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BackgroundThe infiltration between the popliteal artery and the capsule of the knee (IPACK) block has been described as an alternative analgesic strategy for knee pain.ObjectiveOur aim was to perform a narrative review to examine the place and value that the IPACK block has in comparison to and in conjunction with other regional anesthesia modalities.Evidence reviewFollowing an extensive search of electronic databases, we included anatomical studies, letters, comparative observational studies, and non-randomized and randomized controlled trials that examined the IPACK block in relation to surgery on the knee under general or neuraxial anesthesia.FindingsIn all, 35 articles were included. Cadaveric studies demonstrated the potential for injected dye to spread to the nerves responsible for the innervation of the posterior as well as anteromedial and anterolateral aspects of the knee. Of the comparative observational studies (n=15) and non-randomized (n=1) and randomized controlled trials (n=13), 2 and 27 were conducted in the context of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and knee replacement surgery, respectively. The role of the IPACK block with each different permutation of regional anesthesia techniques was investigated by a small number of studies. Clinical studies, in the setting of knee replacement surgery, revealed variation in the manner in which the IPACK block was performed, and indicated the possible superiority of distal injection at the level of the femoral condyles for the management of posterior knee pain. Evidence suggested the following: the IPACK block in combination with single shot adductor canal block (ACB) may be beneficial for analgesic and functional outcomes; in conjunction with single shot or continuous ACB, the IPACK block might be superior to local infiltration analgesia (LIA); and functional outcomes may be improved with the supplementation of continuous ACB and LIA with the IPACK block. The IPACK block did not commonly result in the occurrence of foot drop. Relative to tibial nerve block (TNB), the IPACK block reduced the occurrence of foot drop and increased the proportion of patients who were able to be discharged on the third postoperative day.ConclusionsThe IPACK block was potentially complementary to the ACB and might be preferable to the TNB as a motor-sparing regional anesthesia technique in knee surgery. Definitive recommendations were not reached in the presence of the heterogeneous and limited evidence base.

Carbetocin has been shown to reduce the requirement for additional uterotonics in women exclusively undergoing elective Cesarean delivery (CD). The aim of this review was to determine whether this effect could also be demonstrated in the setting of non-elective CD. Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science and Cochrane databases were searched for randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) in any language comparing carbetocin to oxytocin. Studies with data on women undergoing non-elective CD, where carbetocin was compared with oxytocin, were included. The primary outcome was the need for additional uterotonics. Secondary outcomes included incidence of blood transfusion, estimated blood loss (mL), incidence of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH; > 1000 mL) and mean hemoglobin drop (g·dL−1 Five RCTs were included, with a total of 1,214 patients. The need for additional uterotonics was reduced with carbetocin compared with oxytocin (odds ratio, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.11 to 0.86; I2, 90.60%). Trial sequential analysis (TSA) confirmed that the information size needed to show a significant reduction in the need for additional uterotonics had been exceeded. No significant differences were shown with respect to any of the secondary outcomes, but there was significant heterogeneity between the studies. Carbetocin reduces the need for additional uterotonics in non-elective CD compared with oxytocin. TSA confirmed that this analysis was appropriately powered to detect the pooled estimated effect. Further trials utilizing consistent core outcomes are needed to determine an effect on PPH. PROSPERO CRD42019147256, registered 13 September 2019.

Background Carbetocin has been found to be superior to oxytocin in terms of need for additional uterotonics and prevention of postpartum haemorrhage at caesarean delivery. However, this is based on combined data from labouring and non-labouring parturients and it remains unclear how effective carbetocin is in the purely elective setting. The aim of this review was to compare carbetocin to oxytocin in elective caesarean delivery. Methods Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, and the Cochrane databases were searched for randomised controlled trials in any language. The primary outcome was need for additional uterotonics. Secondary outcomes were mean blood loss, need for blood transfusion and incidence of postpartum haemorrhage >1000 mL. Results Nine studies with a total of 1962 patients were included. Trial sequential analysis confirmed that the information size (n=1692) had surpassed that required (n=1166) in order to demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in the use of additional uterotonics. Need for additional uterotonics was reduced by 53% with carbetocin compared to oxytocin (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.64; P Conclusions Carbetocin is associated with a reduced need for additional uterotonics when compared with oxytocin at elective caesarean delivery. Standardisation of bleeding-related outcomes in studies is necessary to facilitate synthesis of data in future analyses.

