Laparoscopic Rectopexy in a Patient With Pulmonary Hypertension Associated With Scleroderma: A Case Report.

We report the perioperative management of a patient with pulmonary hypertension under new-generation treatments who underwent laparoscopic surgery. Preoperatively, arterial catheter, central venous line, and transesophageal echocardiography probe were inserted in addition to standard monitoring. Intraoperatively, inhaled nitric oxide was used because of increasing pressure in the right heart chambers related to the Trendelenburg position and the pneumoperitoneum. The operation finally lasted <2 hours without complication. The prognosis of patients with pulmonary hypertension has evolved since the advent of new management strategies. Thorough preoperative assessment and multidisciplinary discussion in a referral center are essential for medical optimization.

The ability of pleth variability index to predict the hemodynamic effects of positive end-expiratory pressure in mechanically ventilated patients under general anesthesia.

BACKGROUND: Pleth variability index (PVI) is a new algorithm allowing automated and continuous monitoring of respiratory variations in the pulse oximetry plethysmographic waveform amplitude. PVI can predict fluid responsiveness noninvasively in mechanically ventilated patients during general anesthesia. We hypothesized that PVI could predict the hemodynamic effects of 10 cm H2O positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). METHODS: We studied 21 mechanically ventilated and sedated patients in the postoperative period after coronary artery bypass grafting. Patients were monitored with a pulmonary artery catheter and a pulse oximeter sensor attached to the index finger. Hemodynamic data (cardiac index [CI], PVI, pulse pressure variation, central venous pressure) were recorded at 3 successive tidal volumes (V(T)) (6, 8, and 10 mL/kg body weight) during zero end-expiratory pressure (ZEEP) and then after addition of a 10 cm H2O PEEP for each V(t). Hemodynamically unstable patients were defined as those with a >15% decrease in CI after the addition of PEEP. RESULTS: PEEP induced changes in CI and PVI for V(t) of 8 and 10 mL/kg. Hemodynamic instability occurred in 5 patients for a V(T) of 6 mL/kg, in 6 patients for a V(T) of 8 mL/kg, and in 9 patients for a V(T) of 10 mL/kg. For V(T) of 8 mL/kg, a PVI threshold value of 12% during ZEEP predicted hemodynamic instability with a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 80% (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.806; P = 0.03). For V(T) of 10 mL/kg, a PVI threshold value of 13% during ZEEP predicted hemodynamic instability with a sensitivity of 78% and a specificity of 83% (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.829; P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: PVI may be useful in automatically and noninvasively detecting the hemodynamic effects of PEEP when V(T) is >8 mL/kg in ventilated and sedated patients with acceptable sensitivity and specificity.

The ability of stroke volume variations obtained with Vigileo/FloTrac system to monitor fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory variations in arterial pulse pressure (DeltaPP) are accurate predictors of fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients. The aim of our study was to assess the ability of a novel algorithm for automatic estimation of stroke volume variation (SVV) to predict fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients. METHODS: We studied 25 patients referred for coronary artery bypass grafting. SVV was continuously displayed by the Vigileo/FloTrac system. All patients were under general anesthesia, mechanical ventilation and were also monitored with a pulmonary artery catheter. SVV and DeltaPP were recorded simultaneously before and after an intravascular volume expansion (VE) (500 mL hetastarch). Responders to VE were defined as patients whose cardiac index obtained using thermodilution increased by more than 15% after VE. RESULTS: Agreement between DeltaPP and SVV over the 50 pairs of collected data was -1.3% +/- 2.8% (mean bias +/- sd). Seventeen patients were responders to VE. A threshold DeltaPP value of 10% allowed discrimination of responders to VE with a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 87%. A threshold SVV value of 10% allowed discrimination of responders to VE with a sensitivity of 82% and a specificity of 88%. CONCLUSION: SVV predicts fluid responsiveness with an acceptable sensitivity and specificity and is also a potential surrogate for continuous monitoring of DeltaPP.