Analysis of the factors contributing to residual weakness after sugammadex administration in pediatric patients under 2 years of age.

BACKGROUND: Sugammadex reverses the neuromuscular blockade induced by rocuronium and vecuronium and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in patients aged over 2 years. There is, however, a paucity of data regarding its dosing profile in infants and children younger than 2 years. AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess the risk of recurarization, or re-paralysis, in children under 2 years of age to increase awareness on the importance of appropriate neuromuscular blocked monitoring and reversal. METHODS: All patients aged ≤24 months who underwent an operative procedure at a tertiary medical center between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2021, and received both rocuronium for neuromuscular blockade and sugammadex for neuromuscular blockade reversal, were identified in the electronic medical record. Patients were excluded from analysis if they (1) received vecuronium, cisatracurium, atracurium, or succinylcholine for neuromuscular blockade, (2) received neostigmine for reversal, or (3) underwent more than one operation within 24 h. We performed a survival analysis of sugammadex redose using a Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: We reviewed 2923 records. Sugammadex was redosed in 123 (4.2%) cases. The median [IQR] time to redose was 7 [4-17] min, and the median [IQR] amount of redose administered was 2.74 [1.96-3.99] mg/kg. Increasing patient age (p < .01) and weight (p < .01) were associated with reduced hazard rate of sugammadex redose. For a patient of median weight, increasing age from 3 to 13 months was associated with a 53% risk reduction (HR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.24-0.91). For a patient of median age, increasing weight from 4.7 to 9.2 kg was associated with 41% risk reduction (HR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.32-1.07). We failed to detect any other associations. CONCLUSIONS: In this single-center, retrospective cohort study of pediatric surgery patients, there was an association between the hazard of sugammadex redose with both increased age and weight.

Pediatric Anesthesia Specialty Societies and Multi-Institutional Collaborations.

Pediatric anesthesiology is a subspecialty of anesthesiology that deals with the high-risk pediatric population. The specialty has made significant advancement in large collaborative efforts to study and increase patient safety, including the creation of international societies, a dedicated journal, special committees and interest groups, and multi-institution databases for research and quality improvement. Readily available resources were created to help with the education of future pediatric anesthesiologists as well as continuing medical education. Conclusions: Specialty societies and collaborations in pediatric anesthesia are crucial for continuous improvement in the care of children. They promote research, education, quality improvement, and advocacy at the local, national, and international level.

Hot Topics in Safety for Pediatric Anesthesia.

Anesthesiology is one of the leading medical specialties in patient safety. Pediatric anesthesiology is inherently higher risk than adult anesthesia due to differences in the physiology in children. In this review, we aimed to describe the highest yield safety topics for pediatric anesthesia and efforts to ameliorate risk. Conclusions: Pediatric anesthesiology has made great strides in patient perioperative safety with initiatives including the creation of a specialty society, quality and safety committees, large multi-institutional research efforts, and quality improvement initiatives. Common pediatric peri-operative events are now monitored with multi-institution and organization collaborative efforts, such as Wake Up Safe.

Residual Weakness and Recurarization After Sugammadex Administration in Pediatric Patients: A Case Series.

While shown to be safe for administration in pediatric patients, sugammadex has recently been associated with residual weakness or recurarization. We describe 4 additional cases of pediatric patients with residual or recurrent weakness following rocuronium reversal with sugammadex. Two infant patients developed postoperative ventilatory distress, which was possibly related to recurarization after sugammadex reversal. A third patient received sugammadex with apparent waning of clinical effect and subsequently required neostigmine reversal. A fourth patient was observed to have residual weakness, which led to prolonged intubation despite appropriate train-of-four results after reversal with sugammadex.

Prevalence of Potentially Distracting Noncare Activities and Their Effects on Vigilance, Workload, and Nonroutine Events during Anesthesia Care.

BACKGROUND: When workload is low, anesthesia providers may perform non-patient care activities of a clinical, educational, or personal nature. Data are limited on the incidence or impact of distractions on actual care. We examined the prevalence of self-initiated nonclinical distractions and their effects on anesthesia workload, vigilance, and the occurrence of nonroutine events. METHODS: In 319 qualifying cases in an academic medical center using a Web-based electronic medical chart, a trained observer recorded video and performed behavioral task analysis. Participant workload and response to a vigilance (alarm) light were randomly measured. Postoperatively, participants were interviewed to elicit possible nonroutine events. Two anesthesiologists reviewed each event to evaluate their association with distractions. RESULTS: At least one self-initiated distraction was observed in 171 cases (54%), largely during maintenance. Distractions accounted for 2% of case time and lasted 2.3 s (median). The most common distraction was personal internet use. Distractions were more common in longer cases but were not affected by case type or American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status. Workload ratings were significantly lower during distraction-containing case periods and vigilance latencies were significantly longer in cases without any distractions. Three distractions were temporally associated with, but did not cause, events. CONCLUSIONS: Both nurse anesthetists and residents performed potentially distracting tasks of a personal and/or educational nature in a majority of cases. Self-initiated distractions were rarely associated with events. This study suggests that anesthesia professionals using sound judgment can self-manage nonclinical activities. Future efforts should focus on eliminating more cognitively absorbing and less escapable distractions, as well as training in distraction management.

