1/9. Fatal cardiac ischaemia associated with prolonged desflurane anaesthesia and administration of exogenous catecholamines.PURPOSE: Four cardiac ischaemic events are reported during and after prolonged anaesthesia with desflurane. CLINICAL FEATURES: We have evaluated desflurane in 21 consecutive patients undergoing advanced head and neck reconstructive surgery. Four deaths occurred which were associated with cardiac ischaemic syndromes either during or immediately after operation. All patients in the study received a similar anaesthetic. This comprised induction with propofol and maintenance with alfentanil and desflurane in oxygen-enriched air. Inotropic support (either dopamine or dobutamine in low dose, 5 micrograms.kg.min-1) was provided as part of the anaesthetic technique in all patients. Critical cardiovascular incidents were observed in each of the four patients during surgery. These were either sudden bradycardia or tachycardia associated with ST-segment electrocardiographic changes. The four patients who died had a documented past history of coronary heart disease and were classified American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) II or III. One patient (#2) did not survive anaesthesia and surgery and the three others died on the first, second and twelfth postoperative days. Enzyme increases (CK/CK-MB) were available in three patients and confirmed myocardial ischaemia. CONCLUSION: These cases represent an unexpected increase in the immediate postoperative mortality for these types of patients and this anaesthetic sequence.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/9. Removal of catecholamine-secreting chemodectoma. The use of neuroleptanaesthesia, adrenergic blockade and sodium nitroprusside.A case of catecholamine-secreting chemodectoma of the neck in a 47-year-old male who also had temporal lobe epilepsy is described. Details of presentation, diagnosis and successful treatment are given. He was fully alpha blocked with phenoxybenzamine and given neuroleptic drugs but his blood pressure rose to dangerous levels when the tumour was handled and did not respond to intravenous phentolamine. sodium nitroprusside was successfully used to achieve blood pressure control.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.66666666666667keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/9. Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy in a patient with thyroid cancer and severe airway obstruction.A patient with extensive metastatic thyroid cancer scheduled for palliative tracheostomy is presented. He had laryngeal dislocation with severe airway obstruction and few anatomical landmarks due to tumour infiltration and radiation. Successful percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy was performed under local anaesthesia.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/9. Giant cervico-mediastinal lipoma. A clinical case.The lipoma is a circumscribed mesenchymal tumour originating from adipose tissue. The lesion is usually small and asymptomatic, and is most frequently located in the neck region. The case of a 77-year-old woman with chronic extrasystolic arrhythmia caused by a non-specified ischemic cardiopathy is reported. The woman presented a swelling at the front of her neck, observed for the first time about 6 months previously. This swelling progressively increased in size, provoking dysphagia, dysphonia, persistent cough, dyspnea, light jugular turgor and palpitations. Chest x-rays showed and opaque area at the front of the neck, which extended beyond the jugular incisure by about 2 cm. NMR of the neck showed a gross lipomatous formation at the front, mainly of the left, continuing in the front mediastinal region; the trachea was dislocated to the right and compressed at the back; the vasculo-nervous fasciculus, especially on the left, was compressed and enveloped by the adipose formation. The Holter test confirmed the presence of ventricular and supra-ventricular extrasystoles. Surgery was carried out under local anaesthesia because the displacement of the laryngo-tracheal axes precluded intubation. Histological analysis of the 9 x 4 x 2.2 cm mass confirmed the diagnosis of lipoma. After removal of the mass all the symptoms, which had been provoked by compression, as well as the cardiac arrhythmias disappeared. The prompt disappearance of the latter was particularly surprising. The possibility of the external compression of the nervous structures of the neck should be taken into consideration in cases of ventricular arrhythmia of unknown origin, and systematic study of the region carried out.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/9. Sympathetic paraganglioma presenting with Horner's syndrome in a child.Paragangliomas of the head and neck arise from collections of cells from the neural crest associated with cranial or sympathetic nerves. Such lesions are rare in children. The majority of paragangliomas in the paediatric age groups have been familial, occurring in association with an adrenal pheochromocytoma. Children typically present with a neck mass and systemic evidence of catecholamine hypersecretion. We present the case of a 12-year-old boy with a history of increasing headache, drowsiness and Horner's syndrome for 8 months. The patient underwent exploration of the neck mass under general anaesthesia. The lesion was found to be in continuity with the left sympathetic chain. It was highly vascular but was removed en mass and sent for histological analysis. The histology showed that the mass was a well-circumscribed encapsulated tumour and that complete excision was achieved. The post-operative period was uneventful and the patient recovered well after the operation. On review at 6 months following surgery, his scars were maturing satisfactorily but the Horner's syndrome was persistent. Sympathetic chain paragangliomas are very rare tumours in the head and neck but should be considered in the differential diagnosis when clinical and radiographic evidence suggest a paraganglioma. The presentation is typically of a slow-growing neck mass with the presence of an ipsilateral Horner's syndrome. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a sympathetic chain paraganglioma in a child.