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Objective: To investigate the incidence, type and etiology of perioperative metabolic disturbances associated with major abdominal surgery. We hypothesized that metabolic alkalemia is more frequent than metabolic acidemia.Methods: This was a prospective, observational study, performed in a university-affiliated hospital. 98 consecutive patients undergoing major abdominal surgery were included in the study. Patients were observed by serial vital signs and laboratory measurements during the preoperative, intraoperative, PACU and the first three postoperative day periods. Central venous pressure, systolic pressure variation, fluid input, urine output, temper- ature, electrolytes, and acid-base variables were recorded. The primary endpoint of the study was the incidence of metabolic alkalemia or acidemia. Metabolic alkalemia was defined as pH >7.45 and BE >+3. Metabolic acidemia was defined as pH <7.35 and BE <-3. Continuous variables were described as mean ± standard deviation. Distributions of continuous variables was assessed for normalty using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (cut off at P = 0.01). The frequency of metabolic acidemia or alkalemia was compared across time points using Cochran's Q test and between time points using the binomial distribution.Results: Metabolic acidemia occurred only intraoperatively and in the PACU. Subjects with metabolic acidemia were older, (74 ± 9 yr. vs. 66 ± 12, P = 0.01). Intraoperative body temperature was inversely associated with PACU lactate (P = 0.035). Blood loss >500 mL was more frequent in acidemic patients (42% vs. 19%, P = 0.033). More patients with hyperphosphatemia had acidemia than subjects without hyperphosphatemia (39% vs. 17%, P = 0.019). Metabolic alkalemia occurred more frequently than metabolic acidemia (49% vs. 23%, P < 0.0001) and was correlated with hypochloremia. The incidence of metabolic alkalemia decreased from baseline to intraoperative and PACU periods (13% vs. 3%, P = 0.003) and increased from the PACU to the three postoperative days (3% vs. 45%, P = 0.007).Conclusions: Metabolic alkalemia occurred more frequently than metabolic acidemia and occurred mainly preoperatively and postoperatively, while acidemia occurred mainly during surgery and in the PACU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Incomplete muscle relaxant reversal or re-curarization may be associated with postoperative respiratory complications. In this retrospective study we compared the incidence of postoperative residual curarization and respiratory complications in association with the type of muscle relaxant reversal agent, sugammadex or neostigmine, in patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

The article presents a case study of a 28-year-old pregnant woman who suffered from severe preeclampsia with hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count (HELLP) syndrome. She was treated with hydralazine and magnesium sulfate, but an immediate Caesarean delivery was planned since her clinical status was worsening. It was decided to do general anesthesia with the use of a rapid-sequence induction with succinylcholine and propofol in view of the low platelet count.

Ephedrine and phenylephrine are useful vasopressors for managing hypotension during caesarean delivery. Fetal arterial cord blood pH and fetal acidosis may be related to the choice of vasopressor. The present study was therefore designed to compare arterial cord blood pH and fetal acidosis rates by vasopressor treatment, while maintaining maternal mean arterial pressure (MAP) near baseline values. Fifty one ASA I-II parturients undergoing cesarean delivery (CD) under combined spinal-epidural anesthesia (CSEA) were randomly assigned to prophylactic infusion (20 mL.hr-1) of phenylephrine (100 μg.ml-1, n=25) or ephedrine (3 mg.ml-1, n=26) prior to CSEA. The infusion, was titrated to maintain mean arterial pressure (MAP) near baseline values. The primary outcome was arterial cord blood pH. Fetal acidosis was defined as pH <7.2; maternal hypotension as MAP <70 mmHg; and maternal bradycardia as heart rate <50 bpm. Arterial cord blood pH was 7.32±0.06 in the ephedrine group vs. 7.32±0.05 in the phenylephrine group, p=0.9. Fetal acidosis occurred in one case (4%) in each study group with similar one- and five-minute Apgar scores (all >7). Hypotension episodes were more frequent in patients given ephedrine (10 patients; 38%) than phenylephrine (three patients; 12%), (p=0.03). We conclude that prophylactic ephedrine as compared to phenylephrine administration was associated with a relatively high incidence of hypotension but with similar cord blood pH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abdominal surgery in obese patients may be associated with pulmonary morbidity, and mortality. Some patients may arrive in the PACU with residual paralysis. The purpose of this study was to find out if there was an association between the type of muscle relaxant reversal agent and the development of postoperative respiratory events in patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy surgery., Methods: From September 2012 to February 2013, in a prospective randomized pilot study, two different muscle relaxant reversal agents were administered at the end of surgery in 57 patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: sugammadex 2 mg/kg (32 patients) vs. neostigmine 2.5 mg (25 patients). We compared the occurrence of early and late respiratory events/complications by the type of reversal agent. Postoperative respiratory rate, oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO 2 ), number of patients with SpO 2 lower than 95% in PACU, the minimum value of SpO 2 in PACU, train-of four counts (TOF) before reversal, unexpected ICU admissions, duration of hospitalization and incidence of reintubation were recorded., Results: SpO 2 in the PACU was significantly lower in the neostigmine group - 95.80 (± 0.014)) vs. in sugammadex group - 96.72 (± 0.011) (p < 0.01), despite a lower TOF count measured in the sugammadex group before reversal, meaning a deeper level of residual relaxation in this group before the administration of the reversal agent (2.53 ± 0.98 vs. 3.48 ± 0.58 p < 0.01). Also, the minimal SpO 2 was significantly lower in the PACU in the neostigmine group: 93% vs. 94% (p = 0.01). Respiratory rates were not different. After the administration of reversal, both groups had TOF counts of 4 with no fade assessed visually. There were no postoperative respiratory events or complications., Conclusions: The use of sugammadex (as compared to neostigmine) as a reversal agent following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy surgery was associated with higher postoperative SpO 2 despite the lower TOF count before the administration of reversal agent. Despite the statistical difference in SpO 2 , its clinical importance seems to be minimal. The lack of difference in the other measured variables may stem from the small number of patients studied (pilot)., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest Nothing to declare

