Ocular Motor Palsy After Spinal Puncture.

Ocular motor palsy is a rare but alarming complication of subarachnoid puncture. In order to better understand this condition, a literature search was performed in English of PubMed articles for cranial nerves III, IV, and VI palsies after spinal puncture. Sixty-five articles (dated 1930-2015) were identified, and 114 cases were obtained for analysis. Subarachnoid anesthesia was the most frequent cause (45.6%), with a higher incidence for females than males. The age of patients was 40.24 ± 13.35 years (age range, 6-71 years). The sixth cranial nerve was the most commonly involved (92.1%), with higher frequency in the right eye. Palsy onset started 7.30 ± 4.09 days after puncture. Duration in reversible cases was 80.10 ± 80.67 days. Paresia was permanent in 13 patients, but only 2 patients required extraocular muscle surgery. Treatments included the horizontal position along with analgesics, fluid therapy, and corticosteroids. The usefulness of blood patch remains controversial. It is important for anesthesiologists and other physicians to recognize the cardinal features of this process to ensure early diagnosis, avoid unnecessary tests, and guide appropriate treatment.

Blocking the rectus sheath guided by ultrasound in an 8-year-old patient with cystic fibrosis: reporting a case.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a severe disease that is transmitted with an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern, and is the commonest disease among Caucasian populations (1/2,500). There are many clinical manifestations that derive from its multiorgan dysfunctions, mainly in the respiratory and digestive tract. In addition, lung disease injury is principally responsible for morbidity and mortality in CF patients. Blocking the rectus sheath, first described by Schleich in 1899, is a loco-regional technique that provides adequate analgesia in those surgical procedures with midline or umbilical incisions.

Spinal anesthesia for knee arthroscopy using isobaric bupivacaine and levobupivacaine: anesthetic and neuroophthalmological assessment.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study was to compare the sensory, motor, and neuroophthalmological effects of isobaric levobupivacaine and bupivacaine when intrathecally administered. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective, double-blind, randomized study with 60 ASA grade I-II patients aged 18-65 years awaiting knee arthroscopy under spinal anesthesia. Patients received 12.5 mg of isobaric bupivacaine or levobupivacaine. Several features were recorded. RESULTS: No significant intergroup differences were observed for ASA classification, time to micturate, demographic data, surgery duration, and patient/surgeon satisfaction. Similar hemodynamic parameters and sensory/motor blockade duration were found for both groups. There were no neuroophthalmological effects in either group. Sensory (P = 0.018) and motor blockade onset (P = 0.003) was faster in the bupivacaine group. T6 (T2-T12) and T3 (T2-T12) were the highest sensory block levels for the levobupivacaine and bupivacaine groups, respectively (P = 0.008). It took less time to regain maximum motor blockade in the bupivacaine group (P = 0.014), and the levobupivacaine group required use of analgesia earlier (P = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: Isobaric bupivacaine and levobupivacaine are analogous and well-tolerated anesthetics for knee arthroscopy. However, for bupivacaine, sensory and motor blockade onset was faster, and greater sensory blockade with a longer postoperative painless period was achieved.

Bispectral index variations in patients with neurological deficits during awake carotid endarterectomy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The bispectral index (BIS) is derived from the EEG and therefore may be useful to diagnose intraoperative cerebral ischaemia. This study was undertaken to investigate BIS changes in awake patients with and without neurological deficits during carotid endarterectomy under regional anaesthesia. METHODS: Seventy consecutive carotid endarterectomies under regional anaesthesia were divided into two surgical groups: patients with and patients without neurological deficits. Patients' neurological status was evaluated and neurological deficits were compared with BIS values. Measurements were made at different surgical stages: baseline, after sedation, at the beginning of surgery, at preclamping, at the 3 min clamping test, during shunt insertion, at declamping, 15 min after declamping and at the end of surgery. We performed intergroup and intragroup comparisons of BIS values. A decrease in BIS of at least 10 associated with neurological deficits was taken as the cut-off point for the classification of patients with logistic regression models (crude and adjusted for potential confounders). RESULTS: Thirteen patients (18.6% of the total) developed clinical cerebral ischaemia, though BIS values decreased in 10 of these patients (76.9%). The mean BIS values were 92.5+/-5.6 and 84.7+/-12.3 for patients without and with neurological deficits, respectively (P value<0.05). The odds ratios of a BIS decrease associated with neurological deficits were 8.5 (95% confidence interval 2.1-35.1) and 5.4 (95% confidence interval 1.2-24.3) adjusted for contralateral stenosis. CONCLUSION: Our results describe a relationship between BIS reductions and neurological deficits during carotid surgery in awake patients.