Thoracic Anesthesia during the COVID-19 Pandemic: 2021 Updated Recommendations by the European Association of Cardiothoracic Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (EACTAIC) Thoracic Subspecialty Committee.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has radically changed the landscape of normal surgical practice. Lifesaving cancer surgery, however, remains a clinical priority, and there is an increasing need to fully define the optimal oncologic management of patients with varying stages of lung cancer, allowing prioritization of which thoracic procedures should be performed in the current era. Healthcare providers and managers should not ignore the risk of a bimodal peak of mortality in patients with lung cancer; an imminent spike due to mortality from acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, and a secondary peak reflecting an excess of cancer-related mortality among patients whose treatments were deemed less urgent, delayed, or cancelled. The European Association of Cardiothoracic Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Thoracic Anesthesia Subspecialty group has considered these challenges and developed an updated set of expert recommendations concerning the infectious period, timing of surgery, vaccination, preoperative screening and evaluation, airway management, and ventilation of thoracic surgical patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thoracic Anesthesia of Patients With Suspected or Confirmed 2019 Novel Coronavirus Infection: Preliminary Recommendations for Airway Management by the European Association of Cardiothoracic Anaesthesiology Thoracic Subspecialty Committee.

The novel coronavirus has caused a pandemic around the world. Management of patients with suspected or confirmed coronavirus infection who have to undergo thoracic surgery will be a challenge for the anesthesiologists. The thoracic subspecialty committee of European Association of Cardiothoracic Anaesthesiology (EACTA) has conducted a survey of opinion in order to create recommendations for the anesthetic approach to these challenging patients. It should be emphasized that both the management of the infected patient with COVID-19 and the self-protection of the anesthesia team constitute a complicated challenge. The text focuses therefore on both important topics.

Effect of sevoflurane on systemic and cerebral circulation, cerebral autoregulation and CO2 reactivity.

BACKGROUND: Sevoflurane is one of the most frequently used inhaled anesthetics for general anesthesia. Previously it has been reported that at clinically used doses of sevoflurane, cerebral vasoreactivity is maintained. However, there are no data how sevoflurane influences systemic and cerebral circulation in parallel. The aim of our study was to assess systemic and cerebral hemodynamic changes as well as cerebral CO2-reactivity during sevoflurane anesthesia. METHODS: Twenty nine patients undergoing general anesthesia were enrolled. Anesthesia was maintained with 1 MAC sevoflurane in 40% oxygen. Ventilatory settings (respiratory rate and tidal volume) were adjusted to reach and maintain 40, 35 and 30 mmHg EtCO2 for 5 min respectively. At the end of each period, transcranial Doppler and hemodynamic parameters using applanation tonometry were recorded. RESULTS: Systemic mean arterial pressure significantly decreased during anesthetic induction and remained unchanged during the entire study period. Central aortic and peripherial pulse pressure and augmentation index as markers of arterial stiffness significantly increased during the anesthetic induction and remained stable at the time points when target CO2 levels were reached. Both cerebral autoregulation and cerebral CO2-reactivity was maintained at 1 MAC sevoflurane. DISCUSSION: Cerebral autoregulation and CO2-reactivity is preserved at 1 MAC sevoflurane. Cerebrovascular effects of anesthetic compounds have to be assessed together with systemic circulatory effects. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov , identifier: NCT02054143, retrospectively registered. Date of registration: February 4, 2014.

Optimized angiotensin-converting enzyme activity assay for the accurate diagnosis of sarcoidosis.

