Anaesthesia reports最新文献

Factor XI deficiency is a rare disorder with an unpredictable bleeding tendency. Here, we report the successful use of the sonic estimation of elasticity via resonance sonorheometry for guiding the management of haemostasis in a patient with a severe factor XI deficiency in repeated revision hip surgeries. Regardless of an administration of fresh frozen plasma, a significant haemorrhage occurred at the first of three hip surgeries. The repeat application of fresh frozen plasma normalised the prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time and the resonance sonorheometry clot time values; the factor XI activity increased to a sufficient level. No significant bleeding occurred in the second and third hip surgery. Using a resonance sonorheometry guided approach in haemostasis management has the potential to improve safety for patients with factor XI deficiency undergoing surgery by ensuring sufficient clotting and preventing side effects.

Operating theatre fires are rare but can result in significant morbidity. A 76-year-old male with complex airway disease sustained superficial facial burns during an elective airway debulking procedure. His airway was being managed with high-flow nasal oxygen at 70 l.min⁻¹ and FiO₂ 1.0 delivered by Optiflow™ (Fisher and Paykel Healthcare Limited, Auckland, New Zealand). When suction monopolar diathermy was used to excise hyperkeratotic tissue beside his epiglottis, an arc was created to the tip of the suspension laryngoscope, followed by a jet of flame as the Optiflow circuit ignited. This resulted in burns to the patient's face and shoulder. He required admission to the intensive care unit and had a complicated postoperative course that included the need for surgical tracheostomy to facilitate weaning from mechanical ventilation. This case highlights the dangers of using high-flow nasal oxygen alongside an ignition source.

We present a case of a 55-year-old woman presenting for an elective minor procedure. Following a previous anaesthetic, a ‘can't intubate, can't oxygenate’ incident had been documented. She had since undergone awake tracheal intubation for procedures requiring general anaesthesia. We were able to safely facilitate awake tracheal intubation using remimazolam for sedation. Remimazolam is a novel ultra-short acting benzodiazepine with similar pharmacodynamic effects to its parent compound midazolam, having minimal cardiovascular or respiratory effects and offering excellent anxiolysis and amnesia. It has a significantly shorter duration of action than midazolam, making it a valuable sedative agent for awake tracheal intubation. The patient remained stable throughout the procedure, with minimal effects on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. The quality of sedation was reported as highly satisfactory by both the patient and the team.

We investigated the distribution of injected dye after deep serratus anterior plane and superficial parasternal intercostal plane blocks in 15 Thiel embalmed cadavers. We injected 0.4 ml.kg⁻¹ of 0.25% aqueous methylene blue solution into the deep serratus anterior and superficial parasternal intercostal planes using real-time ultrasound needle visualisation followed by posterior dissection to observe the distribution of the injected dye in the chest wall. The two blocks were performed bilaterally in 15 cadavers at the T5/T6 level, comprising 60 blocks in 30 hemithoraces in total. At dissection, the intercostal nerve territories were observed to be dyed completely from T2 to T6 in 28 of 30 hemithoraces, and extending caudal to T6 in 10 hemithoraces. Following the deep serratus anterior plane blocks in all cadavers, the dye was found to have spread to the axillae. Following the superficial parasternal intercostal plane blocks, the dye reached T7 in four cadaver dissections. We concluded that the territories innervated by the intercostal nerves (T2–T6 dermatomes) are dyed following the combination of the two blocks when performed at the T5–T6 intercostal space level. These techniques might provide an effective option for anaesthesia in breast surgery.