Tracheal intubation in routine practice with and without muscular relaxation: an observational study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The ease of endotracheal intubation has been recently shown to affect the incidence of laryngeal injury. There remains controversy as to whether or not a muscle relaxant is routinely required for tracheal intubation. This study examined conditions of intubation in our routine practice, which employs a relaxant-sparing approach. METHODS: All adult patients scheduled for surgery with general anaesthesia were prospectively included. A muscle relaxant was used to facilitate intubation when it was required for the surgical procedure and/or otherwise regarded as necessary by the anaesthesiologist. In the remaining patients, a relaxant-free intubation was performed. Intubating conditions were evaluated in all the patients as well as the post-intubation laryngeal symptoms. RESULTS: Between March and July 2003, 612 patients were consecutively included. A muscle relaxant was used in 32% of patients and no relaxant in the remaining patients (68%). Clinically acceptable intubating scores were observed in 98.4% overall with no significant difference between the two groups. Excellent conditions occurred more frequently in the relaxant group as compared to the relaxant-free group, 87% vs. 72%, P = 0.005. Laryngeal symptoms occurred in 184 (33%) patients with no difference between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our relaxant-sparing approach did not increase the incidence of poor conditions of intubation nor laryngeal symptoms. However, excellent conditions occurred more frequently in the relaxant group. A more flexible approach to the issue of the need for neuromuscular blockade prior to intubation is proposed.

Noninvasive ventilation reduces mortality in acute respiratory failure following lung resection.

When treated with invasive endotracheal mechanical ventilation (ETMV), acute respiratory insufficiency after lung resection is fatal in up to 80% of cases. Noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NPPV) may reduce the need for ETMV, thereby improving survival. We conducted a randomized prospective trial to compare standard therapy with and without nasal-mask NPPV in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory insufficiency after lung resection. The primary outcome variable was the need for ETMV and the secondary outcome variables were in-hospital and 120-d mortality rates, duration of stay in the intensive care unit, and duration of in-hospital stay. Twelve of the 24 patients (50%) randomly assigned to the no-NPPV group required ETMV, versus only five of the 24 patients (20.8%) in the NPPV group (p = 0.035). Nine patients in the no-NPPV group died (37.5%), and three (12.5 %) patients in the NPPV group died (p = 0.045). The other secondary outcomes were similar in the two groups. NPPV is safe and effective in reducing the need for ETMV and improving survival after lung resection.

[Patient's perspectives with regard to anesthesia services]. / Point de vue des patients concernant la prise en charge anesthésique.

PURPOSE: Whereas patients most often select their surgeon, they don't usually select their anesthesiologist. Further, anesthesia frequently involves different physicians at different stages perioperatively. This inability to choose and the multiplicity of interveners may reduce patient satisfaction. Our study examined patients' willingness to choose their anesthesiologist for the operation, as well as their opinion on the way anesthesia is practiced presently. CLINICAL FEATURES: Nine hundred and twelve patients (mean age 51 +/- 16 yr, 58% moles) were requested, immediately after the preoperative visit, to choose their anesthesiologist for the operation. The request was formuled by a nurse, in the absence of the anesthesiologist, in order to avoid a courteous response. After surgery, prior to leaving the hospital, patients were invited to give their opinion on the anesthesia core received and to name the anesthesiologist(s) and surgeon involved. RESULTS: Women chose an anesthesiologist more frequently than men, but only 34% of patients overall elected to do so. Eighty percent of patients were cared for by an anesthesiologist other than the one seen at the preoperative visit. Four percent of patients regretted the change. Patients recalled the surgeon's name more frequently (60%) than the attending anesthesiologist's (4%). CONCLUSION: In France, the preoperative visit is required by law and must precede the operation by at least 48 hr. Despite this preoperative interview, patients were unwilling to choose the anesthesiologist responsible for surgery, did not object to multiple interveners and seldom remembered their anesthesiologist's name. Efforts to improve the image of the profession are required.