BACKGROUND: Serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity determination can aid the early diagnosis of sarcoidosis. We aimed to optimize a fluorescent kinetic assay for ACE activity by screening the confounding effects of endogenous ACE inhibitors and interfering factors. Genotype-dependent and genotype-independent reference values of ACE activity were established, and their diagnostic accuracies were validated in a clinical study. METHODS: Internally quenched fluorescent substrate, Abz-FRK(Dnp)P-OH was used for ACE-activity measurements. A total of 201 healthy individuals and 59 presumably sarcoidotic patients were enrolled into this study. ACE activity and insertion/deletion (I/D) genotype of the ACE gene were determined. RESULTS: Here we report that serum samples should be diluted at least 35-fold to eliminate the endogenous inhibitor effect of albumin. No significant interferences were detected: up to a triglyceride concentration of 16 mM, a hemoglobin concentration of 0.71 g/L and a bilirubin concentration of 150 µM. Genotype-dependent reference intervals were considered as 3.76-11.25 U/L, 5.22-11.59 U/L, 7.19-14.84 U/L for II, ID and DD genotypes, respectively. I/D genotype-independent reference interval was established as 4.85-13.79 U/L. An ACE activity value was considered positive for sarcoidosis when it exceeded the upper limit of the reference interval. The optimized assay with genotype-dependent reference ranges resulted in 42.5% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% positive predictive value and 32.4% negative predictive value in the clinical study, whereas the genotype-independent reference range proved to have inferior diagnostic efficiency. CONCLUSIONS: An optimized fluorescent kinetic assay of serum ACE activity combined with ACE I/D genotype determination is an alternative to invasive biopsy for confirming the diagnosis of sarcoidosis in a significant percentage of patients.

Hemorrhagic Pneumonia in a Kidney Transplant Recipient Caused by Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia Infection: A Case Report.

Pneumonia is a common nosocomial complication in transplant patients. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is recognized as a common cause and is typically seen in immunocompromised and critically ill patients. S. maltophilia, a nonfermenting gram-negative rod, ranks as the third most common nosocomial pathogen, following Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter. The bacteria are frequently found in environmental sources and are prevalent in healthcare facilities, including in tap water faucets, shower outlets, air-cooling systems, intravenous fluids, catheters, dialysis machines, and oxygen humidifiers. This bacterium possesses the ability to rapidly form biofilms, enabling it to colonize new surfaces in less than 24 hours. While S. maltophilia generally exhibits low virulence, there remains uncertainty among many clinicians regarding whether it is merely a colonizer or the primary cause of infection. Although S. maltophilia infections are rare in immunocompetent individuals, the species is increasingly recognized as an opportunistic pathogen in vulnerable populations such as those with cystic fibrosis, cancer, and other conditions leading to immunosuppression. S. maltophilia now recognized as a causative agent in various clinical syndromes, primarily affecting the lungs and bloodstream. We present a case of S. maltophilia-associated lung infection in a kidney transplant recipient, emphasizing the significance of underlying diseases and associated signs and symptoms.

One-lung ventilation with fixed and variable tidal volumes on oxygenation and pulmonary outcomes: A randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: Test the hypothesis that one-lung ventilation with variable tidal volume improves intraoperative oxygenation and reduces postoperative pulmonary complications after lung resection. BACKGROUND: Constant tidal volume and respiratory rate ventilation can lead to atelectasis. Animal and human ARDS studies indicate that oxygenation improves with variable tidal volumes. Since one-lung ventilation shares characteristics with ARDS, we tested the hypothesis that one-lung ventilation with variable tidal volume improves intraoperative oxygenation and reduces postoperative pulmonary complications after lung resection. DESIGN: Randomized trial. SETTING: Operating rooms and a post-anesthesia care unit. PATIENTS: Adults having elective open or video-assisted thoracoscopic lung resection surgery with general anesthesia were randomly assigned to intraoperative ventilation with fixed (n = 70) or with variable (n = 70) tidal volumes. INTERVENTIONS: Patients assigned to fixed ventilation had a tidal volume of 6 ml/kgPBW, whereas those assigned to variable ventilation had tidal volumes ranging from 6 ml/kg PBW ± 33% which varied randomly at 5-min intervals. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was intraoperative oxygenation; secondary outcomes were postoperative pulmonary complications, mortality within 90 days of surgery, heart rate, and SpO2/FiO2 ratio. RESULTS: Data from 128 patients were analyzed with 65 assigned to fixed-tidal volume ventilation and 63 to variable-tidal volume ventilation. The time-weighted average PaO2 during one-lung ventilation was 176 (86) mmHg in patients ventilated with fixed-tidal volume and 147 (72) mmHg in the patients ventilated with variable-tidal volume, a difference that was statistically significant (p < 0.01) but less than our pre-defined clinically meaningful threshold of 50 mmHg. At least one composite complication occurred in 11 (17%) of patients ventilated with variable-tidal volume and in 17 (26%) of patients assigned to fixed-tidal volume ventilation, with a relative risk of 0.67 (95% CI 0.34-1.31, p = 0.24). Atelectasis in the ventilated lung was less common with variable-tidal volumes (4.7%) than fixed-tidal volumes (20%) in the initial three postoperative days, with a relative risk of 0.24 (95% CI 0.01-0.8, p = 0.02), but there were no significant late postoperative differences. No other secondary outcomes were both statistically significant and clinically meaningful. CONCLUSION: One-lung ventilation with variable tidal volume does not meaningfully improve intraoperative oxygenation, and does not reduce postoperative pulmonary complications.

