A rare case of adult acquired tracheo-oesophageal fistula with sub-glottic stenosis for corrective surgery- an anesthetic challenge.

Acquired trachea-esophageal fistula (TEF) is a rare condition in adults and causative factors include malignancy, trauma and various iatrogenic causes. The important causative factor of TEF in our case was percutaneous tracheostomy. The normal protective laryngeal reflexes are lost in TEF due to the patent tract from the airway to the upper gastrointestinal tract. The TEF poses a challenge for the surgeon and the anaesthesiologist, as the fistula lies in close proximity to oesophagus, trachea, upper mediastinal contents and large blood vessel. Here we present a rare case of anesthetic management of a 26 year old male patient with complaints of regurgitation of part of swallowed food particles through an in-situ tracheostomy tube since two years.

Evaluation of bupivacaine-clonidine combination for unilateral spinal anesthesia in lower limb below-knee orthopedic surgery.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to evaluate the onset, quality and duration of sensory and motor blockade between hyperbaric bupivacaine and clonidine combination with bupivacaine alone when administered intrathecally for unilateral spinal anesthesia in below-knee orthopedic surgery, efficacy of clonidine for post-operative analgesia and side-effects of clonidine, if any. METHODS: Sixty ASA I and ASA II patients scheduled for elective surgery with time duration up to 90 min were studied. Patients were randomised in two equal groups by the lottery method. Group A (control group) was given Inj. bupivacaine (hyperbaric) 0.5% - 12.5 mg (2.5 ml) + 0.5 ml of normal saline intrathecally. Group B (clonidine group) was given Inj. bupivacaine (hyperbaric) 0.5% - 12.5 mg (2.5 ml) + 50 mcg clonidine in 0.5 ml volume intrathecally. RESULTS: The mean peak sensory block was earlier in Group B (4.7±1.23 min) as compared with Group A (6.27±1.51 min). The mean peak motor block was earlier in Group B (6.17±1.20 min) as compared with Group A (8.63±1.71 min). The two-segment regression of sensory block was longer in Group B (106.23±9.17 min) as compared with Group A (104.43±17.75 min), which is clinically significant. Requirement of rescue analgesia was considerably prolonged in Group B (450.33±95.10 min) as compared with Group A (220±36.36 min), which was also clinically highly significant. CONCLUSION: Intrathecal clonidine potentiates bupivacaine induced spinal sensory block and, motor block and reduces the analgesic requirement in the early post-operative period in unilateral spinal anesthesia for lower limb below knee surgery.