Clinico-epidemiological profile of non-survivors of COVID-19 during the last two waves in a tertiary care hospital of North India: A retrospective descriptive study.

Background: SARS-CoV-causing COVID-19 resulted in mortality, and the clinic-epidemiological profile at the time of admission of patients who died later could provide an insight into pathophysiological consequences due to infection. Method: Retrospective observational study of 64 RTPCR-confirmed COVID-19 non-survivors was conducted from April - June 2021 and January February 2022. Data were analyzed, and a P value<0.05 was taken as significant. Results: 60.94% and 39.06 % were males and females, and 26.57% & 73.43 % of patients had moderate and severe disease, respectively. Fever, cough, and dyspnea were the most common presenting symptoms. 78.12% and 21.88% had pre-existing (diabetes and hypertension were most common) and no co-morbidities, respectively. 65.62 & 17.19 % of patients had bilateral and unilateral ground glass opacities, respectively. Thrombocytopenia, lymphopenia, neutrophilia, elevated monocytes, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) of 7.52 were hematological findings. D dimer was elevated. ABG showed low PaO2 and SPO2 %. ALT and AST were elevated. Tachycardia was also present. Compared to the first wave, no significant association of gender with severity was found. However, the percentage of male patients was higher. The association of the duration of stay and co-morbidity with disease severity was significant in both the first and subsequent waves of COVID-19. Conclusion: Co-morbidity, disease severity, and radiological lung opacities play a role in the outcome of COVID-19. The associated findings are hematological, renal, liver, cardiovascular, and arterial blood gas derangements.

Developing a Scale Measuring Patient Expectations and Service Quality of Hospitals in India during COVID-19.

This paper develops a scale that measures the perceived service quality of hospitals during a pandemic. To develop the scale, data from 206 respondents from India, was subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The newly developed scale was named PAND-SERVQUAL, which includes factors namely, assistance, facility & layout, trust, empathy, promptness, and knowledge. The resulting scale is likely to be useful for researchers exploring service quality research and health care quality as well. Findings will facilitate understanding patient's expectations regarding the service quality of hospitals during a pandemic.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/00185868.2021.1939827 .

A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial to Assess the Efficacy of Ultrasound-Guided Erector Spinae Plane Block in Cardiac Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Cardiac surgical pain is of moderate-to-severe intensity. Ineffective pain control may lead to increased cardiopulmonary complications and poor surgical outcomes. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane block in providing analgesia in adult cardiac surgeries. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, double-blinded clinical trial. SETTINGS: Single-center, tertiary care hospital with university affiliation. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty patients of either sex, aged 18-to-60 years, body mass index 19-to-30 kg/m2, undergoing elective on-pump single-vessel coronary artery bypass grafting or valve replacement under general anesthesia. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly categorized into two groups of 15 patients each to receive bilateral erector spinae plane block with 20 mL per side of 0.25% levobupivacaine (group E) or sham block with 20 mL of normal saline (group C). MAIN RESULTS: Mean analgesic requirement in terms of fentanyl equivalents (µg) in the first 24 hours postoperatively was 225 ± 112 in group E and 635 ± 145 in group C (95% confidence interval, 313.10-506.90; p < 0.05). Mean time to first rescue analgesia was 356.9 ± 34.5 in group E and 123.9 ± 13.1 minutes in group C (p < 0.05). Cox proportional hazard ratio for rescue analgesic requirement in group E-to-group C was 5.0. Duration of mechanical ventilation was 88.4 ± 17 and 103.5 ± 18 minutes in groups E and C, respectively (p < 0.05). Ramsay sedation score at six hours postextubation was 1.45 ± 0.53 in group E and 3.19 ± 0.62 in group C (p < 0.05). Mean numerical rating score was 3.67 ± 1.41 in group E and 4.50 ± 1.00 in group C (p = 0.17). No significant differences were observed in the incidences of postoperative nausea vomiting, pruritus, and erector spinae plane block-related infection and pneumothorax. CONCLUSION: Single-shot erector spinae plane block provides superior analgesia as compared with sham block. It decreased the first 24-hour postoperative analgesic consumption by 64.5% and risk of pain by five times in the authors' population. It also reduced the sedation and duration of mechanical ventilation in postcardiac surgery patients.

A Randomised Controlled Trial to Assess the Analgesic Efficacy of Reduced Dose 0.2% Ropivacaine-Dexmedetomidine Combination Compared to Standard 0.375% Ropivacaine in USG Guided TAP Block for Paediatric Hernia Repair.