A survey of tracheal intubation difficulty in the operating room: a prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to describe all degrees of endotracheal intubation difficulty among patients attended by eight anesthesiologists during routine surgery over a six-month period. Airway characteristics were routinely assessed preoperatively, according to the anesthesiologists' usual practice. METHODS: Difficult tracheal intubation was evaluated by the Intubation Difficulty Scale (IDS), a quantitative score based on seven variables. An IDS value of 0 is consistent with a procedure without difficulty, and an IDS > 5 with a procedure involving moderate to major difficulty. RESULTS: For 1171 patients undergoing tracheal intubation, IDS was 0 in 55%, and greater than 5 in 8% of cases. External laryngeal pressure, repositioning the patient and added use of a stylet were the most frequent methods chosen to facilitate tracheal intubation. CONCLUSION: There was a high incidence (37%) of minor difficulties encountered during routine surgery.

The intubation difficulty scale (IDS): proposal and evaluation of a new score characterizing the complexity of endotracheal intubation.

BACKGROUND: A quantitative scale of intubation difficulty would be useful for objectively comparing the complexity of endotracheal intubations. The authors have developed a quantitative score that can be used to evaluate intubating conditions and techniques with the aim of determining the relative values of predictive factors of intubation difficulty and of the techniques used to decrease such difficulties. METHODS: An Intubation Difficulty Scale (IDS) was developed, based on parameters known to be associated with difficult intubation. It was then evaluated prospectively in a group of 311 consecutive prehospital intubations and 315 intubations in an operating room. In the operating room, the IDS was compared with two other parameters: the time to completion of intubation and the visual analog scale (VAS). Time was measured by an independent observer. Operators in both groups completed a checklist regarding the conditions of intubation. RESULTS: There is a good correlation between the IDS scale and the VAS assessment of difficulty and time to completion of intubation. VAS and time to completion have a significant but lesser correlation to each other. Comparison of IDS with operator-assessed subjective categorical impression of difficulty by Kruskall-Wallis was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The IDS correlates with but is less subjective than the VAS and categorical classification. IDS correlates with time to intubation, but it offers details regarding the difficulty encountered that time alone does not. This score may not only aid in evaluation of factors linked to difficult intubations, but it may provide a uniform approach to comparing studies related to this subject.

Assessment of two penicillins plus beta-lactamase inhibitors versus cefotaxime in treatment of murine Klebsiella pneumoniae infections.

The in vivo efficacies of piperacillin, piperacillin plus tazobactam, ticarcillin, ticarcillin plus clavulanic acid, piperacillin plus clavulanic acid, and cefotaxime were compared in a mouse model of pneumonia induced by the SHV-1 beta-lactamase-producer Klebsiella pneumoniae. Each antibiotic was injected either once intraperitoneally at 24 h postinfection or at repeated times during 24 h. The efficacies of the drugs and therapeutic protocols were assessed by counting viable bacteria recovered from the lungs of mice sacrificed at selected times. No emergence of beta-lactam-resistant organisms was detected. Ticarcillin at 300 mg/kg was ineffective. Repeated injections of piperacillin at 300 mg/kg, either alone or in combination with tazobactam (8:1), led to a significant decrease in bacterial counts, but this was followed by bacterial regrowth. The pharmacokinetic analysis demonstrated that this short-lasting antibacterial effect was not due to a failure of piperacillin and/or tazobactam to penetrate the lungs. The combinations of ticarcillin at 300 mg/kg plus clavulanic acid (15:1) and piperacillin at 300 mg/kg plus tazobactam (4:1) were proven to be effective in that they decreased the bacterial burden in the lungs from 10(5) to < 10(3) CFU. This dose effect of tazobactam can be explained by its dose-dependent penetration in the lungs. Cefotaxime at 100 mg/kg and the combination of piperacillin (slightly hydrolyzed by SHV-1) at 300 mg/kg plus clavulanic acid (15:1) led to the best efficacy. Both of these treatments induced a decrease in bacterial counts of nearly 4 log10 units. The survival rates correlated with the quantitative measurements of in vivo bacterial killing. These experimental results obtained from the restricted animal model used here may help in the design of further protocols for clinical trials.

