Development and Validation of an Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Prediction Model in Coronavirus Disease 2019: Updated Lung Injury Prediction Score.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate an updated lung injury prediction score for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (c-LIPS) tailored for predicting acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in COVID-19. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a registry-based cohort study using the Viral Infection and Respiratory Illness Universal Study. Hospitalized adult patients between January 2020 and January 2022 were screened. Patients who qualified for ARDS within the first day of admission were excluded. Development cohort consisted of patients enrolled from participating Mayo Clinic sites. The validation analyses were performed on remaining patients enrolled from more than 120 hospitals in 15 countries. The original lung injury prediction score (LIPS) was calculated and enhanced using reported COVID-19-specific laboratory risk factors, constituting c-LIPS. The main outcome was ARDS development and secondary outcomes included hospital mortality, invasive mechanical ventilation, and progression in WHO ordinal scale. RESULTS: The derivation cohort consisted of 3710 patients, of whom 1041 (28.1%) developed ARDS. The c-LIPS discriminated COVID-19 patients who developed ARDS with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.79 compared with original LIPS (AUC, 0.74; P<.001) with good calibration accuracy (Hosmer-Lemeshow P=.50). Despite different characteristics of the two cohorts, the c-LIPS's performance was comparable in the validation cohort of 5426 patients (15.9% ARDS), with an AUC of 0.74; and its discriminatory performance was significantly higher than the LIPS (AUC, 0.68; P<.001). The c-LIPS's performance in predicting the requirement for invasive mechanical ventilation in derivation and validation cohorts had an AUC of 0.74 and 0.72, respectively. CONCLUSION: In this large patient sample c-LIPS was successfully tailored to predict ARDS in COVID-19 patients.

Comparison of total intravenous anesthesia vs. inhalational anesthesia on brain relaxation, intracranial pressure, and hemodynamics in patients with acute subdural hematoma undergoing emergency craniotomy: a randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: The major goals of anesthesia in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) are-maintenance of hemodynamic stability, optimal cerebral perfusion pressure, lowering of ICP, and providing a relaxed brain. Although both inhalational and intravenous anesthetics are commonly employed, there is no clear consensus on which technique is better for the anesthetic management of severe TBI. METHODS: Ninety patients, 18-60 years of age, of either gender, with GCS < 8, posted for emergency evacuation of acute subdural hematoma were enrolled in this prospective trial, and they were randomized into two groups of 45 each. Patients in group P received propofol infusion at 100-150 mg/kg/min for maintenance of anesthesia and those in group I received ≤ 1 MAC of isoflurane. Hemodynamic parameters were monitored in all patients. ICP was measured at the dural opening and brain relaxation was assessed by the operating surgeon on a four-point scale (1-perfectly relaxed, 2-satisfactorily relaxed, 3-firm brain, and 4-bulging brain) at the dural opening. It was reassessed at dural closure. RESULTS: Brain relaxation, both at dural opening and closure, was significantly better in patients who received propofol compared to those who received isoflurane. ICP was significantly lower (25.47 ± 3.72 mmHg vs. 23.41 ± 3.97 mmHg) in the TIVA group. Hemodynamic parameters were well maintained in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with severe TBI, total intravenous (Propofol)-based anesthesia provided better brain relaxation, maintained a lower ICP along with better hemodynamics when compared to inhalational anesthesia. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical trials registry (NCT03146104).