Background: The Temple Touch Pro (TTP) is a novel system that estimates core temperature from skin over the temporal artery. We tested the hypothesis that this noninvasive system estimates core temperature to an accuracy within 0.5°C., Methods: Core temperature was continuously monitored in 50 adult and pediatric surgical patients by positioning the sensor patch of a TTP over one temporal artery. The sensor consists of a thermistor array near the skin surface, another set of thermistors above an insulator, and a second insulator between the upper unit and the environment. The sensor measures skin temperature and heat flux, from which the monitor unit estimates core temperature from a proprietary algorithm. Reference core temperature was measured from the esophagus or nasopharynx. We conducted agreement analysis between the TTP and the reference core temperature measurements using the 95% Bland-Altman limits of agreement for repeated measurement data. The proportion of all differences that were within 0.5°C and repeat measures concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) were estimated as well., Results: TTP and the reference core temperature measurements agreed well in both adults and pediatric patients. Bland-Altman plots showed no evidence of systematic bias or variability over the temperature from 35.2°C to 37.8°C. The estimated 95% lower and upper limits of agreement were -0.57°C (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.76 to -0.41) and 0.57°C (95% CI, 0.44 to 0.71), indicating good agreement between the 2 methods. Ninety-four percentage (95% CI, 87% to 99%) of the TTP temperatures were within 0.5°C of the reference temperature. Good agreement was also supported by an estimated repeated measures CCC of 0.82 (95% CI, 0.66 to 0.91). The TTP core temperature measurements also agreed well with nasopharyngeal reference temperatures., Conclusions: The noninvasive TTP system is sufficiently accurate and reliable for routine intraoperative core temperature monitoring.

Repair of injured lungs represents a longstanding therapeutic challenge. We show that human and mouse embryonic lung tissue from the canalicular stage of development (20-22 weeks of gestation for humans, and embryonic day 15-16 (E15-E16) for mouse) are enriched with progenitors residing in distinct niches. On the basis of the marked analogy to progenitor niches in bone marrow (BM), we attempted strategies similar to BM transplantation, employing sublethal radiation to vacate lung progenitor niches and to reduce stem cell competition. Intravenous infusion of a single cell suspension of canalicular lung tissue from GFP-marked mice or human fetal donors into naphthalene-injured and irradiated syngeneic or SCID mice, respectively, induced marked long-term lung chimerism. Donor type structures or 'patches' contained epithelial, mesenchymal and endothelial cells. Transplantation of differentially labeled E16 mouse lung cells indicated that these patches were probably of clonal origin from the donor. Recipients of the single cell suspension transplant exhibited marked improvement in lung compliance and tissue damping reflecting the energy dissipation in the lung tissues. Our study provides proof of concept for lung reconstitution by canalicular-stage human lung cells after preconditioning of the pulmonary niche.