BACKGROUND Central neuraxial modalities can occasionally be challenging to perform, particularly if the underlying anatomy is altered or obscured. OBJECTIVES To compare the efficacy, efficiency and the safety of preprocedural ultrasound to landmark palpation in the nonobstetric adult population. DESIGN Systematic review of randomised controlled trials with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis. DATA SOURCES Systematic search of Central, CINAHL, Embase, Global Health, MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science to 13th February 2020. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA Randomised controlled trials of nonobstetric adult patients having diagnostic and/or therapeutic neuraxial procedures using standard preprocedural ultrasound interpreted by the operator as the intervention and conventional landmark palpation as the comparator. KEY DEFINITIONS A skin puncture was defined as the insertion or reinsertion of the needle through the skin; needle redirection was the backward followed by the forward movement of the needle without its removal from the skin; first skin puncture referred to a single skin puncture with or without needle redirections; and first pass was a single skin puncture with no needle redirection. RESULTS In all, 18 randomised controlled trials with 1800 patients were included. The first pass success rate was not different between landmark and ultrasound methods [risk ratio 1.46; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.99 to 2.16; P = 0.06, I2 = 76%; moderate quality of evidence] and the trial sequential analysis demonstrated the futility of further randomisation of patients in modifying this finding. Preprocedural ultrasound increased the total time taken (mean difference 110.8 s; 95% CI, 31.01 to 190.65; P = 0.006; I2 = 96%; moderate quality of evidence). Subgroup analyses revealed no influence of the predicted difficulty of the neuraxial procedure on outcomes. Compared with the landmark method, ultrasound increased the first skin puncture success rate (risk ratio 1.36; 95% CI, 1.18 to 1.57; P

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the efficacy, time taken and the safety of neuraxial blockade performed for obstetric patients with the assistance of preprocedural ultrasound, in comparison with the landmark palpation method. The bibliographic databases Central, CINAHL, EMBASE, Global Health, MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science were searched from inception to 13 February 2020 for randomised controlled trials that included pregnant women having neuraxial procedures with preprocedural ultrasound as the intervention and conventional landmark palpation as the comparator. For continuous and dichotomous outcomes, respectively, we calculated the mean difference using the inverse-variance method and the risk ratio with the Mantel-Haenszel method. In all, 22 trials with 2462 patients were included. Confirmed by trial sequential analysis, preprocedural ultrasound increased the first-pass success rate by a risk ratio (95%CI) of 1.46 (1.16-1.82), p = 0.001 in 13 trials with 1253 patients. No evidence of a difference was found in the total time taken between preprocedural ultrasound and landmark palpation, with a mean difference (95%CI) of 50.1 (-13.7 to 113.94) s, p = 0.12 in eight trials with 709 patients. The quality of evidence was graded as low and very low, respectively, for these co-primary outcomes. Sub-group analysis underlined the increased benefit of preprocedural ultrasound for those in whom the neuraxial procedure was predicted to be difficult. Complications, including postpartum back pain and headache, were decreased with preprocedural ultrasound. The adoption of preprocedural ultrasound for neuraxial procedures in obstetrics is recommended and, in the opinion of the authors, should be considered as a standard of care, in view of its potential to increase efficacy and reduce complications without significant prolongation of the total time required.

Avoidance of general anaesthesia for breast surgery may be because of clinical reasons or patient choice. There is emerging evidence that the use of regional anaesthesia and the avoidance of volatile anaesthetics and opioid analgesia may have beneficial effects on oncological outcomes. We conducted a prospective observational case series of 16 breast cancer surgeries performed under thoracic paravertebral plus pectoral nerve block with propofol sedation to demonstrate feasibility of technique, patient acceptability and surgeon satisfaction. Fifteen out of 16 cases were successfully completed under sedation and regional anaesthesia, with one conversion to general anaesthesia. Eleven out of 16 cases required low-dose intra-operative opioid analgesia. Out of the 15 surgical procedures completed under regional anaesthesia with sedation, all patients experienced either no or minimal intra-operative pain, and all would choose this anaesthetic technique again. Surgeon-reported operating conditions were 'indistinguishable from general anaesthesia' in most cases, and surgeons were 'extremely satisfied' or 'satisfied' with the technique after every procedure. Combined thoracic paravertebral plus pectoral nerve block with intra-operative sedation is a feasible technique for breast surgery.

