It is unclear whether preoperative serum uric acid (SUA) elevation may play a role in the development of acute kidney injury (AKI) associated with cardiac surgery (CSA-AKI). We conducted a cohort study to evaluate the influence of preoperative hyperuricemia on AKI in patients at high risk for developing SC-AKI.
Multicenter prospective international cohort study.
Fourteen university hospitals in Spain and the United Kingdom.
We studied 261 consecutive patients at high risk of developing CSA-AKI, according to a Cleveland score ≥4 points, from July to December 2017.
None.
AKIN criteria were used for the definition of AKI. Multivariable logistic regression models and propensity score-matched pairwise analysis were used to determine the adjusted association between preoperative hyperuricemia (> = 7 mg/dL) and AKI. Elevated preoperative AUS (> = 7 mg/dL) was present in 190 patients (72.8%), whereas CSA-AKI occurred in 145 patients (55.5%). In multivariable logistic regression models, hyperuricemia was not associated with a significantly increased risk of AKI (adjusted Odds Ratio [OR]: 1.58; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.81-3; p = 0.17). In propensity score-matched analysis of 140 patients, the hyperuricemia group experienced similar adjusted odds of AKI (OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.93-1.19, p = 0.37).
Hyperuricemia was not associated with an increased risk of AKI in this cohort of patients undergoing cardiac surgery at high risk of developing CSA-AKI.
Embolic phenomena frequently occur during hip joint replacement surgery, and may lead to haemodynamic instability in frail patients. Transoesophageal ultrasound monitoring is rarely available in non-cardiac operating theatres, and cannot be performed in awake patients under spinal anaesthesia. The main objectives of this prospective exploratory study were to determine the feasibility of using an alternative ultrasound approach to monitor the inferior vena cava during hip replacement surgery, and to determine the intra- and interobserver reliability of the ultrasound findings.
We conducted a prospective exploratory study in 20 patients undergoing cemented hip arthroplasty in the supine position under spinal anaesthesia and sedation. The inferior vena cava was assessed through a subcostal window at 10 intraoperative time points, and the findings were rated on a qualitative embolism severity scale. The ultrasound images were evaluated by 2 independent observers.
An adequate subcostal window was obtained in 90% of cases. Intra- and inter-observer reliability was high (kappa index > 0.80, p < 0.001). Nearly all (95%) patients presented some degree of embolism, which was severe in 50% of cases.
Our study suggests that ultrasound assessment of embolic phenomena in the inferior vena cava through a subcostal window is reliable in 90% of cases. The qualitative embolic severity rating scale is highly reproducible and has high intra- and inter-observer reliability.
Patients with status asthmaticus (SA) frequently present with lactic acidosis (LA). Our goal is to identify the nature of LA using the Stewart physicochemical model and to identify the independent factors associated with LA in children with SA.
Analytical study of a retrospective cohort using a nested case-control design. Twenty-eight episodes of SA in 24 children were included. Patients admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) for SA over a 9-year period were recruited consecutively. LA was analysed using the Stewart model and the Strong Ion Calculator. Data and were analysed using descriptive statistics and regression models were fitted in the general linear model.
Hyperlacticaemia (Lact[mM/L] = 3.905 [95% CI = 3.018-4.792]) and acidosis (pH = 7.294 [95% CI = 7.241-7.339]) were observed in 18 episodes (15 patients; 62.5%). According to the Stewart model, acidosis was caused by a decrease in strong ion difference. Initially, pCO2 was high (pCO2[mmHg] = 45.806 [95% CI = 37.314-54.298]) but the net unmeasured ion (NUI) component was normal (NUI = -4,461 [95% CI = -3.51 - -5.412]), and neither changed significantly over the clinical course. There was no need to determine pyruvate, as the NUI was normal and the LA was type B (non-hypoxic, lactate / pyruvate < 25). We observed a correlation (p = 0.023) between LA and intramuscular epinephrine administered on arrival at hospital, but not between LA and the cumulative dose of nebulized salbutamol.
Most patients with SA presented LA. The Stewart model confirmed that LA is not hypoxic, probably due to sympathomimetic-related glycolysis.
The continuous development of medicine in most fields requires physicians to apply the latest methods and technology to ensure patients’ safety. In the field of anesthesiology we are pioneers in the application of measures that guarantee the security of our patients, making possible the greatest reduction in mortality seen among all other specialties. This objective has been achieved thanks to the introduction of changes such as the one presented in this review article.
The specific NRFit® connections for neuraxial and other regional anesthesia applications prevent wrong route medication errors to occur. These medication errors have been related to a high morbidity and mortality rate. This article reviews this new technology based in our own two-year experience at Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias (Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain) as well as a literature review using PubMed, UpToDate and ClinicalKey.
The aim of this study is to describe the anaesthesia management of two patients undergoing carinal resection under veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO). In both cases, anaesthesia was induced and then maintained with inhalational agents during pneumonectomy and mediastinoscopy (respectively). Then the jugular and femoral veins were cannulated and VV ECMO was started after heparinization. One of the patients presented bleeding during surgery, which was treated with low-dose vasopressors (norepinephrine) and transfusion of platelets, fresh frozen plasma, and red blood cells. During VV ECMO, anaesthesia was maintained with target-controlled infusion of propofol. VV ECMO can be expected to improve surgical conditions in tracheal surgery; however, it is still a novel technique in this context. In selected patients, it would guarantee ventilatory support during carinal resection, but it is essential to carefully plan anaesthesia maintenance and prepare for VV ECMO-related complications. This technique should only be used in tertiary centres with experience in VV ECMO management.