OBJECTIVE: Paediatric pain management has remained understated practice over a period of time. Recently ultrasound-guided (USG) guided techniques are gaining popularity for perioperative analgesia, especially in the paediatric population. So, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of reduced dose ropivacaine-dexmedetomidine combination compared to standard 0.375% ropivacaine in USG guided transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block. METHODS: Sixty children of either sex, aged 2-10 years, posted for elective open herniotomy under general anaesthesia were randomly divided into two groups of 30 patients each. Group RD received 0.2% ropivacaine with dexmedetomidine 1 mg kg 1 while group R received 0.375% ropivacaine at 0.5mL kg 1. Meantime to first rescue and total analgesics, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Pain Scale (CHEOPS) and Ramsay sedation score, haemodynamic parameters and adverse effects were noted. RESULTS: Time to first rescue analgesia in group RD and group R were 16.32 6 3.11 hours and 10.82 6 2.16 hours, respectively (P < .0001). Mean CHEOPS score were 4.48 6 1.1 and 6.3 6 1.74 (P < .024) in group RD and R. Post-op Ramsay sedation score was significantly greater in group RD. Heart rate and blood pressure remained similar in either of the group. No episode of respiratory depression, bradycardia or hypotension was noted perioperatively. CONCLUSION: Combination of 1 mg kg 1 dexmedetomidine with reduced concentration of ropivacaine (0.2%) produced significantly longer duration of post-operative analgesia and lowered post-operative CHEOPS pain score in comparison with 0.375% ropivacaine alone in USG guided TAP block for paediatric hernia repair.

Postoperative urinary retention: A controlled trial of fixed-dose spinal anesthesia using bupivacaine versus ropivacaine.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Following spinal anesthesia (SA), patient discharge is often delayed due to postoperative urinary retention (POUR), the incidence of which varies widely. The present study of bupivacaine versus ropivacaine in equianalgesic doses was taken to explore the correlation between time to void urine and time for complete functional recovery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this double-blinded study fifty adult patients were assigned to two groups (bupivacaine/ropivacaine) according to alternate case allocation for receiving SA for lower abdominal, perineal, and lower limb surgeries, lasting less than 2 h. Statistical analysis was conducted using an intention-to-treat approach, using Mann-Whitney test for nonparametric data. Primary outcome data could not be obtained for 14 out of the 50 patients due to perioperative bladder catheterization. No patients were lost to follow-up. RESULTS: Both the bupivacaine and ropivacaine groups were comparable in terms of ability to void (8.0 ± 2.3 vs. 7.0 ± 1.2 h; P > 0.05), modified Bromage scale after 4 h of SA (1.8 ± 1.3 vs. 2.6 ± 0.9 grade; P > 0.05), time to complete ambulation (6.7 ± 1.4 vs. 6.1 ± 1.0 h; P > 0.05), and time to negative Romberg test (6.1 ± 1.4 vs. 5.6 ± 0.9 h; P > 0.05), respectively. Strong positive correlations (r = 0.7-0.9) were found between time to void urine and time for complete ambulation. CONCLUSIONS: Time to void urine and recovery of motor functions were found comparable statistically when bupivacaine and ropivacaine were used in the doses of 12.5 and 18.75 mg, respectively, for SA. However, group ropivacaine required lesser time to void and no patient developed POUR. Time to void urine was more than the time for ambulation. This may indicate a need for "selective spinal anesthesia" or adjuvant combination technique to accelerate the resolution of a block for ambulatory surgery.

A randomised controlled comparison of video versus instructor-based compression only life support training.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sudden cardiac deaths remain a major health problem worldwide. Most of these cases generally involve out of hospital cardiac arrest, making the role of bystander resuscitation very crucial. In the developing countries, illiteracy and scarcity of health professionals is a great barrier to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. Video-based CPR training can offer an easily accessible modality in these situations. Hence, this study was conducted with an aim to assess the efficacy of video-based training in comparison to the traditional instructor-based CPR training in layman. METHODS: This prospective cross-over observational study included 109 undergraduate university students attending voluntary resuscitation training and were randomly divided into two groups of video-based demonstration (VBD) and instructor-based demonstration (IBD) of compression only life support (COLS). They were then assessed for psychomotor skill development (Laerdal Simpad Plus Q-CPR) and perception about the quality of training methodology as primary and secondary objectives, respectively. RESULTS: Population characteristics were similar in both the groups. In the VBD, scene safety was performed by 95.2% and call for help by 97.6%, and by 76.1% each in the IBD group (P < 0.05). Response to compression time (RCT) was significantly shorter in VBD (35 ± 9 sec) as compared to IBD (54 ± 14 sec) (P < 0.001). However, the proportion of participants performing response check, correct site identification, and other parameters were comparable. CONCLUSION: Video-based COLS training significantly decreased the RCT by 35% compared to traditional instructor-based training. However, other features of high-quality CPR remain comparable.