Study objective Moderate to severe postoperative pain occurs in up to 60% of women following breast operations. Our aim was to perform a network meta-analysis and systematic review to compare the efficacy and side effects of different analgesic strategies in breast surgery. Design Systematic review and network meta-analysis. Setting Operating room, postoperative recovery room and ward. Patients Patients scheduled for breast surgery under general anesthesia. Interventions Following an extensive search of electronic databases, those who received any of the following interventions, control, local anesthetic (LA) infiltration, erector spinae plane (ESP) block, pectoralis nerve (PECS) block, paravertebral block (PVB) or serratus plane block (SPB), were included. Exclusion criteria were met if the regional anesthesia modality was not ultrasound-guided. Network plots were constructed and network league tables were produced. Measurements Co-primary outcomes were the pain at rest at 0–2 h and 8–12 h. Secondary outcomes were those related to analgesia, side effects and functional status. Main results In all, 66 trials met our inclusion criteria. No differences were demonstrated between control and LA infiltration in regard to the co-primary outcomes, pain at rest at 0–2 and 8–12 h. The quality of evidence was moderate in view of the serious imprecision. With respect to pain at rest at 8–12 h, ESP block, PECS block and PVB were found to be superior to control or LA infiltration. No differences were revealed between control and LA infiltration for outcomes related to analgesia and side effects, and few differences were shown between the various regional anesthesia techniques. Conclusions In breast surgery, regional anesthesia modalities were preferable from an analgesic perspective to control or LA infiltration, with a clinically significant decrease in pain score and cumulative opioid consumption, and limited differences were present between regional anesthetic techniques themselves.

Contemporary data are lacking for procedural practice, training provision and outcomes for awake fibreoptic intubation in the UK. We performed a prospective cohort study of awake fibreoptic intubations at a tertiary centre to assess current practice. Data from 600 elective or emergency awake fibreoptic intubations were collected to include information on patient and operator demographics, technical performance and complications. This comprised 1.71% of patients presenting for surgery requiring a general anaesthetic, with the majority occurring in patients presenting for head and neck surgery. The most common indication was reduced mouth opening (26.8%), followed by previous airway surgery or head and neck radiotherapy (22.5% each). Only five awake fibreoptic intubations were performed with no sedation, but the most common sedative technique was combined target-controlled infusions of remifentanil and propofol. Oxygenation was achieved with high-flow, heated and humidified oxygen via nasal cannula in 49.0% of patients. Most operators had performed awake fibreoptic intubation more than 20 times previously, but trainees were the primary operator in 78.6% of awake fibreoptic intubations, of which 86.8% were directly supervised by a consultant. The failure rate was 1.0%, and 11.0% of awake fibreoptic intubations were complicated, most commonly by multiple attempts (4.2%), over-sedation (2.2%) or desaturation (1.5%). The only significant association with complications was the number of previous awake fibreoptic intubations performed, with fewer complications occurring in the hands of operators with more awake fibreoptic intubation experience. Our data demonstrate that awake fibreoptic intubation is a safe procedure with a high success rate. Institutional awake fibreoptic intubation training can both develop and maintain trainee competence in performing awake fibreoptic intubation, with a similar incidence of complications and success compared with consultants.

Block rooms allow parallel processing of surgical patients with the purported benefits of improving resource utilization and patient outcomes. There is disparity in the literature supporting these suppositions. We aimed to synthesize the evidence base for parallel processing by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. A systematic search was undertaken of Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), the National Health Service (NHS) National Institute for Health Research Centre for Reviews and Dissemination database, and Google Scholar for terms relating to regional anesthesia and block rooms. The primary outcome was anesthesia-controlled time (ACT; time from entry of the patient into the operating room (OR) until the start of surgical prep plus surgical closure to exit of patient from the OR). Secondary outcomes of interest included other resource-utilization parameters such as turnover time (TOT; time between the exit of one patient from the OR and the entry of another), time spent in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU), OR throughput, and clinical outcomes such as pain scores, nausea and vomiting, and patient satisfaction. Fifteen studies were included involving 8888 patients, of which 3364 received care using a parallel processing model. Parallel processing reduced ACT by a mean difference (95% CI) of 10.4 min (16.3 to 4.5; p

Severe upper airway obstruction is commonly managed with surgical tracheostomy under local anesthesia. We present a 49-year-old woman with postradiotherapy laryngeal fixation and transglottic stenosis for dilation of a pharyngeal stricture who refused elective tracheostomy. A 2-stage technique was used, which involved an awake fiberoptic intubation, followed by the transtracheal insertion of a Cricath needle and ventilation using an ejector-based Ventrain device. We discuss management aspects of this clinical scenario and the principles by which the Ventrain works.

