Flurbiprofen in the subglottic space to prevent postoperative sore throat after cardiac surgery: A randomized double-blind study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Postoperative sore throat (POST) and hoarseness are common complications of tracheal intubation. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of flurbiprofen administered through the subglottic port of tracheal tubes to prevent POST after cardiac surgery. DESIGN: Single-center, prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. SETTING: Tertiary Care Referral University Hospital (Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome). PATIENTS: Included 71 patients undergoing for elective cardiac surgery. Inclusion criteria were (a) age between 50 and 75 years, (b) NYHA class I or II, (c) surgery for myocardial revascularization or valve repair or replacement under cardiopulmonary bypass. INTERVENTION: Patients were double blind randomized to receive flurbiprofen or saline in the subglottic port of the endotracheal tube (groups F and P). The solution was injected ten minutes after tracheal tube placement, ten minutes after ICU admission and ten minutes before tracheal tube removal. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was to assess the effect of topical flurbiprofen administered through the subglottic port of the tracheal tube to prevent post-operative sore throat (POST). The secondary outcomes were the presence of hoarseness safety and patient's subjective satisfaction with their recovery. We did not report any exploratory outcomes. MAIN RESULTS: We analyzed 68 patients, 34 patients in each group. In group F, two patients complained of POST and hoarseness (5.9%), while all controls did. The two groups significantly differed in the severity scores (VAS and TPS for sore throat and HOAR for hoarseness) at all time points. In group P, patients reported mild to moderate symptoms that significantly improved or disappeared 36 h after tracheal tube removal. According to the multivariable model, hoarseness affected women less than men, in the control group (p = 0.002). None of the patients in either group reported any adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: Repeated administration of flurbiprofen through the subglottic port of tracheal tubes reduced the incidence of sore throat and hoarseness after cardiac surgery without evidence of complications.

Intraoperative immunomodulation during left heart bypass in open thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

Despite the technical innovations introduced in the previous decades, open thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair still represents an enormous challenge for patients and surgeons. Logically, the systemic inflammatory response resulting from these massive operations appears considerable; however, the response has never been thoroughly investigated. In addition, intraoperative adjuncts to modulate the postoperative activation of the immune system have not yet been introduced into clinical practice. We report a case of intraoperative hemadsorption during open repair of a thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm through the introduction of a CytoSorb device (CytoSorbents Corp) in the left heart bypass circuit. The technique appeared feasible and safe and probably contributed to the good clinical outcomes.

Postoperative Intensive Care Management of Aortic Repair.

Vascular surgery patients have multiple comorbidities and are at high risk for perioperative complications. Aortic repair surgery has greatly evolved in recent years, with an increasing predominance of endovascular techniques (EVAR). The incidence of cardiac complications is significantly reduced with endovascular repair, but high-risk patients require postoperative ST-segment monitoring. Open aortic repair may portend a prohibitive risk of respiratory complications that could be a contraindication for surgery. This risk is greatly reduced in the case of an endovascular approach, and general anesthesia should be avoided whenever possible in the case of endovascular repair. Preoperative renal function and postoperative kidney injury are powerful determinants of short- and long-term outcome, so that preoperative risk stratification and secondary prevention are critical tasks. Intraoperative renal protection with selective renal and distal aortic perfusion is essential during open repair. EVAR has lower rates of postoperative renal failure compared to open repair, with approximately half the risk for acute kidney injury (AKI) and one-third of the risk of hemodialysis requirement. Spinal cord ischemia used to be the most distinctive and feared complication of aortic repair. The risk has significantly decreased since the beginning of aortic surgery, with advances in surgical technique and spinal protection protocols, and is lower with endovascular repair. Endovascular repair avoids extensive aortic dissection and aortic cross-clamping and is generally associated with reduced blood loss and less coagulopathy. The intensive care physician must be aware that aortic repair surgery has an impact on every organ system, and the importance of early recognition of organ failure cannot be overemphasized.

Is the pCO2 gap obtained from the superior vena cava in agreement with that from the pulmonary artery?

BACKGROUND: The partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) gap is the difference between pCO2 values in the arterial and mixed venous blood; values higher than six mmHg may be predictive of tissue hypoperfusion. It is still doubtful if central venous blood can be used to assess the gap. This study was aimed to compare the values obtained with blood collected from the superior vena cava and the pulmonary artery. METHODS: Data were obtained from a previous study. In 30 patients who underwent on-pump myocardial revascularization, blood samples from a radial artery, the pulmonary artery, and the superior vena cava were collected eight times in the perioperative period. Two-hundred determinations were utilized to calculate the pCO2 gap from central and mixed venous pCO2. RESULTS: The pCO2 gap was 8.7±2.6 mmHg in the superior vena cava, and 6.0±2.7 in the pulmonary artery. The difference between the two values fell within a wide interval between -4.1 mmHg and +9.5 mmHg in 95% of cases. pCO2 values were significantly higher in the superior vena cava than in the pulmonary artery (mean difference 2.7±2.4 mmHg; P<0.0001), causing a systematic bias between the two estimates; such bias increased during spontaneous breathing (P=0.0249). CONCLUSIONS: pCO2 values are higher in the superior vena cava than in the pulmonary artery. As a consequence, the pCO2 gap calculated with the blood taken from the superior vena cava is overestimated, probably because it reflects the pCO2 arteriovenous difference of the upper part of the body, in particular of the brain.

