All India Difficult Airway Association guidelines in practice-A survey.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The All India Difficult Airway Association (AIDAA) has come up with difficult airway (DA) guidelines to suit the Indian context. We conducted an online survey with the primary aim to find out the awareness about AIDAA guidelines and adherence to them in clinical practice. The secondary aims were to explore variations in practice with respect to experience or the type of the institute. METHODS: An online web-based questionnaire survey was sent to all practising anaesthesiologists who attended an airway workshop. The validated and piloted questionnaire consisted of 23 questions and the practice patterns were asked to be graded on a Likert scale of four. RESULTS: The response rate was 66%. Awareness about AIDAA guidelines was high (81%) but adherence varied. Apnoeic nasal oxygen insufflation was always practised by only 19.59%.Only 79.7%of the respondents always used capnography to confirm intubation. While 23.64% did not ensure a safe peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) level of 95% to do repeat laryngoscopy, 64% chose supraglottic devices after three failed laryngoscopic attempts. A departmental debriefing of a DA event and issuing an alert card to the patient was practised by 58.78% and 52.7%, respectively. Although 50% had training to do cricothyrotomy, only 41% had ready access to a cricothyrotomy set in their workplace. The use of capnography was more prevalent in private institutions. The survey revealed a safety gap with some recommendations like debriefing of a DA event, alert card, nasal oxygenation etc. CONCLUSION: Awareness about AIDAA guidelines is high among our practising anaesthesiologists, but adherence to the recommendations varied and there is room for improvement, especially for debriefing a DA event, issuing an alert card, the use of capnography and nasal oxygenation.

The clinical learning environment in anaesthesiology in Kerala---Is it good enough?---A web-based survey.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Evaluation of postgraduate (PG) training is important so that necessary modifications can be made. The quality of anaesthesiology teaching in our country has not been explored. We performed a survey among the anaesthesiology PGs of Kerala to assess their perceptions about their learning environment as well as to look for the deficits in the training program. METHODS: An online web-based survey was conducted. The questionnaire was developed after a detailed validation process and circulated via Google forms. The questionnaire had three parts. First part asked for demographic details. Second part had 22 statements in four domains to evaluate the quality of training, which were to be answered based on a five-point Likert scale. The third part asked for the suggestions of the trainees on changes to be made for the improvement in quality of their training. RESULTS: The response rate was 64%. The social atmosphere was perceived positively in general by our PGs. Majority of them received feedback on their work and had a regular class schedule. Only 34% of the residents got training in non-technical skills. More tutorials and case discussions were the most common change suggested by the residents. Lack of research training and training in simulation labs were the major lacunae identified. CONCLUSION: The clinical learning environment (CLE) was perceived to be of medium to high quality by the anaesthesiology PGs of Kerala. Lack of routine assessments and regular academic sessions were reflected in the responses.

Current transfusion practices of anesthesiologists in a major city in South India.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Allogenic blood transfusion is a double edged sword with a delicate balance between benefits and risks. There is heavy use of blood products in the perioperative setting mostly initiated by anesthesiologists. Limited research has been done in evaluating the transfusion practices of anesthesiologists especially in Indian setting. We conducted a survey among the anesthesiologists in our city to assess their blood transfusion practices, to evaluate the level of adherence to principles of Patient Blood Management and to look for innovative strategies to improve the perioperative transfusions. METHODS: A validated questionnaire with four sets of questions was distributed among the practitioners in the Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists city branch and the responses were collected and analysed. The first and second parts were structured to assess the current blood transfusion practices. The third part evaluated the keenness of participants in further updating their practices as per the recommended protocols of patient blood management. The last part assessed how the participants would act in a given clinical scenario. Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 21. Results are expressed in numbers and percentages. RESULTS: Moderate preoperative anemia was acceptable to majority of the responders. There was a high demand for continuing medical education in transfusion medicine and for formulating Indian guidelines for perioperative transfusion. The clinical scenarios demonstrated the restrictive transfusion strategy of the majority of our anesthesiologists. The lack of institutional protocols and blood transfusion committees was also seen. CONCLUSION: The restrictive strategy of our practitioners was an encouraging finding. There is lack of uniformity in patient blood management services. Regular educational interventions are needed to update the clinicians. Formulation and implementation of institutional protocols for perioperative blood transfusion is mandatory.

Epidural blood patch for spontaneous intracranial hypotension.

A 32-year-old woman presented to the neurology department with complaints of holocranial headache of 1-month duration, which was getting worse on sitting up and standing. Headache was not relieved with analgesics but on lying down. A provisional diagnosis of spontaneous intracranial hypotension was considered, which was confirmed by the findings on magnetic resonance imaging. She was given an epidural blood patch, which relieved her symptoms.