Critical care admission may be necessary for surgical patients requiring organ support or invasive monitoring in the peri-operative period. Unplanned critical care admission poses a potential risk to patients and pressure on services. Existing guidelines base admission criteria on predicted risk of 30-day mortality; however, this may not provide the best predictor of which patients would benefit from this service, and how unplanned admission might be avoided. A systematic review of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, the Cochrane database and the grey literature identified 44 studies assessing risk factors for unplanned critical care admission in adult populations undergoing non-cardiac, non-thoracic and non-neurological surgery. Comparative, quantitative analysis of the admission criteria was not feasible due to heterogeneity in study design. Age, anaemia, ASA physical status, body mass index, comorbidity burden, emergency surgery, high-risk surgery, male sex, obstructive sleep apnoea, increased blood loss and operative duration were all independent risk factors for unplanned critical care admission. Age, body mass index, comorbidity extent and emergency surgery were the most common independent risk factors identified in the USA, UK, Asia and Australia. These risk factors could be used in the development of a risk tool or decision tree for determining which patients might benefit from planned critical care admission. Future work should involve testing the sensitivity and specificity of these measures, either alone or in combination, to guide planned critical care admission, reduce patient deterioration and unplanned admissions.

Summary We present the case of unanticipated airway ignition during hard palate biopsy. Transnasal humidified rapid-insufflation ventilatory exchange (THRIVE) and monopolar diathermy were utilised for the procedure, during which an arc arose from the diathermy tip to a titanium implant, causing a brief ignition on the monopolar diathermy grip. This case highlights the need for maintained awareness of fire risk when using diathermy in the presence of THRIVE during airway surgery.

Recent controversy regarding the ethics of conducting airway research in patients led to disagreements concerning the value and frequency of manikin-based investigation. However, no formal examination of the methodology of airway research has been undertaken. We, therefore, performed a systematic bibliometric review of airway management research to describe the conduct, quantify the subjects (patient vs. manikin vs. other), assess the reported outcomes and map global trends. We retrieved 1505 relevant studies published between 2006 and 2017, together recruiting 359,648 subjects, of which 341,233 were patients, the remaining being volunteers or subjects managing manikins, human cadavers, animals or bench models. There were 701 randomised controlled clinical trials (46.6%), 83 non-randomised experimental clinical trials (5.5%), 298 observational studies (19.8%) and 423 non-patient studies (28.1%). A total of 1082 studies (71.9%) were patient studies and 322 were manikin studies (21.4%). The total annual number of airway management studies increased over time, as did the annual number of patient studies, but there was no significant increase in the annual number of manikin studies over time. Of the patient studies, subject baseline characteristics were most likely to be ASA status 1-2 (n = 531, 49.1%), populations were most often elective surgical patients (n = 918, 84.8%) and the most common interventions studied were tracheal intubation (n = 820, 54.4%) or supraglottic airway device insertion (n = 257, 17.1%). There was a total of 77 different primary outcomes used in the included studies, the most commonly reported being success rate and procedure time. By understanding how and what has been previously studied these data can be used to form the basis for future priority setting exercises, core outcome set development, and could inform strategy on the future directions of airway management research.

There is growing evidence to suggest a deficiency in anesthesiologists’ diagnosis of airway pathology and subsequent airway management planning, and conventional instruments have not shown increases in safety. Virtual endoscopy (VE) is a tool that can detail intraluminal anatomical “fly-through” information in a format visually similar to the flexible endoscopic views familiar to anesthesiologists. We aimed to determine the effect of VE on diagnostic accuracy and airway management strategies when compared with conventional tools. Clinical scenarios, along with computerized tomography (CT) imaging, were presented to 20 anesthesiologists, and structured questions were asked regarding diagnosis of airway pathology and airway management strategy. Virtual endoscopy videos were then provided and the questions were repeated. Following the CT and VE presentations, the anesthesiologists’ responses involving diagnostic accuracy and airway management strategy were compared between the CT and VE techniques. Answers relating to the utility of VE were also sought. Diagnostic accuracy was 54.1% with CT alone and increased to 67.7% when VE was added (P = 0.007). In 48% of cases, the addition of VE to clinical history and CT led to changes in airway management strategy (P < 0.001), and 90.6% of these changes were deemed more cautious (P < 0.001). Virtual endoscopy improves the accuracy in diagnosis of airway pathology when compared with CT alone. Furthermore, it leads to more conservative and potentially safer airway management strategies in patients with head and neck pathology.