A modified intracavitary electrocardiographic method for detecting the location of the tip of central venous catheters in atrial fibrillation patients.

INTRODUCTION: The intracavitary electrocardiographic method is recommended for assessing the location of the tip of central venous catheter when there is an identifiable P wave. Previous reports suggested that intracavitary electrocardiographic method might also be applied to patients with atrial fibrillation, considering the so-called f waves as a surrogate of the P wave. METHODS: We studied 18 atrial fibrillation patients requiring simultaneously a central venous catheter and a trans-esophageal echocardiography. An intracavitary electrocardiographic trace was recorded with the catheter tip in three different positions defined by trans-esophageal echocardiography imaging: in the superior vena cava, 2 cm above the cavo-atrial junction; at the cavo-atrial junction; and in the right atrium, 2 cm below the cavo-atrial junction. Three different criteria of measurement of the f wave pattern in the TQ tract were used: the mean height of f waves (method A); the height of the highest f wave (method B); the difference between the highest positive peak and the lowest negative peak (method C). RESULTS: There were no complications. With the tip placed at the cavo-atrial junction, the mean value of the f waves was significantly higher than in the other two positions. All three methods were effective in discriminating the tip position at the cavo-atrial junction, though method B proved to be the most accurate. CONCLUSION: A modified intracavitary electrocardiographic technique can be safely used for detecting the location of the tip of central venous catheters in atrial fibrillation patients: the highest activity of the f waves is an accurate indicator of the location of the tip at the cavo-atrial junction.

Dynamic right ventricular outflow obstruction: A rare cause of hypotension during anestesia induction.

INTRODUCTION: Dynamic obstruction of right ventricle outflow tract (RVOTO) is a rare condition that may acutely cause severe heart failure. It has been reported in some hypertrophic cardiomyopathies, after lung transplantation, and in some cases of hemodynamic instability after cardiopulmonary bypass. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We report the case of a 71-year-old man who developed severe hypotension during the induction of general anesthesia for surgical coronary revascularization. Hypotension did not respond to the initial treatment with vasoconstrictors and fluids. RVOTO was suspected during pulmonary artery catheterization because of the difficulty of the catheter tip to move from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery and, successively, because of the finding of a large gradient between the systolic pressure in the right ventricle and in the pulmonary artery. The diagnosis was confirmed by transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE). Hemodynamics recovered after the infusion of cristalloids, 1L, and the suspension of vasoconstrictors and inotropes. DISCUSSION: This is the first case in which RVOTO was observed during the induction of general anesthesia. Although this is a rare condition, the diagnostic suspect is of outmost importance because treatment is mainly based on fluid administration, and drugs with positive inotropic properties (like most vasoconstrictors) are contraindicated. CONCLUSIONS: RVOTO is an unusual, but possible cause of severe arterial hypotension during general anesthesia induction. TEE is useful for the evaluation of severely hypotensive patients who do not respond to routine treatment with fluids and vasoconstrictors.

The immediate life support (ILS) course--the Italian experience.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The 1-day immediate life support course (ILS) was started in the United Kingdom and adopted by the ERC to train healthcare professionals who attend cardiac arrests only occasionally. Currently, there are no reports about the ILS course from outside the UK. In this paper we describe our initial Italian experience of teaching ILS to nurses. We have also measured the impact that ILS has on the resuscitation knowledge of nurses. METHODS: The ILS course materials were translated by Italian ALS instructors who had observed the ILS course previously in the UK. From March to November 2005 nurses from a single hospital department attended the Italian ILS course. Candidate feedback was collected using an evaluation form. The change in knowledge of candidates was measured using a pre- and post-course test. Variables associated with candidate performance on course papers were investigated using multivariate linear regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 119 nurses attended nine ILS courses. All candidates completed the course successfully and gave high evaluation scores. ILS produced a significant increase from pre- to post-course score (10.15+/-2.75 to 13.19+/-2.53, p<0.001). The pre-course score was higher for nurses working in ICU compared with those coming from non-intensive wards, but this difference disappeared in the post-course evaluation (13.89+/-2.18 versus 12.79+/-2.65, p=ns). CONCLUSIONS: We have reproduced the ILS course in Italy successfully. ILS teaching resulted in an improvement in resuscitation knowledge of the first group of nurses trained.