Measurement of CO2 response with the breath-by-breath automatic acquisition of the breathing pattern and occlusion pressure.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective is to present a methodology for the automated acquisition and storage of BP and P0.1 during a CO2 rebreathing test. METHODS: The system consists of a microcomputer with additional circuits and an automatic electronically controlled valve to occlude the inspiratory airway. Data collection and data processing are separate programs. Airway pressure and flow are digitized at a 100-Hz rate, while PETCO2 is determined and P0.1 is measured on a breath-by-breath basis. Off-line processing calculates the BP variables, generates a correlation matrix (VE/PETCO2, TTOT/PETCO2, TI/PETCO2, TE/PETCO2, [VT/TI]/PETCO2, [TI/TTOT]/PETCO2, P0.1/PETCO2), and edits graphic data. The accuracy of the volume and pressure measurements was tested by comparing known volumes provided by a syringe (n = 100) and a series of pressures controlled by a water manometer (n = 41) on the one hand, with volumes and pressures measured by the device. The accuracy of the time intervals and P0.1 was assessed by comparing in 10 healthy subjects the values measured manually on a graphic recording with those provided by the device (n = 170). RESULTS: Volumes:Vmeasured = 0.99 x Vcontrolled, r = 0.99, p < 0.001. Pressures:Pmeasured = 0.97 x Pcontrolled + 0.09, r = 0.98, p < 0.001. Inspiratory time:TIautomatic = 0.91 x TIgraphic + 0.22, r = 0.93, p < 0.001. Expiratory time:TEautomatic = 0.93 x TEgraphic + 0.34, r = 0.95, p < 0.001. Occlusion pressure:P0.1automatic = 0.95 x P0.1graphic + 0.62, r = 0.94, p < 0.001. Reproducibility was assumed to be represented by the intraindividual coefficient of variation of the CO2 response. The comparison of an automatic breath-to-breath method with a graphic manual recording revealed significantly less variability with the former (VE/PETCO2: 15.2 +/- 4.5% vs 22.5 +/- 6.3%, p < 0.01; P0.1/PETCO2:8.3 +/- 4.3% vs 19.7 +/- 7.2%, p < 0.001; [VT/TI]/PETCO2:9.1 +/- 3.5% vs 14.5 +/- 5.3%, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our automated acquisition and storage of waveforms and breath-by-breath determination of BP and P0.1 provide an easy and thorough analysis of the respiratory response to CO2 and decrease the variability of the results.

[Platelet hyperaggregation induced by low molecular weight heparin in adult respiratory distress syndrome]. / Hyperagrégabilité plaquettaire induite par une héparine de bas poids moléculaire au cours d'un syndrome de détresse respiratoire de l'adulte.

A case is reported of a 68-year-old woman admitted to the intensive care unit with an adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to accidental poisoning with anhydrous phthalic acid. She was given prophylactic low molecular weight heparin (Fraxiparine). During the period of intensive care (mechanical ventilation with positive end-expiratory pressure), the patient experienced a stroke from which she recovered only partially. During pleurectomy for persistent pneumothorax, a lung biopsy was carried out. It confirmed the diagnosis of ARDS and recognized multiple pulmonary arterial thrombi. Because of these two thrombotic phenomena, a coagulation defect was searched for. Platelet aggregation tests were all positive with heparin and two low molecular weight fractions. The patient recovered remarkably once she was no longer given Fraxiparine, being extubated nine days afterwards. Six months after discharge, the patient's platelets still aggregated with heparin. The possible mechanism was a heparin-platelet-endothelium complex. It is noteworthy that, in this case, no thrombocytopaenia was found. It may have been countered by thrombocytosis, induced by cellular factors released during ARDS.

[Efficacy and tolerability of morniflumate in acute otitis in infants: results of a randomized study versus placebos]. / Efficacité et tolérance du morniflumate dans les otites aiguës du nourrisson: résultats d'une étude randomisée contre placebo.

