Ultrasound assessment of gastric contents in children before general anaesthesia for acute appendicitis.

There is increasing evidence that a minority of adults with acute appendicitis have gastric contents, posing an increased risk of pulmonary aspiration. This study aimed to evaluate the proportion of children with acute appendicitis who have gastric contents considered to pose a higher risk of pulmonary aspiration. We analysed point-of-care gastric ultrasound data routinely collected in children before emergency appendicectomy in a specialist paediatric hospital over a 30-month period. Based on qualitative and quantitative antral assessment in the supine and right lateral decubitus positions, gastric contents were classified as 'higher-risk' (clear liquid with calculated gastric fluid volume > 0.8 ml.kg-1 , thick liquid or solid) or 'lower-risk' of pulmonary aspiration. The 115 children studied had a mean (SD) age of 11 (3) years; 37 (32%; 95%CI: 24-42%) presented with higher-risk gastric contents, including 15 (13%; 95%CI: 8-21%) with solid/thick liquid contents. Gastric contents could not be determined in 13 children as ultrasound examination was not feasible in the right lateral decubitus position. No cases of pulmonary aspiration occurred. This study shows that gastric ultrasound is feasible in children before emergency appendicectomy. This technique showed a range of gastric content measurements, which could contribute towards defining the risk of pulmonary aspiration.

Fluid therapy in neurointensive care patients: ESICM consensus and clinical practice recommendations

Objective To report the ESICM consensus and clinical practice recommendations on fluid therapy in neurointensive care patients. Design A consensus committee comprising 22 international experts met in October 2016 during ESICM LIVES2016. Teleconferences and electronic-based discussions between the members of the committee subsequently served to discuss and develop the consensus process. Methods Population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes (PICO) questions were reviewed and updated as needed, and evidence profiles generated. The consensus focused on three main topics: (1) general fluid resuscitation and maintenance in neurointensive care patients, (2) hyperosmolar fluids for intracranial pressure control, (3) fluid management in delayed cerebral ischemia after subarachnoid haemorrhage. After an extensive literature search, the principles of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system were applied to assess the quality of evidence (from high to very low), to formulate treatment recommendations as strong or weak, and to issue best practice statements when applicable. A modified Delphi process based on the integration of evidence provided by the literature and expert opinions­using a sequential approach to avoid biases and misinterpretations­was used to generate the final consensus statement. Results The final consensus comprises a total of 32 statements, including 13 strong recommendations and 17 weak recommendations. No recommendations were provided for two statements. Conclusions We present a consensus statement and clinical practice recommendations on fluid therapy for neurointensive care patients.

Reduced mortality by meeting guideline criteria before using recombinant activated factor VII in severe trauma patients with massive bleeding.

BACKGROUND: Management of trauma patients with severe bleeding has led to criteria before considering use of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa), including haemoglobin >8 g dl-1, serum fibrinogen ≥1.0 g l-1, platelets >50,000 x 109 l-1, arterial pH ≥ 7.20, and body temperature ≥34 °C. We hypothesized that meeting these criteria is associated with improved outcomes. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study of 26 French trauma centres, subjects were included if they received rFVIIa for persistent massive bleeding despite appropriate care after severe blunt and/or penetrating trauma. RESULTS: After surgery and/or embolization as haemostatic interventions, 112 subjects received a first dose of 103 µg kg-1 rFVIIa (82-200) (median, 25th-75th percentile) at 420 min (285-647) post-trauma. Of these, 71 (63%) "responders" were still alive at 24h post-trauma and had their transfusion requirements reduced by > 2 packed red blood cell units after rFVIIa treatment. Mortality was 54% on day 30 post-trauma. There were 21%, 44% and 35% subjects who fulfilled 0-1, 2-3 or 4-5, respectively, of the guidelines before receiving rFVIIa. Survival at day 30 was 13%, 49% and 64% and the proportion of responders was 39%, 64% and 82%, when subjects fulfilled 0-1, 2-3 or 4-5 conditions, respectively (both P <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In actively bleeding trauma patients, meeting guideline criteria before considering rFVIIa was associated with lower mortality and a higher proportion of responders to the rFVIIa.