Anesthesia for Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy in Children.

Neuroendoscopy has established itself as a routine neurosurgical procedure in pediatric population. To have an uneventful smooth perioperative course, it is important for anesthesiologist to know about the key steps, possible complications, and specific anesthetic requirements. Among neuroendoscopies, endoscopic third ventriculostomy is the commonly performed one.

Stellate Ganglion Block as Rescue Therapy in Refractory Ventricular Tachycardia.

Pain physicians and anesthesiologists routinely perform stellate ganglion block for the treatment of painful upper extremity sympathetic dystrophy. Close proximity of ganglion to vascular structures warrants some expertise and training in the procedure. Off late, successful use of the technique in intractable ventricular tachyarrhythmias has come in literature. We have few cases wherein we could successfully ablate intractable ventricular tachycardia with stellate block which was refractory to repeated shocks. We are reporting one such case with the intention of making an awareness in the anesthesia community about this treatment option.

Anesthesia for bench surgery.

Surgical removal of the kidney tumor outside the body, (ex vivo renal bench surgery) followed by auto transplantation is an emerging and often done procedure to reconstruct the urinary tract. It possesses immense challenges to both the anesthesiologists and the surgeons. The risks are multiplied if you are performing the surgery on a solitary functioning kidney. Here, we are describing the anesthetic management of 70-year-old male post nephrectomy patient undergoing renal auto transplantation by bench surgery. Our primary goals for perioperative management were to maintain a stable hemodynamics throughout the procedure, to reduce fluid overload during the period of extracorporeal surgery, to maintain perfusion for the transplanted solitary kidney, to control bleeding to a minimum, and to provide adequate analgesia for the patient. We made use of a balanced anesthetic technique and stringent monitoring standards to bring forth a successful outcome for the patient. At the end of his hospital stay, patient went home with a healthy, normally functioning kidney.

Anaesthesia for children with bronchial asthma and respiratory infections.

Asthma represents one of the most common chronic diseases in children with an increasing incidence reported worldwide. The key to successful anaesthetic outcome involves thorough pre-operative assessment and optimisation of the child's pulmonary status. Judicious application of proper anti-inflammatory and bronchodilatory regimes should be instituted as part of pre-operative preparation. Bronchospasm triggering agents should be carefully probed and meticulously avoided. A calm and properly sedated child at the time of induction is ideal, so also is extubation in a deep plane with an unobstructed airway. Wherever possible, regional anaesthesia should be employed. This will avoid airway manipulations, with additional benefit of excellent peri-operative analgesia. Agents with a potential for histamine release and techniques that can increase airway resistance should be diligently avoided. Emphasis must be given to proper post-operative care including respiratory monitoring, analgesia and breathing exercises.

Current practice of difficult airway management: A survey.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Difficult airway (DA) management depends on both training and actual usage of the various approaches in the event of difficulty. The aim of the study was to assess how well the anaesthesiologists are equipped to deal with DA situations. The current practice preference of DA management was also assessed. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed in a continuing medical education (CME) programme dedicated to DA and responses were noted and analysed, using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18. RESULTS: The response rate was 73%. Airway assessment was performed by majority. Sixty eight percent consultants and 47% residents were well aware of the American Society of Anesthesiologists' DA algorithm. 67% consultants and 65% residents attended at least one CME on DA in the previous 5 years. There was an overall deficiency of video laryngoscopes, retrograde intubation and cricothyrotomy sets. Most of the respondents were comfortable in using supraglottic airway devices (SGADs). In anticipated DA, the preferred choice of management for junior doctors was attempting conventional method once and awake fibreoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) for the experienced. In unanticipated DA, most of the residents and consultants opted for SGAD. Extubation strategy was similar for both. Thirty four percent of respondents experienced a 'cannot intubate-cannot ventilate' situation at least once. CONCLUSION: Our survey showed that most respondents performed routine pre-operative airway assessment. A good armamentarium of airway gadgets should be made available in hospitals. Further training in techniques like video laryngoscopy, FOB or cricothyrotomy are essential.

Anaesthetic management of severe hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy with bronchial asthma for emergency caesarean section.

A 39-year-old primi and a known case of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy presented for emergency lower segment caesarean section. She was also an asthmatic with a recent exacerbation. She underwent uneventful lower segment caesarean section under general anaesthesia with lumbar epidural analgesia for postoperative pain relief. Anaesthetic agents and techniques were selected to suit the haemodynamic profile of severe hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy in pregnancy. The case has been reported because of successful outcome in an emergency scenario with such high intraventricular gradients and omissions in the case so that it will be of benefit to readers who may happen to land up in similar situations.