In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled, parallel group study, 79 infants with acute otitis media received treatment with suppositories containing either Nifluril (400 mg daily, morniflumate) or placebo for five days. Both groups of patients also received amoxicilline (50 mg/kg daily) for eight days. The combination of Nifluril with antibiotic therapy gave significantly greater relief from abnormalities of the tympanic membrane (after two days treatment), inflammation of the throat and nasal congestion than did antibiotic therapy alone. Overall clinical assessment confirmed a significantly greater recover rate in the Nifluril group compared with the placebo group. Very few side effects were recorded, limited to diarrhoea, without any drug interruption. Nifluril may be recommended as an effective safe adjuvant to the antibiotic treatment of acute otitis media in infants.

[Severe cardiac decompensation: value in the early hours of a combination of amrinone and dobutamine]. / Décompensation cardiaque sévère: intérêt dans les premières heures de l'association amrinone et dobutamine.

Ten patients with severe chronic heart failure (class III and IV of the NYHA classification) received treatment for severe heart failure with dobutamine (10, then 15 micrograms.kg-1.min-1), then with dobutamine combined with amrinone (7.5, then 10 micrograms.kg-1.min of each). Used alone, dobutamine improves cardiac performance (cardiac index from 1.8 +/- 0.24 l.min-1.m-2 to 2.65 +/- 0.44 l.min-1.m-2). These results are further improved when amrinone is associated with dobutamine. Blood pressure increases with dobutamine and no decrease is recorded when amrinone is introduced, despite a gradual decrease in systemic arterial resistances. Pulmonary artery wedge pressure shows a significant decrease only when the strongest dose of the combined drugs is used. However, this positive effect is counterbalanced by an increase in pulse frequency. Side effects, be it on the blood count (platelets count reduced from 255,600 +/- 3974 mm-3 to 207,400 +/- 3380 mm-3 with no clinic sign) or cardiovascular activity (one case of premature ventricular contraction; one case of transient junctional rhythm), do not require the suspension of treatment. Thus, the dobutamine-amrinone combination treatment seems a promising one.

Diaphragmatic fatigue and breathing pattern during weaning from mechanical ventilation in COPD patients.

The medium-term outcome of weaning from mechanical ventilation in COPD patients is not easy to anticipate because a respiratory fatigue may eventually develop. We evaluated the diaphragmatic function and the breathing pattern during 40 weaning trials on 15 patients ventilated after acute respiratory failure. We formed two groups according to the success (group B, n = 18) or failure (group A, n = 19) of the medium-term attempt (group A/less than 10 hours; group B/more than 12 hours). Provided the patients showed the classic weaning criteria (tidal volume greater than 5 ml/kg, respiratory frequency less than 30 breaths per minute, PaO2 greater than 50 mm Hg), the study of the breathing pattern did not allow differentiation between the groups. However, the transdiaphragmatic pressure (Pdi) and the Pdimax, which gave an indication of the power of diaphragm contraction, dropped early in the group that could not stand weaning, with an increase in the Pdi/Pdimax ratio. In addition, this same group showed a diaphragmatic dysfunction attested for by a frequent negative gastric pressure associated with or shortly preceded by an abdominal paradoxic motion.

[Osteodysplasia or the Melnick-Needles syndrome; (apropos of a new case)]. / L'ostéodysplastie ou syndrome de Melnick et Needles; (à propos d'une nouvelle observation).

Osteodysplasty (Melnick and Needles syndrome) without facial dysmorphy in a 26 1/2 years old woman, mother of a normal 5 months female infant. First male newborn was stillborn at 37 weeks of amenorrhea with Potter syndrome and severe malformations (microcephaly, cleft lip and palate, posterior scalp lesions, bilateral palmar transverse crease) just like 13 trisomy. Spine and limb X-ray anomalies pointed out a week before foetus expulsion are not proved subsequently because examinations deficiency.