[Hypernatremia in head-injured patients: friend or foe?]. / Hypernatrémie chez le patient cérébrolésé: utile ou dangereux?

Hypernatremia is defined by a serum sodium concentration of more than 145 mmol/L and reflects a disturbance of the regulation between water and sodium. The high incidence of hypernatremia in patients with severe brain injury is due various causes including poor thirst, diabetes insipidus, iatrogenic sodium administration, and primary hyperaldosteronism. Hypernatremia in the intensive care unit is independently associated with increased mortality and complications rates. Because of the rapid brain adaptation to extracellular hypertonicity, sustained hypernatremia exposes the patient to an exacerbation of brain edema during attempt to normalize natremia. Like serum glucose, serum sodium concentration must be tightly monitored in the intensive care unit.

[Impact of a trauma network on mortality in patients with severe pelvic trauma]. / Impact de la mise en place d'un réseau de soins en traumatologie sur la mortalité des patients traumatisés graves du bassin.

AIM: To evaluate the impact of a regional trauma network on intra-hospital mortality rates of patients admitted with severe pelvic trauma. STUDY: Retrospective observational study. PATIENTS: Sixty-five trauma patients with serious pelvic fracture (pelvic abbreviated injury scale [AIS] score of 3 or more). METHODS: Demographic, physiologic and biological parameters were recorded. Observed mortality rates were compared to predicted mortality according to the Trauma Revised Injury Severity Score methodology adjusted by a case mix variation model. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients were admitted in a level I trauma centre (reference centre) and 36 in level II trauma centres (centres with interventional radiology facility and/or neurosurgery). Patients from the level I trauma centre were more severely injured than those who were admitted at the level II trauma centres (Injury Severity Score [ISS]: 30 [13-75] vs 22 [9-59]; P<0.01). Time from trauma to hospital admission was also longer in level I trauma centre (115 [50-290] min vs 90 [28-240] min, P <0.01). Observed mortality rates (14%; 95% confidence interval, 95% CI, [1-26%]) were lower than the predicted mortality (29%; 95% CI [13-44%]) in the level I trauma centre. No difference in mortality rates was found in the level II trauma centres. CONCLUSION: The regional trauma network could screen the most severely injured patients with pelvic trauma to admit them at a level I trauma centre. The observed mortality of these patients was lower than the predicted mortality despite increased time from trauma to admission.

[Therapeutic hypothermia for severe traumatic brain injury]. / Hypothermie thérapeutique en traumatologie crânienne grave.

Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is considered a standard of care in the post-resuscitation phase of cardiac arrest. In experimental models of traumatic brain injury (TBI), TH was found to have neuroprotective properties. However, TH failed to demonstrate beneficial effects on neurological outcome in patients with TBI. The absence of benefits of TH uniformly applied in TBI patients should not question the use of TH as a second-tier therapy to treat elevated intracranial pressure. The management of all the practical aspects of TH is a key factor to avoid side effects and to optimize the potential benefit of TH in the treatment of intracranial hypertension. Induction of TH can be achieved with external surface cooling or with intra-vascular devices. The therapeutic target should be set at a 35°C using brain temperature as reference, and should be maintained at least during 48 hours and ideally over the entire period of elevated intracranial pressure. The control of the rewarming phase is crucial to avoid temperature overshooting and should not exceed 1°C/day. Besides its use in the management of intracranial hypertension, therapeutic cooling is also essential to treat hyperthermia in brain-injured patients. In this review, we will discuss the benefit-risk balance and practical aspects of therapeutic temperature management in TBI patients.

[Early rehabilitation for neurologic patients]. / Intérêt d'une rééducation précoce pour les patients neurologiques.