Incomplete circle of Willis as a risk factor for intraoperative ischemic events during carotid endarterectomies performed under regional anesthesia - A prospective case-series.

Background: The role of the willisian collaterals during carotid endarterectomies (CEAs) is a debated issue. The aim of the present work was to test whether an incomplete or non-functional circle of Willis (CoW) is a risk factor for ischemic events during CEA. Patients and methods: CEAs were performed under local anesthesia. Patients were considered symptomatic (SY) if neurological signs appeared after the cross-clamping phase. In SY patients shunt insertion was performed. CoW on CT angiograms (CTa) were analyzed offline and categorized as non-functional (missing or hypoplastic collaterals) or functional collaterals by three neuroradiologists. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was performed throughout the procedure. Results: Based on CTa, 67 incomplete circles were found, 54 were asymptomatic (ASY) and 13 were SY. No complete CoW was found among the SY patients. Significant differences could be detected between incomplete and complete circles between ASY and SY groups (Chi-square: 6.08; p = 0.013). The anterior communicating artery was missing or hypoplastic in 5/13 SY cases. There were no cases of the non-functional anterior communicating arteries in the ASY group (Chi-square: 32.9; p = 10-8). A missing or non-functional bilateral posterior communicating artery was observed in 9/13 SY and in 9/81 ASY patients (Chi-square: 24.4; p = 10-7). NIRS had a sensitivity of 76.9% and a specificity of 74.5% in detecting neurological symptoms. Conclusions: Collateral ability of the CoW may be a risk factor for ischemic events during CEAs. Further studies should delineate whether the preoperative assessment of collateral capacity may be useful in decision-making about shunt use during CEA.

Clinical experience with a new endobrochial blocker: the EZ-blocker.

PURPOSE: In some thoracic surgical procedures, the insertion of a double-lumen tube (DLT) is not feasible, or the altered use of a DLT and a single-lumen tube (SLT) is justified during the surgery. In the present article we report our experience with a new bronchial blocker, the EZ-blocker, in clinical use. METHODS: Data were obtained from ten patients undergoing thoracic surgery necessitating one-lung ventilation. For lung isolation, a combination of an SLT and an EZ-blocker was used. The time of insertion and positioning of the EZ-blocker, the lung deflation time with the EZ-blocker cuff inflated and deflated, and the cuff's minimal occlusion volume were recorded. Based on the CT scan, the diameter of the main bronchi and the angle of the bifurcation were measured offline. RESULTS: The insertion duration of the EZ-blocker was 76 ± 15 s. Two malpositionings were caused by the too-deep positioning of the SLT used for introducing the EZ-blocker, which could be corrected within 65 ± 7 s. The use of the EZ-blocker allowed a short deflation time of the lung without (9.4 ± 0.7 s) and with (4.1 ± 0.7 s) administration of suctioning. The proper block was only dependent on the diameter of the main bronchi and was independent of the bifurcation angle. CONCLUSIONS: Use of the EZ-blocker is easy and safe. The short insertion time and short lung deflation time through the lumen of the SLT allows its use in emergency situations or in cases of a difficult airway.