Purpose of Review: The purpose of this review is to define the responsibility and designation of anesthesia personnel to nonoperating room location anesthesia and their education in this regard. The review will also define the safety standards, guidelines, physical environment, equipment, accreditation, the quality of care and patient and procedural selection., Recent Findings: Anesthesia outside the operating room continues to be a challenging field. With the advances in surgical and anesthetic technology, there is an increasing need for research in the area of office-based anesthetic techniques and for improvement in terms of adherence to safety standards in aiming to decrease morbidity and mortality and increase patient satisfaction., Summary: Complications of anesthesia outside the operating room still persist even in American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) status I patients and in accredited facilities with board-certified physicians. The department of anesthesiology taking care of the in-hospital office-based facility has the responsibility to define safe practice standards according to the ASA guidelines regarding education, documentation, guidelines preparation, equipment, standards monitoring, collaboration with other facilities, backup for the personnel in case of emergencies and prolongation of observation of a complicated patient in the postanesthesia care unit. Office-based facilities outside the hospital should comply with all federal, state, local laws and regulations. Such precautions will enhance safety, efficiency and reliability of office-based anesthesia inside and outside the hospital.

Study Objective: To assess the effect of intermittent versus continuous bladder catheterization on labor duration and local anesthetic consumption., Design: Randomized, controlled, prospective, single-blind trial., Setting: University-affiliated hospital., Patients: 209 ASA physical status I and II, primiparous parturients who received patient-controlled epidural analgesia for labor., Interventions: Patients were randomly allocated to either the intermittent bladder catheterization group (Group IC; n = 109) or the continuous catheterization group (Group CC; n = 100)., Measurements: Duration of the second stage of labor, dose of local anesthetics given, and primary outcomes were compared by group using the t-test for independent samples. Main secondary outcomes were postpartum urinary retention and rate of postpartum urinary tract infection (UTI; asymptomatic bacteruria)., Main Results: Duration of the second stage of labor was longer in Group CC than Group IC: 105 +/- 72 vs. 75 +/- 52 min (P = 0.002). This finding was associated with increased local anesthetic dose requirement in Group CC during both stages of labor (73 +/- 25 mL vs. 63 +/- 26 mL; P = 0.005). The rate of UTI was similar (30%) in both study groups., Conclusion: Intermittent bladder catheterization was associated with shorter second-stage labor and less local anesthetic, but the same frequency of postpartum urinary retention and UTI was seen with both catheterization groups.

Study Objective: To investigate the frequency of gastroesophageal regurgitation and respiratory mechanics during positive pressure ventilation using 5 supraglottic devices or an endotracheal tube (ETT)., Design: Prospective, randomized study., Setting: Operating rooms in a university-affiliated hospital., Patients: 180 ASA physical status I and II patients, aged 18 to 65 years old, who underwent elective orthopedic, minor vascular, peripheral plastic, or urologic surgery during general anesthesia., Interventions: Patients were randomly allocated to one of 6 airway device groups (n = 30 each): (1) Cobra Perilaryngeal Airway; (2) Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) Classic; (3) LMA Fastrach; (4) LMA ProSeal; (5) laryngeal tube; and (6) ETT (SIMS Portex, Ltd, Hythe, Kent, UK). After insertion of the designated device, the lungs of each nonparalyzed patient were mechanically ventilated., Measurements: Hypopharyngeal pH, peak inspiratory pressures, sealing pressures, and lung compliance were measured. Hypopharyngeal pH lower than 4 was considered a regurgitation event., Main Results: Regurgitation (episodes of pH <4) occurred in between one and 5 patients of each study group, with no statistical difference. Sealing pressures were similar among all the airway device groups., Conclusions: The frequency of gastroesophageal regurgitation in anesthetized, unparalyzed, mechanically ventilated patients was similar in patients whose lungs were ventilated with either the Cobra Perilaryngeal Airway, LMA Classic, Fastrach, ProSeal, laryngeal tube, or ETT.

Objective: To present a concise history of tracheostomy and tracheal intubation for the approximately forty centuries from their earliest description around 2000 BC until the middle of the twentieth century, at which time a proliferation of advances marked the beginning of the modern era of anesthesiology., Data Sources: Review of the literature., Conclusions: The colorful and checkered past of tracheostomy and tracheal intubation informs contemporary understanding of these procedures. Often, the decision whether to perform a life-saving tracheostomy or tracheal intubation has been as important as the technical ability to perform it. The dawn of modern airway management owes its existence to the historical development of increasingly effective airway devices and to regular contributions of research into the pathophysiology of the upper airway.

