Pericardial Effusions in Patients With Cancer: Anesthetic Management and Survival Outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to describe practice patterns of anesthetic management during pericardial window creation. DESIGN: Retrospective observational cohort study. SETTING: Single tertiary cancer center. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 150 patients treated for cancer between 2011 and 2015 were included in the study. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The primary objective was to evaluate anesthetic management in pericardial window creation. Secondary outcomes were 30-day mortality and overall survival after pericardial window creation. Thirty-day mortality was 19.3%, and median survival was 5.84 months. Higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status of patients was associated with preinduction arterial line placement (51% ASA 3 v 79% ASA 4; p = 0.002) and use of etomidate for anesthetic induction (34% ASA 3 v 60% ASA 4; p = 0.003). However, there was no association between anesthetic management and presence of tamponade in these patients. Cardiac aspirate volume (per 10 mL: odds ratio [OR], 1.02 [95% CI, 1.0-1.04]; p = 0.026) and intraoperative arrhythmia (atrial fibrillation: OR, 6.76 [95% CI, 1.2-37.49]; p = 0.029; sinus tachycardia: OR, 4.59 [95% CI, 1.25-16.90]; p = 0.022) were associated independently with increased 30-day mortality. High initial heart rate (per 10 beats per minute: hazard ratio [HR], 1.18 [95% CI, 1.05-1.33]; p = 0.005) in the operating room and intraoperative sinus tachycardia (HR, 1.86 [95% CI, 1.15-3.03]; p = 0.012) were associated independently with worse overall survival. CONCLUSION: Risk of death after pericardial window creation remains high in patients with cancer. Variations in anesthetic management did not affect survival in oncologic patients with pericardial effusions.

Novel hydrogel application in minimally invasive surgical approaches to spontaneous intracranial hypotension. Report of 2 cases.

The authors report 2 cases of orthostatic headaches associated with spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) secondary to CSF leaks that were successfully treated with an alternative dural repair technique in which a tubular retractor system and a hydrogel dural sealant were used. The 2 patients, a 63-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman, presented with orthostatic headache associated with SIH secondary to suspected lumbar and lower cervical CSF leaks, respectively, as indicated by bony defects or epidural fluid collection. Epidural blood patch repair failed in both cases, but both were successfully treated with the minimally invasive application of a hydrogel dural sealant as a novel adjunct to traditional dural repair techniques. Both patients tolerated the procedure well. Moreover, SIH symptoms and MRI signs were completely resolved at 1-month follow-up in both patients. The minimally invasive dural repair procedure with hydrogel dural sealant described here offers a viable alternative in patients in whom epidural blood patches have failed, with obscure recalcitrant CSF leaks at the cervical as well as lumbar spinal level. The authors demonstrate that the adjuvant use of sealant is a safe and efficient repair method regardless of dural defect location.