Correlation between correctly sized uncuffed endotracheal tube and ultrasonographically determined subglottic diameter in paediatric population.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Conventional age-based formulae often fail to predict correct size of endotracheal tube (ETT). In this study, we evaluated usefulness of ultrasound in determining appropriate tube size and derived a formula which enables us to predict correct tube size. METHODS: A total of 41 American Society of Anesthesiologists' physical status 1 and 2 children in the age group of 2-6 years, undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia with uncuffed ETT were included in the study. Ultrasonography (US) was used to measure the subglottic diameter after induction of anaesthesia. The trachea was intubated with an ETT that allowed an audible leak between 15-30 mmHg. Pearson's correlation was used to assess the correlation between US measured subglottic diameter (US-SD) with diameter of ETT used. Linear regression was used to derive a formula for predicting ETT size. RESULTS: We found that US-SD and patient's age correlated well with actual ETT OD (r: 0.83 and 0.84, respectively). Age-based formula, ETT ID = (Age/3) +3.5 [r: 0.81] had better correlation with actual ETT OD than conventional age-based Cole's formula, i.e., ETT ID = Age/4 + 4 [r: 0.77]. Our results enabled us to derive a formula for selecting uncuffed ETT based on US-SD. CONCLUSION: Our study concludes that although US-SD correlates with actual tracheal tube used and may be useful in choosing appropriate size ETT, there was no difference in number of correct predictions of ETT size by US measurement, universal formula, and locally derived formula.

Perineural vs. intravenous dexmedetomidine as an adjunct to bupivacaine in ultrasound guided fascia iliaca compartment block for femur surgeries: A randomised control trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Perineural and intravenous dexmedetomidine as a local anaesthetic adjunct has not been compared previously in fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB). The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and side effect profile of dexmedetomidine as an adjunct to bupivacaine in single dose FICB for femur surgeries in two different routes i.e., perineural and intravenous route. METHODS: Eighty American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status 1, 2 or 3 patients posted for femur surgeries were randomised to receive ultrasound guided FICB. Intravenous group(ID) received 40 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine with 2 mL of 0.9% saline for FICB along with 1 µg/kg dexmedetomidine intravenous infusion over 30 min as loading dose followed by 0.5 µg/kg/h as maintenance dose till the end of surgery. Perineural group (LD) received 40 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine with 2 mL of 1 µg/kg dexmedetomidine for FICB. M ean duration of postoperative analgesia and 24 h postoperative morphine consumption as primary and secondary outcome respectively, has been compared. RESULTS: The duration of postoperative analgesia was 8 h 36 min ± 1 h 36 min and 10 h 42 min ± 1 h 36 min for the ID and LD groups, respectively (P = 0.001). A 24 h postoperative morphine consumption in Group ID was 19.7 ± 1.9 mg compared to 17.5 ± 2.2 mg in LD groups (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Perineural dexmedetomidine effectively prolongs the USG guided FICB analgesic duration and reduces the 24 h postoperative morphine consumption when compared to intravenous dexmedetomidine as a local anaesthetic adjuvant for femur surgeries.

Changes in Gas Composition during Low Flow Anaesthesia without Nitrous Oxide.

INTRODUCTION: Low flow anaesthesia utilising Oxygen (O2) and Nitrous Oxide (N2O) mixture carries a risk of hypoxia, but avoiding N2O results in increased analgesic and volatile anaesthetic agent requirement. AIM: This study attempted to find the lowest Fraction of inspired Oxygen (FiO2) levels achieved with a mixture of 300 mL/min each of O2 and medical air over two hours and to compare the overall analgesic requirement and cost while using similar flows of N2O and O2, respectively. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted between March 2015 and June 2016 at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India. Patients of American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) Grade 1 and 2 undergoing surgery under general anaesthesia with an endotracheal tube were included in the study, in two groups of 40 each. In the initial ten minutes following induction of anaesthesia, both groups received high Fresh Gas Flows (FGF) of 3 L/min each (Group O: medical air and oxygen; Group N: N2O and oxygen), following which the FGF rates were reduced to 300 ml/min each. Any value of FiO2 lesser than 0.3 during the duration of anaesthesia was considered to render the technique unsafe for clinical use. SPSS software version 20.0 was used to generate data and figures. RESULTS: The lowest FiO2 recorded was 0.33 in Group O and 0.3 in Group N which occurred at the end of two hours. Mean analgesic requirement was significantly higher in Group O compared to Group N (151.85 µg, 124.85 µg; p-value=0.004) with a 62% increase in the cost incurred. CONCLUSION: The use of medical air and oxygen in flows of 300 ml/min each following initial high flows of 3 L/min appears to be a safe technique. However, this combination was associated with an increase in the cost of anaesthesia and in the need for additional intra-operative analgesia.