The effects of spinal anaesthesia for elective caesarean section on uterine and umbilical arterial pulsatility indexes in normotensive and chronic hypertensive pregnant women: a prospective, longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Despite the known effects of neuraxial blockade on major vessel function and the rapid decrease in uterine vascular impedance, it is unclear how the blockade affects the utero-placental circulation in the near-term. We hypothesize that among women with chronic hypertension, a loss of sympathetic tonus consequent to spinal block may cause significant changes in the utero-placental haemodynamics than the changes typical in normal pregnant women. Therefore, the main study objective was to analyse the effect of spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section on uterine and umbilical arterial impedance in pregnant women at term diagnosed with stage-1 chronic hypertension. METHODS: A prospective, longitudinal study was performed in singleton pregnant women (203 low-risk and 33 with hypertension) scheduled to undergo elective caesarean section. The mean arterial blood pressure and pulsatility indexes for the uterine and umbilical arteries were recorded before and after spinal anaesthesia was performed using 8-9 mg hyperbaric bupivacaine (5 mg/mL) and 2-2.5 µg sufentanil (5 µg/mL). Multiple linear regression models with errors capable of correlation or with unequal variances were fitted using the generalized least squares. RESULTS: In normotensive women, the mean arterial blood pressure decreased after administering spinal anaesthesia (p < 0.05). The pulsatility index of the uterine and umbilical arteries did not change after spinal anaesthesia. In the hypertensive women, the mean arterial blood pressure (p < 0.05) and uterine artery pulsatility index (p < 0.05) decreased. In both groups, the umbilical artery pulsatility index did not change after spinal anaesthesia. CONCLUSIONS: In stage-1 chronic hypertensive pregnant women at term, spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section reduces uterine artery impedance but not umbilical artery impedance.

Cerebrospinal fluid cutaneous fistula after neuraxial anesthesia: an effective treatment approach.

Cerebrospinal fluid cutaneous fistula is a rare but potentially serious complication of epidural analgesia. We report the case of a patient submitted to total knee arthroplasty under subarachnoid block and placement of lumbar epidural catheter for post-operative analgesia. The epidural catheter was found exteriorised on the fourth post-operative day, and the patient presented with a moderate fluid leak from the puncture site that was confirmed to be cerebrospinal fluid by cytological and chemical analysis. The initial therapeutic approach consisted of bed rest, hydration and prophylactic antibiotic therapy for 3 days, but it was ineffective as the leak persisted. A suture was placed at the epidural insertion site with immediate resolution of the leak. The suture was maintained for 5 days. The patient progressed satisfactorily without requiring further therapies.

Regional analgesia in intensive care.

UNLABELLED: JUSTIFICATIONS AND OBJECTIVES: regional analgesia plays an important role in multimodal pain management in critically ill patients, minimizing patient discomfort and reducing the associated physiological and psychological stress. Lower doses of systemic opioids reduce some of its side effects, such as withdrawal syndrome, possible psychological changes, and gastrointestinal dysfunction. Despite these benefits, its use is controversial, as patients in intensive care units often have contraindications, such as coagulopathy, hemodynamic instability, and difficulty in neurological assessment and implementation of regional technique. CONTENT: The authors present a review of regional analgesia in intensive care, focusing on the main advantages and limitations of its use in critically ill patients, and describe the most commonly used regional techniques and its applicability.

Anaesthetic, procedure and complications management of serial whole-lung lavage in an obese patient with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis: case report.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The first case of Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (PAP) was described by Rose in 1958, but it is still a rare disorder. PAP is characterized by deposition of lipoproteinaceous material secondary to abnormal processing of surfactant by macrophages. Patients may suffer from progressive dyspnea and cough that at times is accompanied by worsening hypoxia and its course can vary from progressive deterioration to spontaneous improvement. Many therapies have been used to treat PAP including antibiotics, postural drainage, and intermittent positive pressure breathing with aerosolized Acetylcysteine, heparin and saline. At present, the mainstay of treatment is whole lung lavage (WLL). Although generally well tolerated, WLL can be associated with some complications. CASE REPORT: We report a case of severe PAP through the anaesthetic, procedure and complications management of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis in one patient who has undergone multiple, alternating, single-lung lavages over the past seven years, the last three in our hospital, with improvements in her symptoms following each therapy.

Analgesia regional em cuidados intensivos / Regional analgesia in intensive care / Analgesia regional en cuidados intensivos

JUSTIFICATIVAS E OBJETIVOS: A analgesia regional desempenha um papel importante na abordagem multimodal da dor no doente crítico e permite amenizar o desconforto do doente e reduzir os estresses fisiológico e psicológico associados. Ao diminuir as doses de opioides sistêmicos, reduz alguns dos seus efeitos colaterais, como a síndrome de abstinência, possíveis alterações psicológicas e disfunção gastrintestinal. Apesar desses benefícios, seu uso é controverso, uma vez que os doentes em unidades de cuidados intensivos apresentam frequentemente contraindicações, como coagulopatia, instabilidade hemodinâmica e dificuldade na avaliação neurológica e na execução da técnica regional. CONTEÚDO: Os autores apresentam uma revisão sobre analgesia regional em cuidados intensivos, com foco nas principais vantagens e limitações de seu uso no doente crítico, e descrevem as técnicas regionais mais usadas e a sua aplicabilidade nesse contexto.