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/9. An unusual cause of stridor following anaesthesia requiring tracheostomy.A 75-year-old woman underwent panendoscopy and excision of a neck "lump". After antagonism of residual neuromuscular block and extubation of the trachea, she developed recurrent upper airway obstruction and stridor, necessitating a permanent tracheostomy. The possibility of vagal nerve involvement or injury should always be considered during excision of neck lumps. Preoperative indirect, atraumatic laryngoscopy by experienced surgeons is essential, as are tracheal intubation and vigilant postoperative observation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.66666666666667keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/9. Anaesthetic management of a neonate with prenatally diagnosed cervical tumour and upper airway obstruction.We report the anaesthetic management of a mother, and airway management of a neonate with a prenatal diagnosis of cervical cystic hygroma causing upper airway obstruction. The mortality of such neonates due to upper airway obstruction is reported to exceed 20% following deliveries. Elective Caesarean section was performed under general anaesthesia, and in utero tracheal intubation of the neonate was accomplished under uninterrupted maternal-fetal circulation. By utilizing isoflurane and ritodrine, the heart rate of the neonate remained between 120 to 150 bpm for four minutes following uterine incision. We believe that it is important that a multidisciplinary approach be initiated for planning of airway management of the neonate soon after the diagnosis is made. laryngoscopy blades larger than normal for neonates, and a portable Doppler to monitor the viability of the neonate were found to be useful in the management of the neonate during in utero tracheal intubation. Although estimated blood loss was not increased, nor did uterine atony occur postoperatively despite the use of ritodrine during Caesarean section, the efficacy and safety of ritodrine to delay placental detachment have not been proved.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/9. Thermoradiotherapy with combined interstitial and external hyperthermia in advanced tumours in the head and neck with depth > or = 3 cm.Advanced tumours in the head and neck 3-6 cm depth are too deep to be completely heated by external 915 MHz microwaves. A preliminary study was performed using interstitial plus external hyperthermia combined with external beam radiation therapy to heat tumours to depths > or = 3 cm. Nine advanced metastatic lesions of squamous cell carcinoma located in the head and neck were treated between 1987 and 1990 with the combined hyperthermia technique and radiation doses of 38-60 Gy (mean of 49 /- 3 Gy). The mean tumour volume was 58 /- 9 (SE) cm3 (range 24-94 cm3) with a mean tumour depth of 3.9 /- 0.3 cm (range 3-5.5 cm). The deeper aspects of the tumour were heated by interstitial 915 MHz microwave antennas and the superficial aspects heated by external 915 MHz applicators. A single plane of polyurethane closed-end catheters, 16 Ga, were inserted under local anaesthesia approximately 1.5-2 cm apart in parallel arrays at the base of a lesion behind the sternomastoid muscle, or an equivalent site in a dissected neck, extending forward and angled deeply no more than 15 degrees. Hyperthermia was administered twice weekly immediately after radiation therapy in a mean of 5.3 /- 0.7 external heat sessions (range 3-7) and a mean of 3.5 /- 0.6 interstitial heat sessions (range of 1-6). Interstitial hyperthermia was usually administered in alternating sessions with external hyperthermia, but in some patients all of the sessions of one modality were administered followed by all of the sessions of the other modality. In no case were both interstitial and external heatings performed on the same day. Surface thermometers were used to monitor skin temperature during external hyperthermia sessions. Results showed that by 8 weeks after completion of treatment, six lesions exhibited a complete response (67%) and three a partial response (33%). One of the partial responses continued to regress and became a complete response (78% complete response). The recurrence rate in complete responders was 14% (1/7) with time to recurrence of 7.7 months. Six lesions were recurrence-free at last follow-up of 21.3 /- 8.8 months. Skin reactions were absent in four fields (44%), erythema was noted in five (56%) and thermal blistering in one (11%). Ulceration occurred only in association with tumour breakdown when the skin was infiltrated by tumour (three patients, 33%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/9. Management of the difficult airway. A case of failed fiberoptic intubation.BACKGROUND: Fiberoptic intubation is the current gold standard for the management of difficult intubation. Nevertheless, in rare circumstances even fiberoptic intubation fails. methods: We describe the case of a female patient suffering from neurofibromatosis Recklinghausen and a giant malignant schwannoma on the neck obstructing the pharynx and compromising respiration. Based on the clinical presentation and the MRI findings, difficulties in airway management were anticipated and fiberoptic intubation of the awake patient was planned. RESULTS: After localizing the vocal cords it was not possible to advance the tube into the trachea due to the severe deviation of the glottis. A decision was made to cancel any further fiberoptic intubation attempts and a conventional tracheotomy was performed under local anaesthesia without problems. CONCLUSION: This case illustrates that even awake fiberoptic intubation has its failure rate, due to inability to visualize the larynx, inability to advance the tube over the fiberscope (as in the present case), or inability to direct the tube towards the larynx. Due to the extreme deviation of the larynx other established techniques for difficult intubation were not deemed appropriate in this case. Therefore, weighing the risks and benefits, a decision was made to perform a tracheotomy under local anaesthesia.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |