Metastatic Testicular Cancer to Left Atrium via the Left Inferior Pulmonary Vein: A Case Report.

Testicular cancer is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in young men. Frequent sites of metastasis include the retroperitoneum, lungs, liver, brain, and bone. Intra-cardiac metastasis has also been described. An 18-year-old boy with a history of mixed testicular germ cell tumor presented to our institution for surgical resection of his metastatic disease. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography during his surgery confirmed a tumor thrombus into the left atrium coming from the left pulmonary vein. We report a case of metastatic testicular cancer with rare tumor extension from the left inferior pulmonary vein into the left atrium. Perioperative transesophageal echocardiography was necessary to aid intraoperative diagnosis and confirmation of the intracardiac tumor, providing data to guide surgical strategy.

The Use of Intraoperative Dexmedetomidine Is Not Associated With a Reduction in Acute Kidney Injury After Lung Cancer Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the use of intraoperative dexmedetomidine (DEX) during lung cancer surgery may reduce the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI). DESIGN: A retrospective study. SETTING: An academic hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Data were collected from 1,207 adult patients who underwent resection for non-small-cell lung cancer between January 2004 and December 2012. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: All patients had a general balanced anesthetic technique, and dexmedetomidine use was at the discretion of the anesthesiologist. Data analysis was done utilizing the Wilcoxon rank sum tests and Chi-square tests to compare continuous variables and categoric variables between the 2 groups, respectively. Multivariate logistic analysis with backward selection was fitted to find out factors for AKI incidence. Overall, 8.1% of the patients developed AKI during their hospital stay. There were no statistically significant differences in demographic, perioperative variables, and the incidence of AKI between patients who did and did not receive DEX. A logistic regression model was fitted to determine factors independently associated with AKI. Factors that were independently associated with AKI included body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists 3-4, hypertension, smoking status, and thoracotomy procedure. DISCUSSION: The authors hypothesized that DEX use would be associated with a decreased incidence of AKI in thoracic surgery; however, they were unable to prove this hypothesis. Their results did demonstrate that there are 5 factors independently associated with AKI.

Severe perioperative bleeding in renal cell carcinoma after elective pericardiocentesis associated left ventricular puncture: case report. / Hemorragia perioperatoria grave asociada a punción del ventrículo izquierdo post pericardiocentesis en un paciente con carcinoma de células renales: reporte de caso.

In the United States during the year 2015, approximately 61,560 patients are expected to be diagnosed with kidney cancer and 14,080 to die from the disease. We present the case of a patient with renal cell carcinoma who suffered severe perioperative bleeding and coagulopathy after emergency sternotomy. We also engage in relevant aspects of perioperative anesthesia care including the considerations and management of coagulopathy, liver failure and renal failure in the oncologic patient. The case is a 49-year-old man with vena cava tumor thrombus who underwent radiologic tumor embolization, left radical nephrectomy, and inferior vena cava (IVC) thrombectomy. Postoperatively, he developed sepsis, multiple organ failure, and a pericardial effusion requiring pericardiocentesis. During pericardiocentesis, he suffered an iatrogenic left entricular perforation, requiring an emergency sternotomy and left ventricular repair. Cancer patients are often challenging for surgical and anesthesia teams, emergency care requires an organized and comprehensive approach. The use of recombinant factor VIIa NovoSeven can help in managing severe postoperative bleeding after cardiothoracic surgery in oncologic patients, but further studies should be done to confirm this.

En los Estados Unidos se estimó que, durante el 2015, unos 61 560 pacientes serían diagnosticados con cáncer renal y que 14 080 morirían por esta enfermedad. Presentamos el caso de un paciente con carcinoma de células renales y trombo tumoral de vena cava inferior que sufrió una hemorragia perioperatoria grave y coagulopatía después de una esternotomía de emergencia. También abordamos aspectos relevantes del cuidado anestésico perioperatorio incluyendo consideraciones y manejo de coagulopatía, falla renal y hepática en un paciente oncológico. El caso es un hombre de 49 años que fue llevado a embolización tumoral guiada por radiología, nefrectomía radical izquierda y trombectomía de vena cava inferior. En el período postoperatorio desarrolló sepsis, falla orgánica múltiple y efusión pericárdica que requirió pericardiocentesis. Durante la pericardiocentesis sufrió perforación iatrogénica de ventrículo izquierdo que necesitó esternotomía de emergencia y reparación del ventrículo izquierdo. Los pacientes con cáncer son a menudo un reto para el equipo de cirugía y anestesia, y el cuidado de emergencia requiere un abordaje integral y organizado. El uso de factor recombinante VIIa NovoSeven puede ayudar en el manejo de la hemorragia severa perioperatoria después de cirugía cardiotorácica en pacientes oncológicos, pero se deben hacer estudios posteriores para confirmarlo.

What Is the Real Rate of Surgical Site Infection?

PURPOSE: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are associated with patient morbidity and increased health care costs. Although several national organizations including the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP), and the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) monitor SSI, there is no standard reporting methodology. METHODS: We queried the UHC, NSQIP, and NHSN databases from July 2012 to June 2014 for SSI after gynecologic surgery at our institution. Each organization uses different definitions and inclusion and exclusion criteria for SSI. The rate of SSI was also obtained from chart review from April 1 to June 30, 2014. SSI was classified as superficial, deep, or organ space infection. The rates reported by the agencies were compared with the rates obtained by chart review using Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Overall SSI rates for the databases were as follows: UHC, 1.5%; NSQIP, 8.8%; and NHSN, 2.8% (P < .001). The individual databases had wide variation in the rate of deep infection (UHC, 0.7%; NSQIP, 4.7%; NHSN, 1.3%; P < .001) and organ space infection (UHC, 0.4%; NSQIP, 4.4%; NHSN, 1.4%; P < .001). In agreement with the variation in reporting methodology, only 19 cases (24.4%) were included in more than one database and only one case was included in all three databases (1.3%). CONCLUSION: There is discordance among national reporting agencies tracking SSI. Adopting standardized metrics across agencies could improve consistency and accuracy in assessing SSI rates.

Tracheal resection with regional anesthesia.

A 52-year-old man underwent tracheal resection during regional anesthesia with sedation. The patient had a prior history of tracheostomy resulting in tracheal stenosis and expiratory wheezing. Awake tracheal resection with spontaneous ventilation was performed. Patient cooperation was essential to identify the lesion and perform the resection safely.