Rehabilitation improves the functional prognosis of patients after a neurologic lesion, and tendency is to begin rehabilitation as soon as possible. This review focuses on the interest and the feasibility of very early rehabilitation, initiated from critical care units. It is necessary to precisely assess patients' impairments and disabilities in order to define rehabilitation objectives. Valid and simple tools must support this evaluation. Rehabilitation will be directed to preventing decubitus complications and active rehabilitation. The sooner rehabilitation is started; the better functional prognosis seems to be.

[Assessment of an educational maze for major trauma care teaching]. / Évaluation d'un labyrinthe pédagogique pour l'enseignement de la traumatologie grave.

BACKGROUND: Assess efficacy, satisfaction and usefulness of an educational maze based on posters and audioguide for major trauma care teaching to medical students. The educational maze consists of posters with audio comments recorded in an audioguide. This tool was part of a larger educational program including medical simulation. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, interventional, observational, monocentric study. STUDENT: Medical student of Grenoble University Hospital, in the four last years of medical school, following a training course in anesthesia, emergency medical services and intensive care units. METHOD: Forty essentials key messages for major trauma management were included in 10 posters and audioguides. A first assessment with short opened answers was handed to the students at the end of the educational maze to assess their memorization. A second assessment with simple choice answers regarding satisfaction and usefulness of this new educational tool was realized at the end of the entire program. RESULT: One hundred and eighty-four medical students attending the major trauma program were included in this study. On the first test, 75% of essential knowledge on major trauma management was memorized by more than 50% of the medical students. On the second test, 94% of medical students had a high satisfaction level of this educational maze. CONCLUSION: An educational maze based on posters and audioguides seems to be an efficient, useful tool for teaching essential knowledge on major trauma management to medical students.

[Near infrared spectroscopy monitoring in the neurointensive care]. / Monitorage par spectroscopie de proche infrarouge en neuroréanimation.

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can noninvasively measure cerebral saturation in oxygen, that permits to estimate brain oxygenation and metabolism. This technique could be incorporated into a multimodal monitoring for severely brain-injured patients. This review presents the principles of NIRS, its limits, the main results from clinical studies and its perspectives. More clinical studies are needed before recommending the routine use of NIRS in the ICU.

[Pupillometry in anesthesia and critical care]. / La pupillométrie en anesthésie-réanimation.

Pupil size reflects the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. Due to technological advances, accurate and repeated pupil size measurements are possible using infrared, video-recorded pupillometers. Two pupil size reflexes are assessed: the pupillary reflex dilation during noxious stimulation, and the pupil light reflex when the pupil is exposed to the light. The pupillary reflex dilation estimates the level of analgesia in response to a painful procedure or to a calibrated noxious stimulus, i.e., tetanic stimulus, in nonverbal patients. This might be of particular interest in optimizing the management of opioids in anaesthetized patients and in assessing pain levels in the intensive care unit. The pupil light reflex measurement is part of the routine monitoring for severely head-injured patients. The impact of pupillometry in this condition remains to be determined.

[Normobaric hyperoxia therapy for patients with traumatic brain injury]. / Hyperoxie normobarique chez le patient traumatisé crânien.

Cerebral ischaemia plays a major role in the outcome of brain-injured patients. Because brain oxygenation can be assessed at bedside using intra-parenchymal devices, there has been a growing interest about whether therapeutic hyperoxia could be beneficial for severely head-injured patients. Normobaric hyperoxia increases brain oxygenation and may improve glucose-lactate metabolism in brain regions at risk for ischaemia. However, benefits of normobaric hyperoxia on neurological outcome are not established yet, that hinders the systematic use of therapeutic hyperoxia in head-injured patients. This therapeutic option might be proposed when brain ischemia persists despite the optimization of cerebral blood flow and arterial oxygen blood content.