A Randomized Control Trial of Awake Oral to Submental Conversion versus Asleep Technique in Maxillofacial Trauma.

AIM: This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of awake oral to submental conversion over asleep technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This randomized clinical study was conducted in maxillofacial department of a tertiary care hospital in patients who had panfacial or mandibular fractures requiring elective surgical correction. The patients were randomly divided into two groups of 12 patients each, asleep fiberoptic-assisted submental intubation (SMI) (Group G; n = 12) and awake fiberoptic-assisted SMI (Group A; n = 12). The primary predictor was mean conversion time of oral to SMI while other predictors were overall success rate, ease of conversion, and complications. Data are presented as mean (±standard deviation) and frequencies (%) as appropriate. Statistical analysis done using unpaired t-test or Chi-square test was performed and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients (19:5;Male:Female) aged 18-55 years (Group G = 35.96; Group A = 32.43 years) were included in the study. SMI was successful in all except two patients in group G. Overall success rate was similar in both groups. Time to convert orotracheal intubation to SMI was significantly less in group A (Group G = 9.55 ± 1.42, Group A = 5.67 ± 1.73; P < 0.001). Ease of SMI was found Grade I in 30% and 83% of the patients of group G and A, respectively. No serious complications were observed except 2 cases of bleeding, and 1 case of tube damage. CONCLUSION: Awake oral to submental conversion requires lesser time in comparison to asleep technique besides improving the ease (Δ = 53%) of the procedure.

A comparative study of McGrath and Airtraq videolaryngoscopes for tracheal intubation.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Many cases of difficult tracheal intubation remain unrecognized until after induction of anesthesia. McGrath and Airtraq videolaryngoscopes are among the novel laryngoscopes that have an advantage over the conventional laryngoscopes in case of unanticipated difficult airway. Thus, we did a comparative study between McGrath and Airtraq videolaryngoscopes to evaluate their efficacy in routine anesthesia practice. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty anesthetized patients were divided into two groups using computer-based randomization, and tracheal intubation was performed using either McGrath or Airtraq laryngoscope. The primary outcome measures were duration and incidence of successful tracheal intubation. Hemodynamic response, glottic view (percentage of glottic opening score [POGO]), ease of intubation, and airway complications were also measured. RESULTS: Both McGrath and Airtraq groups were comparable in terms of incidence of successful tracheal intubation (93.3% vs. 96.6%), ease of intubation (70% vs. 77%), and POGO scoring. Intubation time was significantly shorter with Airtraq (13.5 vs. 17.8 s; P < 0.001). There were statistically significant changes in the heart rate and blood pressure after tracheal intubation in both the groups (P < 0.001); however, these parameters reached baseline within 5 min of intubation in both the groups. The incidence of injury was 10% with McGrath videolaryngoscope and 13.3% with Airtraq and was comparable. CONCLUSION: Both Airtraq and McGrath videolaryngoscope have high success rates of intubation. Airtraq is better than McGrath laryngoscope due to shorter tracheal intubation time.

Comparison of endotracheal intubation time in neutral position between C-Mac® and Airtraq® laryngoscopes: A prospective randomised study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: In the recent past, many novel devices such as AirTraq® and C-MAC® video laryngoscope (VL) have been introduced in an attempt to reduce anaesthetic morbidity and mortality associated with difficult intubation. In this study, we aimed to evaluate and compare C-MAC® VL with a standard Macintosh blade and the AirTraq® optical laryngoscope as a intubating devices with the patient's head in neutral position. METHODS: Sixty American Society of Anesthesiologist Physical Status I-II patients were randomly assigned to be intubated with C-MAC® VL (Group CM; n = 30) or AirTraq® (Group AT; n = 30) in the neutral position, with or without the application of optimization manoeuvres. The primary outcomes of this study were the success rate and the time taken to intubate. Glottic view, ease of tracheal intubation and haemodynamic responses were considered as secondary end points. RESULTS: The incidence of successful intubation was similar in both the groups (P = 1.00). However, the time for intubation was significantly less with C-MAC® VL (Group CM = 14.9 ± 12.89 s, Group AT = 26.3 ± 13.34 s; P = 0.0014). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of ease of intubation and glottic view. However, the haemodynamic perturbations were much less with C-MAC® VL. CONCLUSION: We conclude that both the devices were similar in visualising larynx in the neutral position with similar success rates of intubation. However, the C-MAC® VL was better with respect to intubation time and haemodynamic stability.