Anesthesia and perioperative considerations for patients with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection / Korábban SARS-CoV-2-fertozésen átesett betegek mutéti érzéstelenítése és perioperatív ellátása

The timing of elective surgery is very important in patients, who suffered SARS-CoV-2 virus infection. According to a study of more than 100,000 patients, it takes approximately seven weeks to be safely admitted to elective surgery. In the case of emergency surgeries, the date of the surgery should be considered based on the patient's general condition and the expected improvement from the surgery. Surgery with a vital indication takes the greatest risk, as there is very little time and opportunity for preoperative examination in these cases. SARS-CoV-2 virus infection does not go away without a trace. Complications may include cardiopulmonary, coagulation, central nervous system, locomotor problems, acute renal failure, ionic and diabetic disorders, and gastrointestinal abnormalities, which may be short-term or long-term, and in some cases permanent. The preoperative examination strategy, the method of anesthesia (general or regional) and the intraoperative monitoring should be chosen according to the severity of these complications and the type of surgery. In the postoperative period, patients suffered with SARS-CoV-2 virus infection may require more frequent monitoring or intensive ward monitoring.

The value of transcranial Doppler monitoring of cerebral blood flow changes during carotid endarterectomy performed under regional anesthesia - A case series.

Recent evidence suggests no difference between patient outcomes when carotid endarterectomies (CEAs) are performed under general or regional anesthesia. However, for detecting the need for a shunt, general anesthesia has the drawback of monitoring needs in the intraoperative setting. In the present study, we attempted to perform intraoperative transcranial Doppler (TCD) monitoring for CEAs performed under intermediate plexus block to describe cerebral hemodynamic changes during different phases of the procedure. Patients and methods: Patients with unilateral hemodynamically significant carotid stenosis scheduled for elective CEAs were included. Ultrasound-guided intermediate plexus block was used for regional anesthesia. TCD monitoring of the middle cerebral artery mean blood flow velocity (MCAV) was performed throughout the procedure. MCAVs were offline analyzed during different phases of CEA: (1) resting state, before regional block, (2) after block, before incision, (3) before cross-clamp, (4) after cross-clamp, (5) 5 min after cross-clamp, (6) 10 min after cross-clamp, (7) after declamping, and (8) during the postoperative period (4-6 h). Results: Shunt insertion based on the deterioration of neurological symptoms after cross-clamping was necessary for 11/66 patients (16.6%). In these symptomatic patients, the ipsilateral percent decrease of the MCAV was more than 70% in 8 out of 11 cases (72.7%). In asymptomatic patients, without shunt insertion, the average decrease of MCAV was less than 50%. Conclusions: Neurological symptoms referring to cerebral ischemia may be superior to TCD monitoring of cerebral blood flow for detecting the necessity of a shunt. Regional anesthesia enables reliable, symptom-based monitoring of CEAs.

The effect of propofol-sufentanil intravenous anesthesia on systemic and cerebral circulation, cerebral autoregulation and CO2 reactivity: a case series.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to assess systemic and cerebral hemodynamic changes as well as cerebral CO2-reactivity during propofol anesthesia. METHODS: 27 patients undergoing general anesthesia were enrolled. Anesthesia was maintained using the Target-Controlled Infusion (TCI) method according to the Schnider model, effect site propofol concentration of 4 µg.mL-1. Ventilatory settings (respiratory rate and tidal volume) were adjusted to reach and maintain 40, 35, and 30 mmHg EtCO2 for 5 minutes, respectively. At the end of each period, transcranial Doppler and hemodynamic parameters using applanation tonometry were recorded. RESULTS: Systemic mean arterial pressure significantly decreased during anesthetic induction and remained unchanged during the entire study period. Central aortic and peripherial pulse pressure did not change significantly during anesthetic induction and maintenance, whereas augmentation index as marker of arterial stiffness significantly decreased during the anesthetic induction and remained stable at the time points when target CO2 levels were reached. Both cerebral autoregulation and cerebral CO2-reactivity was maintained during propofol anesthesia. CONCLUSIONS: Propofol at clinically administered doses using the Total Intravenous Anesthesia (TIVA/TCI) technique decreases systemic blood pressure, but does not affect static cerebral autoregulation, flow-metabolism coupling and cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity. According to our measurements, propofol may exert its systemic hemodynamic effect through venodilation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov, identifier: NCT02203097, registration date: July 29, 2014.