Purpose: Epidural analgesia is associated with hyperthermia during labor and presumably causes it, although no convincing mechanism has been postulated. It seems likely that fever associated with pyrogenic factors related to labor is suppressed by opioids, whereas it is expressed normally in patients given epidural analgesia. We examined this hypothesis and the possible etiology of temperature elevation in labor., Methods: In this prospective, randomized, controlled study, we assessed 201 parturients during spontaneous labor. Analgesia was randomly provided with one of four treatment groups: (1) epidural ropivacaine alone, (2) IV remifentanil alone, (3) epidural ropivacaine plus IV remifentanil, and (4) epidural ropivacaine plus IV acetaminophen. At randomization, patients were normothermic. Intrapartum hyperthermia (>or=38 degrees C) was correlated to the analgesic technique., Results: The maximum increase in oral temperature was greatest in the ropivacaine group (0.7 +/- 0.6 degrees C) and least in the remifentanil group (0.3 +/- 0.4 degrees C; P = 0.013). The percentage of patients who became hyperthermic (>or=38 degrees C) during the first 6 h of labor was greatest in the ropivacaine group (14%) and least in the remifentanil-alone group (2%), but the difference was not statistically significant. The maximum forearm-finger gradients were lower (less vasoconstriction) in the remifentanil group when compared to the gradients in patients with epidural analgesia (1.4 +/- 1.8 vs 3.0 +/- 1.7, respectively; P < 0.001)., Conclusion: Our results are consistent with the theory that low-dose opioids inhibit fever in patients not given epidural analgesia. However, in view of the negative results, the hypothesis of epidural-induced hyperthermia may be questionable.

Background: The reported incidence of transient neurological symptoms (TNS) after subarachnoid lidocaine administration is as high as 40%. We designed this clinical trial to determine the incidence of TNS with two different pencil-point spinal needles: one-orifice (Atraucan) and two-orifice (Eldor) spinal needles., Methods: Ninety-nine ASA physical status I or II patients undergoing surgical procedures of the urinary bladder or prostate were prospectively allocated to receive spinal anesthesia with 40 mg, 2% isobaric lidocaine plus fentanyl injected through either a 26-gauge Atraucan (n = 52) or a 26-gauge Eldor (n = 47) spinal needle. During the first three postoperative days, patients were observed for postoperative complications, including TNS. The primary end-point for this trial was the percentage of TNS in both double- and single-orifice spinal needle procedures., Results: The incidence of TNS was higher when spinal anesthesia was done through the Atraucan needle (28.8% vs 8.5%, P = 0.006). Fifty percent of the patients in the double-orifice group versus 100% of the single-orifice group developed TNS after surgery in the lithotomy position (P = 0.014). The relative risk for developing TNS with the Eldor needle was 0.29 (95% CI: 0.07-0.75) compared with the Atraucan needle., Conclusions: The use of a double-orifice spinal needle was associated with a lower incidence of TNS, which may have been due to the needle design.

Study Objective: To investigate the impact of different modes of ventilation during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) on immediate postbypass oxygenation in pediatric cardiac surgery., Design: Prospective, randomized clinical trial., Setting: University hospital., Patients: 50 pediatric patients (18 girls, 32 boys), aged 4 months to 15 years, undergoing elective repair of congenital heart disease., Interventions: Patients were randomized to receive one of 5 modes of ventilation during bypass. Groups 1 and 2 received high-frequency/low-volume ventilation with 100% (group 1) or 21% oxygen (group 2). Groups 3 and 4 received continuous positive airway pressure of 5 cm H(2)O with 100% (group 3) or 21% oxygen (group 4); and in group 5, each patient's airway was disconnected from the ventilator (passive deflation)., Measurements: Blood gas analysis and spirometry data were recorded 5 minutes before chest opening, 5 minutes before inducing bypass, 5 minutes after weaning from bypass, and 5 minutes after chest closure., Main Results: There were no differences in Pao(2) values among the 5 groups studied and at the different time points. Lung compliance was higher 5 minutes before bypass in group 1 versus group 5 (34 +/- 13 mL/cm H(2)O vs 20 +/- 9 mL/cm H(2)O; P = 0.048)., Conclusions: Mode of ventilation during CPB did not affect immediate postbypass oxygenation.