Evaluation of the skin to epidural and subarachnoid space distance in young children using magnetic resonance imaging.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Epidural catheters placed for perioperative analgesia in young children confer clinical benefits but are technically challenging to insert. Approximations of the skin to epidural space depth in this population are limited to direct needle measurement and ultrasonography. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most comprehensive imaging modality of the spine. This study aims to produce a more clinically useful formula from MRI data to estimate pediatric epidural depth. METHODS: Seventy children with normal lumbar spine MR images were enrolled. After determination of epidural depth, linear regression was used to estimate a weight-based formula. Analysis of variance and bootstrap methods were used to evaluate this formula against 4 commonly cited formulae. The quality of predictions was evaluated using the mean absolute prediction error. RESULTS: The estimated weight-based formula as derived by MRI data is given by: skin to epidural depth (mm) = 9.00 + 0.62 * weight in kilograms. The mean absolute prediction error was 2.56 mm (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.12-3.04) for the new formula. Additional derived formulae are skin to dorsal dura depth (mm) = 13.52 + 0.71 * weight in kilograms (mean absolute prediction error, 2.48 mm; 95% CI, 2.00-3.03) and skin to ventral dural depth (mm) = 23.08 + 0.86 * weight in kilograms (mean absolute prediction error, 2.50 mm; 95% CI, 2.04-3.06). CONCLUSIONS: We provide the first predictive formulae, based on MRI data, for pediatric epidural depth estimation.

A multispecialty pediatric neurovascular conference: a model for interdisciplinary management of complex disease.

INTRODUCTION: In 2013, our institution established a multidisciplinary pediatric neurovascular conference for coordination of care. Here, we review our initial experience. METHODS: Clinical and demographic data were obtained from medical records for patients presented to the pediatric neurovascular conference from April 2013 to July 2014. Patient descriptive characteristics were described by mean and standard deviation for continuous measures and by number and percent for categorical measures. Patients were secondarily stratified by lesion/disease type, and descriptive statistics were used to measure demographic and clinical variables. RESULTS: The pediatric neurovascular conference met 26 times in the study period. Overall, 75 children were presented to the conference over a 15-month period. The mean age was 9.8 (standard deviation, 6.3) years. There were 42 (56%) male patients. These 75 children were presented a total of 112 times. There were 28 (37%) patients with history of stroke. Complex vascular lesions were the most frequently discussed entity; of 62 children (83%) with a diagnosed vascular lesion, brain arteriovenous malformation (29%), cavernous malformation (15%), and moyamoya (11%) were most common. Most discussions were for review of imaging (35%), treatment plan formulation (27%), the need for additional imaging (25%), or diagnosis (13%). Standardized care protocols for arteriovenous malformation and moyamoya were developed. CONCLUSION: A multidisciplinary conference among a diverse group of providers guides complex care decisions, helps standardize care protocols, promotes provider collaboration, and supports continuity of care in pediatric neurovascular disease.

Identification and characterization of a compound that protects cardiac tissue from human Ether-à-go-go-related gene (hERG)-related drug-induced arrhythmias.

The human Ether-à-go-go-related gene (hERG)-encoded K(+) current, I(Kr) is essential for cardiac repolarization but is also a source of cardiotoxicity because unintended hERG inhibition by diverse pharmaceuticals can cause arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. We hypothesized that a small molecule that diminishes I(Kr) block by a known hERG antagonist would constitute a first step toward preventing hERG-related arrhythmias and facilitating drug discovery. Using a high-throughput assay, we screened a library of compounds for agents that increase the IC(70) of dofetilide, a well characterized hERG blocker. One compound, VU0405601, with the desired activity was further characterized. In isolated, Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts, optical mapping revealed that dofetilide-induced arrhythmias were reduced after pretreatment with VU0405601. Patch clamp analysis in stable hERG-HEK cells showed effects on current amplitude, inactivation, and deactivation. VU0405601 increased the IC(50) of dofetilide from 38.7 to 76.3 nM. VU0405601 mitigates the effects of hERG blockers from the extracellular aspect primarily by reducing inactivation, whereas most clinically relevant hERG inhibitors act at an inner pore site. Structure-activity relationships surrounding VU0405601 identified a 3-pyridiyl and a naphthyridine ring system as key structural components important for preventing hERG inhibition by multiple inhibitors. These findings indicate that small molecules can be designed to reduce the sensitivity of hERG to inhibitors.