Impaired cerebrovascular reactivity in sepsis-associated encephalopathy studied by acetazolamide test.

INTRODUCTION: The pathophysiology of sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is not entirely clear. One of the possible underlying mechanisms is the alteration of the cerebral microvascular function induced by the systemic inflammation. The aim of the present work was to test whether cerebral vasomotor-reactivity is impaired in patients with SAE. METHODS: Patients fulfilling the criteria of clinical sepsis and showing disturbance of consciousness of any severity were included (n = 14). Non-septic persons without previous diseases affecting cerebral vasoreactivity served as controls (n = 20). Transcranial Doppler blood flow velocities were measured at rest and at 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes after intravenous administration of 15 mg/kgBW acetazolamide. The time course of the acetazolamide effect on cerebral blood flow velocity (cerebrovascular reactivity, CVR) and the maximal vasodilatory effect of acetazolemide (cerebrovascular reserve capacity, CRC) were compared among the groups. RESULTS: Absolute blood flow velocities after administration of the vasodilator drug were higher among control subjects than in SAE. Assessment of the time-course of the vasomotor reaction showed that patients with SAE reacted slower to the vasodilatory stimulus than control persons. When assessing the maximal vasodilatory ability of the cerebral arterioles to acetazolamide during vasomotor testing, we found that patients with SAE reacted to a lesser extent to the drug than did control subjects (CRC controls:46.2 +/- 15.9%, CRC SAE: 31,5 +/- 15.8%, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that cerebrovascular reactivity is impaired in patients with SAE. The clinical significance of this pathophysiological finding has to be assessed in further studies.

Hepatobiliary response in postoperative lipid therapy in gastrointestinal surgery.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Intravenous lipid emulsions may contribute to the development of total parenteral nutrition (TPN)--induced hepatobiliary complications. METHODS: In a prospective, randomised setting the authors compared the short-term hepatic effects of medium-chain triglycerides/short-chain triglycerides (MCT/LCT) physical mixture with a four-component intravenous (i.v.) lipid emulsion (LCT, MCT, Olive-oil and Fish-oil) in patients undergoing elective gastrointestial surgery during the early postoperative period. RESULTS: The authors demonstrated that total and conjugated bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate amino transferase and cholinesterase did not change significantly during the 5-days observation period. In contrast to this, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity increased by 2,4 times during 5-days therapy with the lipid emulsions mentioned above (SMOF lipid: 21,9 to 52,9 U/L, Lipofundin: from 32,5 to 79,6 U/L). CONCLUSION: during a 4-days administration hepatic effect of the intravenous lipid emulsions did not differ significantly. The changes in enzyme levels confirm the cholestatic type of hepatobiliary deviations without clinical impact on short-term TPN therapy.

[Sepsis-associated encephalopathy]. / A szepszishez társuló encephalopathia.

Sepsis-associated encephalopathy is a common but neglected clinical symptom of systemic inflammatory reaction in the early phase. The clinical spectrum of diffuse cerebral dysfunction induced by systemic sepsis--sepsis-associated encephalopathy according to the new terms--varies from transient, reversible encephalopathy, to severe irreversible brain damage. The aim of the present publication is to summarize the pathophysiology, frequent symptoms and possible treatments of the disease based on international and Hungarian articles on this topic. We want to emphasize the importance of monitoring the patient's mental status due to the fact that consciousness' disturbance of different severity is an early warning sign of sepsis, so it has high clinical significance.