Levobupivacaína o ropivacaína: un ensayo aleatorio doble ciego controlado con dosis equipotentes en la anestesia espinal / Levobupivacaine or ropivacaine: A randomised double blind controlled trial using equipotent doses in spinal anaesthesia

Introduction: Levobupivacaine and ropivacaine are relatively new local anaesthetics developed in order to address the issue of bupivacaine toxicity Although certain differences do exist between their pharmacological profiles, its clinical relevance at equipotent doses is not evident so far Objective: To compare the efficacy and characteristics of equipotent doses of intrathecal levobupivacaine with ropivacaine Methodology: Sixty ASA grade I/II patients of 18-60 years, either sex posted for lower limb orthopaedic surgery under spinal anaesthesia were randomly given either 15 mg levobupivacaine or 22.5 mg ropivacaine. Sensory and motor block, haemodynamic characteristics, as well as any side effects, were recorded Results: Onset of sensory block to T10 was more rapid in group R than group L, p < 0.0001. The median (range) height achieved in group R was T7 (T5-T10) while in group L was T7 (T4-T10). Time to reach maximum height and time to modified Bromage grade 3 was shorter in group R as compared to group L, p < 0.0001. Levobupivacaine produced significantly longer (290.50 ± 34.67) duration of motor block compared to ropivacaine (222.50 ± 23.00). Duration of analgesia was significantly longer in group L (309.83 ± 36.45) than group R (249.50 ± 22.83). No serious adverse effects were recorded. Conclusion: Levobupivacaine produces significantly longer duration of analgesia than ropivacaine when used in a ratio of 0.6:1. Efficacy, toxicity and haemodynamic profile make ropivacaine suitable agent for surgeries with low threshold for hypotension.

Introducción: La levobupivacaína y la ropivacaína son anestésicos locales relativamente nuevos, desarrollados con el fin de abordar la cuestión de la toxicidad de la bupivacaína. Aunque existen ciertas diferencias entre sus perfiles farmacológicos, su relevancia clínica en dosis equipotentes no es evidente hasta ahora. Objetivo: Comparar la eficacia y las características de las dosis equipotentes de levobupiva-caína por vía intratecal con las de ropivacaína. Metodología: A Sesenta pacientes de grado ASA I/II de 18 a 60 años y de ambos sexos, programados para cirugía ortopédica del miembro inferior bajo anestesia espinal, se les dio al azar o bien 15 mg de levobupivacaína o 22,5 mg de ropivacaína. El bloqueo motor, el bloqueo sensorial, las características hemodinámicas y cualquier otro efecto secundario fueron registrados. Resultados: El inicio del bloqueo sensorial en T10 fue más rápido en el grupo R que en el grupo L, p < 0,0001. El nivel mediano (rango) alcanzado en el grupo R fue T7 (T5-T10), mientras en el grupo L fue T7 (T4-T10). El tiempo para alcanzar el nivel máximo y para alcanzar un grado 3 en la escala de Bromage fue más breve en el grupo R en comparación con el grupo L, p < 0,0001. La levobupivacaína produce una duración significativamente más larga (290.50 ± 34.67) del bloqueo motor que la ropivacaína (222.50 ± 23.00). La duración de la analgesia fue significativamente más larga en el grupo L (309.83 ± 36.45) que en el grupo R. No se registraron efectos adversos graves. Conclusión: La levobupivacaína produce una duración de la analgesia significativamente más larga que la ropivacaína cuando se utiliza en una proporción de 0,6:1. La eficacia, toxicidad y perfil hemodinámico hacen de la ropivacaína un agente adecuado para cirugías con un umbral bajo de hipotensión.

Mechanical ventilation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchial asthma often complicate the surgical patients, leading to post-operative morbidity and mortality. Many authors have tried to predict post-operative pulmonary complications but not specifically in COPD. The aim of this review is to provide recent evidence-based guidelines regarding predictors and ventilatory strategies for mechanical ventilation in COPD and bronchial asthma patients. Using Google search for indexing databases, a search for articles published was performed using various combinations of the following search terms: 'Predictors'; 'mechanical ventilation'; COPD'; 'COPD'; 'bronchial asthma'; 'recent strategies'. Additional sources were also identified by exploring the primary reference list.