[A protocol for the cessation of sedation in brain-injured patients]. / Évaluation d'un protocole d'arrêt de la sédation chez le patient cérébrolésé

OBJECTIVES: The cessation of sedation in brain-injured patients may result in severe agitation and/or acute withdrawal syndrome related to the prolonged administration of large doses of benzodiazepines and/or opioids. The aim of the present study was to assess the clinical efficacy of a written protocol to withdraw sedation for these patients. STUDY DESIGN: Observational prospective study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: After approval by the Institutional Review Board, 40 severely brain-injured patients were included. They had received continuous administration of midazolam and sufentanil or fentanyl for median 15 days. On cessation of midazolam infusion, patients were given clorazepate for 3 days. On cessation of opioid infusion and clorazepate, clinical data were collected for 48 hours: heart rate, systolic blood pressure, respiratory rate, agitation, and pupil diameter. If an opioid withdrawal syndrome occurred, patients received a 48-hour continuous infusion of buprenorphine. RESULTS: Of 40 patients, there were 10 who did not require buprenorphine. An agitation occurred 5 hours (1-21) after cessation of opioid, associated with tachycardia, arterial hypertension, and tachypnea. After 6 hours buprenorphine treatment, these parameters were normalized. No patient needed the reintroduction of the initial sedation. CONCLUSION: The cessation of sedation in severely brain-injured patients can be successfully managed with the use of clorazepate, associated with buprenorphine in the presence of agitation.

[Cerebral amyloid angiopathy is difficult to diagnose in the intensive care unit]. / Angiopathie amyloïde cérébrale : un diagnostic difficile en réanimation.

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy is a common cause of intracerebral haemorrhage in elderly patients. The diagnosis of cerebral amyloid angiopathy is based on the Boston criteria combining clinical and radiological criteria with no other cause of intracerebral haemorrhage. We describe the case of a 60-year-old female admitted to the intensive care unit for agitation and spatial disorientation. She had multiple intracerebral haematomas on brain CT scan. Typical cerebral microbleeds using MRI and the absence of other cause of intracerebral haemorrhage argued in favour of the diagnosis of cerebral amyloid angiopathy. The patient outcome was favourable with a discharge from the intensive care unit on day 16.

[Severe trauma patients in a mountain area: an observational study]. / Les traumatisés graves en montagne: une étude observationnelle.

OBJECTIVES: The main objective was to estimate the nature, severity and medical care of severe trauma injuries following mountain activities as compared to severe trauma following traffic accident in a mountain area. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a prospective comparative monocentric observational study at a University Hospital located in the northern Alps area, using the First national study database (French intensive care recorded in severe trauma). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three hundred and thirty-seven patients were included during a 2-year-period from January 2005 to December 2006. Three hundred and thirty-seven patients, including 223 traffic accidents and 114 mountain accidents were included. The survey data was achieved with a standardized method on a period of 30 days after the accident, and recorded in a computerized file for optimal completeness. RESULTS: The study did not show higher severity or mortality rates in patients with mountain accidents. In both groups, we found a peak of mortality for young adults and similar causes of death. However, spinal cord injuries were statistically more frequent in mountain accidents. CONCLUSION: So, it seems important to continuously warn population about dangers of this playground.

[Obstructive sleep-apnoea syndrome in adult and its perioperative management]. / Le syndrome d'apnées obstructives du sommeil chez l'adulte: prise en charge anesthésique.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) syndrome in adult is defined as an Apnoea-Hypopnoea Index (AHI) of 5 or more per hour of sleep in a context of excessive daytime sleepiness and snoring. OSA is considered as mild with an AHI of 5-15, moderate with an AHI of 15-30, and severe with an AHI greater than 30. OSA is a highly prevalent disease since it should affect 7-15% of the middle-aged population, but most patients are not yet diagnosed for OSA. Middle age, male gender, obesity and arterial hypertension are main risk factors for OSA in adults. OSA patients are exposed to higher neurological and cardiovascular morbidity, including stroke, depression, hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure, arrhythmias. Because OSA may lead to life-threatening problems if undiagnosed, anaesthesiologists should be aware of their screening role in the preoperative period. In that way, the STOP-BANG questionnaire is a well-adapted instrument to screen patients for OSA during the preoperative visit. OSA patients are exposed to higher preoperative morbidity in relation with OSA severity, particularly difficult manual ventilation with mask, difficult tracheal intubation and postoperative upper airway obstruction. The unknown diagnosis of OSA is one major contributor to facilitate the occurrence of those events. In the postoperative period, early resuming continuous positive airway pressure and installing the OSA patient in a nonsupine position could be effective in preventing pharyngeal obstruction. Considering the timing of postoperative complications, a careful monitoring in the post-anesthesia care unit for three hours is an appropriate strategy for a majority of OSA patients. Alternatives to opioids should be promoted for postoperative pain control.