JUSTIFICATIONS AND OBJECTIVES: regional analgesia plays an important role in multimodal pain management in critically ill patients, minimizing patient discomfort and reducing the associated physiological and psychological stress. Lower doses of systemic opioids reduce some of its side effects, such as withdrawal syndrome, possible psychological changes, and gastrointestinal dysfunction. Despite these benefits, its use is controversial, as patients in intensive care units often have contraindications, such as coagulopathy, hemodynamic instability, and difficulty in neurological assessment and implementation of regional technique. CONTENT: The authors present a review of regional analgesia in intensive care, focusing on the main advantages and limitations of its use in critically ill patients, and describe the most commonly used regional techniques and its applicability.

JUSTIFICATIVA Y OBJETIVOS: La analgesia regional desempeña un rol importante en el abordaje multimodal del dolor en el enfermo crítico y permite amenizar la incomodidad del enfermo y reducir los estréses fisiológico y psicológico asociados. Al disminuir las dosis de opioides sistémicos, se reducen algunos de sus efectos colaterales, como el síndrome de abstinencia, posibles alteraciones psicológicas y disfunción gastrointestinal. A pesar de esos beneficios, su uso es controversial, pues los enfermos en unidades de cuidados intensivos tienen a menudo contraindicaciones, como la coagulopatía, la inestabilidad hemodinámica y la dificultad en la evaluación neurológica y en la ejecución de la técnica regional. CONTENIDO: Los autores presentan aquí una revisión sobre la analgesia regional en cuidados intensivos, concentrándose en las principales ventajas y limitaciones de su uso en el enfermo crítico, y describen las técnicas regionales más usadas y su aplicabilidad en ese contexto.

Procedimento e complicações anestésicas no manejo de lavagem pulmonar total em paciente obeso com proteinose alveolar pulmonar: relato de caso / Anaesthetic, procedure and complications management of serial whole lung lavage in an obese patient with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis: case report / Procedimiento y complicaciones anestésicas en el manejo del lavado pulmonar total en paciente obeso con proteinosis alveolar pulmonar: relato de caso

JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS: O primeiro caso de proteinose alveolar pulmonar (PAP) foi descrito por Rose em 1958, mas ainda é um distúrbio raro. PAP é caracterizada pela deposição de material lipoproteico secundário ao processamento anormal de surfactantes pelos macrófagos. Os pacientes podem ter dispneia progressiva e tosse, às vezes acompanhadas pelo agravamento da hipóxia, e seu curso pode variar de deterioração progressiva a melhora espontânea. Muitas terapias foram usadas, incluindo antibióticos, drenagem postural e ventilação com pressão positiva intermitente com acetilcisteína, heparina e soro fisiológico em aerossol. Atualmente, a base do tratamento é a lavagem pulmonar total (LPT). A LPT, embora seja geralmente bem-tolerada, pode estar associada a algumas complicações. RELATO DE CASO: Relatamos um caso de PAP grave durante o procedimento anestésico e as complicações no manejo da proteinose alveolar pulmonar em um paciente que havia sido submetido a múltiplas e alternadas lavagens de um dos pulmões ao longo de sete anos (os últimos três em nosso hospital), com melhora dos sintomas depois de cada tratamento.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The first case of Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (PAP) was described by Rose in 1958, but it is still a rare disorder. PAP is characterized by deposition of lipoproteinaceous material secondary to abnormal processing of surfactant by macrophages. Patients may suffer from progressive dyspnea and cough that at times is accompanied by worsening hypoxia and its course can vary from progressive deterioration to spontaneous improvement. Many therapies have been used to treat PAP including antibiotics, postural drainage, and intermittent positive pressure breathing with aerosolized Acetylcysteine, heparin and saline. At present, the mainstay of treatment is whole lung lavage (WLL). Although generally well tolerated, WLL can be associated with some complications. CASE REPORT: We report a case of severe PAP through the anaesthetic, procedure and complications management of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis in one patient who has undergone multiple, alternating, single-lung lavages over the past seven years, the last three in our hospital, with improvements in her symptoms following each therapy.

JUSTIFICATIVA Y OBJETIVOS: El primer caso de proteinosis alveolar pulmonar (PAP) fue descrito por Rose en 1958, pero todavía continúa siendo un trastorno raro. La PAP se caracteriza por la deposición de material lipoproteico secundario al procesamiento anormal de surfactantes por los macrófagos. Los pacientes pueden tener disnea progresiva y tos, a veces seguidas de un agravamiento de la hipoxia, y su curso puede variar de deterioración progresiva a una mejoría espontánea. A lo largo de los años, muchas terapias han sido usadas para tratar la PAP, incluyendo antibióticos, drenaje postural y ventilación con presión positiva intermitente con acetilcisteína, heparina y suero fisiológico en aerosol. Hoy por hoy, la base del tratamiento es el lavado pulmonar total (LPT), descrito por primera vez por Ramirez-Rivera y col. Existen tres variantes de la enfermedad: congénita, secundaria y adquirida. Las recientes investigaciones sugieren que en la forma más común (PAP adquirida [idiopática]), la autoinmunidad contra el factor estimulador de las colonias de granulocitos y macrófagos (FEC-GM) pulmonares desempeña un importante papel. El factor recombinante que estimula las colonias de granulocitos y macrófagos parece beneficiarse con un subconjunto de pacientes adultos con PAP y puede representar una alternativa en el tratamiento de la enfermedad, pero la tasa de éxito todavía no es suficiente para substituir la LPT. La LPT, aunque sea generalmente bien tolerada, puede estar asociada con algunas complicaciones. RELATO DE CASO: Relatamos un caso de PAP grave durante el procedimiento anestésico y las complicaciones en el manejo de la proteinosis alveolar pulmonar en un paciente que había sido sometido a múltiples y alternados lavados de uno de los pulmones a lo largo de siete años (los últimos tres en nuestro hospital), con una mejoría de los síntomas después de cada tratamiento.