[Reexpansion pulmonary edema]. / Reexpanziós tüdoödéma.

Reexpansion pulmonary edema (RPE) is a rare entity that develops after reexpansion in a chronically collapsed lung. There is a broad clinical spectrum of the disease ranging from asymptomatic appearance to lethal form that occurs in approximately 20% of the cases. The pathophysiological background is complex and not clarified in all details. RPE may be prevented by knowing and treating potential risk factors. This review summarizes the updated knowledge on the pathophysiological background, clinical picture and treatment modalities of RPE.

[A complicated case of spontaneous oesophageal rupture managed by transgastric drainage]. / Spontán nyelocsoruptura komplikált esetének megoldása transgastricus drainage-zsal.

Spontaneous rupture of the oesophagus is an extremely serious condition with high morbidity and mortality. Primary surgical repair may be followed by numerous complications. A 29-year-old man had undergone primary surgical repair due to spontaneous rupture of the lower third of the oesophagus. After the operation he developed suture insufficiency, which could not have been stented, and transgastric drainage was performed therefore. After a slow healing of the fistula, we could avoid another operation and his oesophagus was preserved. Fortunately, a stricture did not develop either. Transgastric drainage of the oesophagus could be a good therapeutic choice in selective and complicated cases.

Organ replacement therapy and life-supporting treatment modalities in critically ill COVID-19 patients / [Emelt szintu szervtámogató és életfenntartó kezelések kritikus állapotú COVID­19-fertozött betegeken]

In critically ill COVID-19 patients, the failure of the cardiorespiratory system can be due to one of the following: (1) cytokine storm, haemophagocytosis ­ septic shock, (2) unmanageable hypoxemia, (3) isolated organ failure or as part of multi-organ failure. Herein we give an overview of the therapeutic options for treating or preventing these disease states. In recent years, CytoSorb-haemoperfusion to remove cytokines has shown promising results in the treatment of septic shock. Inhalational nitric oxide (iNO), inhalational epoprostenol and veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are options in severe hypoxemia that is unresponsive to conventional mechanical ventilation. Renal failure is a frequent component of the multi-organ failure usually seen with disease progression and necessitates starting one of the available continuous renal replacement modalities. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(17): 704­709.

Pharmacological options in treating SASR-CoV-2 infection/COVID-19 / [Farmakoterápiás lehetoségek SARS-CoV-2-fertozés/COVID­19-betegség esetén]

There is currently no proven effective therapy for COVID-19. Here we discuss the drugs most investigated for the treatment of the disease. All the listed therapies are experimental at this stage. However, due to the severe healthcare effects of the pandemic and the potentially fatal outcome of COVID-19 patients treated in the intensive care units, their off-label use should none-the-less be considered. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(17): 685­688.

Practical aspects of intensive care for critically ill COVID-19 patients requiring respiratory support / [Kritikus állapotú, légzéstámogatást igénylo COVID­19-fertozött beteg ellátásának gyakorlati szempontjai]

In December 2019, a novel outbreak of pneumonia was reported in Wuhan city, China. Initially, the zoonitic infection spread from human to human, causing a pandemic. This viral disease (COVID-19) can appear in a variety of forms, from asymptomatic through the spectrum of mild symptoms to severe respiratory failure, requiring intensive care. Caring for this latter group of patients puts a significant burden on health care. The purpose of this summary is to present the practical aspects of intensive care for patients requiring respiratory support and mechanical ventilation. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(17): 678­684.

Practical aspects of anesthetic and perioperative care for COVID-19 patients / [A COVID­19-fertozött betegek anesztéziájának és perioperatív ellátásának gyakorlati szempontjai]

Caring for those affected by the coronavirus outbreak of December 2019 imposed a heavy burden on healthcare systems. Not only because some patients require intensive care, but because patients with any form of the disease may need surgical intervention. Managing these cases is a major challenge for anesthesiologists. The purpose of this summary is to present the practical aspects of anesthetic and perioperative care for patients requiring surgical treatment. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(17): 692­695.