[Current use of sedation and analgesia: 218 resuscitations in France services practices survey]. / La sédation-analgésie au quotidien : enquête de pratiques auprès de 218 services de réanimation en France.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the current use of sedation and analgesia in a large sample of French intensive care units (ICUs) and to define structural characteristics of the units that use a written procedure. STUDY DESIGN: Self-reported survey. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred and sixty French ICUs were presented the questionnaire in September 2007. RESULTS: Surveys were received from 228 (60.6%) ICUs. Midazolam was used in more than 50% of the patients in 79.2% of the ICUs and propofol in 22.2% of the ICUs. Sufentanil was the most frequently used morphinic. A sedation-scale was used in 68.8% of the units (80.3% Ramsay score). Sedation was assessed at least every 4hours in 61% of ICUs. A pain-scale was used in 88.9% of the ICUs, but only 12.5% in the non-communicant patients. A written procedure was used in 29.4% of the units only. In multivariate analysis, use in the ICU of a written procedure for the early management of patients with septic shock and/or intensive insulin therapy was the single variable significantly associated with presence of a written procedure for sedation and analgesia (respectively OR 4.37; p<0.0001 and OR 5.64; p=0.032). CONCLUSION: Although more than two-third of the responding ICUs reported the use of sedation-and-pain-scales, frequency of assessment was low, and objective assessment of pain in the non-communicating patients was extremely uncommon. Similarly, the use of written procedure was low. The use of sedation-analgesia written procedure in an ICU seems strongly influenced by a more global involvement of the ICU in the protocolisation of complex care. These findings support the reinforcement of educational programs.

[Sedation in neurointensive care unit]. / Neurosédation en réanimation.

The objectives for using sedation in neurointensive care unit (neuroICU) are somewhat different from those used for patients without severe brain injuries. One goal is to clinically reassess the neurological function following the initial brain insult in order to define subsequent strategies for diagnosis and treatment. Another goal is to prevent severely injured brain from additional aggravation of cerebral blood perfusion and intracranial pressure. Depending on these situations is the choice of sedatives and analgesics: short-term agents, e.g., remifentanil, if a timely neurological reassessment is required, long-term agents, e.g., midazolam and sufentanil, as part of the treatment for elevated intracranial pressure. In that situation, a multimodal monitoring is needed to overcome the lack of clinical monitoring, including repeated measurements of intracranial pressure, blood flow velocities (transcranial Doppler), cerebral oxygenation (brain tissue oxygen tension), and brain imaging. The ultimate stop of neurosedation can distinguish between no consciousness and an alteration of arousing in brain-injured patients. During this period, an elevation of intracranial pressure is usual, and should not always result in reintroducing the neurosedation.

[A case of malignant hyperthermia arising five hours after the beginning of anaesthesia with sevoflurane and after five uneventful surgical procedures]. / Crise d'hyperthermie maligne de l'anesthésie après cinq heures d'anesthésie avec le sévoflurane et plusieurs anesthésies antérieures avec halogénés.

We report a case of per anaesthesia malignant hyperthermia (MH) arisen in a 16-year-old young man presenting antecedents of five anaesthesia with use of halogenated agents without complication and having started a typical crisis of MH after five hours of anaesthesia with sevoflurane and with recurrence of the crisis after 14 hours in ICU. The association in the same clinical case of these three peculiarities of the crisis of MH already described separately in the international literature allows us to insist on their importance, with the French-speaking anaesthesiologists community.