30, 60, 120, and 180-second intervals after pin insertion. The measurements were compared with the immediate preinsertion values. In the ALF and XYL groups, there was no significant increase in mean arterial pressure (MAP) or HR for any of the measurement periods. MAP was elevated immediately on pin insertion and for up to 2 minutes in the TPL group, and for up to 3 minutes in the ESM group (p < 0.05). HR changes were seen in the TPL group for up to one minute (p < 0.05). Increases in systolic blood pressure were seen in the TPL and ESM groups for up to 3 minutes, and in diastolic blood pressure for up to 2 minutes (p < 0.05). No other significant changes were observed., Conclusions: IV ALF and local injection of XYL in the scalp prevent the hemodynamic response to the insertion of skull pins in anesthetized patients. Neither ESM nor TPL prevented the hypertensive response. Local anesthetic injection into the scalp requires coordination between the anesthesiologist and surgeon, it carries the risk of needle stick injury, and it must be repeated if the surgeon repositions the headrest. The rapid onset and short half-life of ALF, coupled with the absence of hemodynamic effects at the dose used, makes this drug an alternative to the use of XYL injection.

With improvements in the surgical technique for orthotopic liver transplantation, patients with significant underlying systemic disease are considered candidates for transplantation, thus increasing the complexity of the medical management of these patients and necessitating additional monitoring in order to minimize the anesthetic risk. We describe the anesthetic management of orthotopic liver transplantation for a patient with severe hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and mitral insufficiency. In this case, transesophageal echocardiography proved useful in the management of the postreperfusion period of the surgical procedure.

Study Objective: To determine the effect of reperfusion of the grafted liver on transcranial Doppler blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery in humans during orthotopic liver transplantation., Design: Clinical study., Setting: University hospital., Patients: 6 patients scheduled for orthotopic liver transplantation., Interventions: Middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (MCAVm) was monitored continuously using a transcranial Doppler (TCD) probe. The TCD measurements were noninvasive., Measurements and Main Results: The EME TC2000S TCD probe (Nicolet, Inc., Memphis, TN) was secured to the head using a strap providing continuous measurement of MCAVm. All other data were recorded by a patient monitoring system and a respiratory gas analyzer. Averaged MCAVm increased significantly in 5 of 6 patients (p < 0.001) when pre-reperfusion and post-reperfusion values were compared. Maximum post-reperfusion values for MCAVm, pulsatility index (PI), and systolic Doppler velocity (Vs) were greater than the corresponding immediate pre-reperfusion values (p < 0.05, p < 0.05, and p < 0.001, respectively). The increases in MCAVm cannot be explained on the basis of hypercarbia alone and were observed in the presence of systemic arterial hypotension and abrupt increases in central venous pressure, particularly at the time of graft reperfusion., Conclusions: MCAVm increased with reperfusion of the grafted liver. These data suggest that multiple factors--including hypercarbia, lactic acidosis, or multiple vasoactive substances released by the grafted liver--may contribute to the observed increases in MCAVm, Vs, and PI.