Comparison of patients with and without intellectual disability under general anesthesia: A retrospective study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We analyzed and retrospectively compared patients with and without intellectual disability (ID) who underwent oral surgery under general anesthesia at Istanbul University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of General Anesthesia, between October 2012 and June 2013 with regard to the following categories: Demographic features, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification, Mallampati score, type of anesthetic drug used during the operation, type of intubation used, any difficulties with tracheal intubation, presence of systemic diseases, and recovery times after ending general anesthesia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 348 patients were selected from the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and the Department of Pedodontics who underwent surgery with general anesthesia. Medical histories of all patients were taken, and their electrocardiography, chest X-rays, complete blood count, and blood clotting tests were checked during a preoperative assessment. Mallampati evaluations were also performed. Patients were grouped into ASA I, II, or III according to the ASA classification and were treated under general anesthesia. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between normal and intellectually disabled patients in terms of gender, Mallampati scores, intubation difficulties, mean anesthetic period, time to discharge, or postoperative nausea and vomiting. Epilepsy and genetic diseases in intellectually disabled patients were significantly more common than in non-ID (NID) patients. However, the frequency of diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in NID patients was significantly higher than in the intellectually disabled patients. CONCLUSION: Dental treatment of intellectually disabled patients under general anesthesia can be performed just as safely as that with NID patients.

Effects of Different Local Anaesthetics on Oto-acoustic Emission Tests after Spinal Anaesthesia.

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether there is any effect of different local anaesthetic agents on hearing loss after spinal anaesthesia. METHODS: Thirty American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I patients without a hearing problem were included in the study. Transient evoked oto-acoustic emissions (TEOAE) were examined. Patients were randomly separated into two groups: Group L, 15 mg isobaric levobupivacaine application and Group B, 15 mg isobaric bupivacaine application, for spinal anaesthesia. Oto-acoustic emission measurements were repeated on patients at the 24th hour after spinal anaesthesia application. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in the output values of the right and left ears according to the input values in group L at no kHz (p > 0.05). No significant difference was found in the output values of the right and left ears according to the input values in any kHz of Group B (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Fifteen milligrammes of isobaric bupivacaine and levobupivacaine had no significant difference on the effect of hearing loss after spinal anaesthesia. Hearing loss after spinal anaesthesia has many unknown issues, and deserves to be explored by performing many studies.

Comparison of transcutaneous, arterial and end-tidal measurements of carbon dioxide during laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVE: Transcutaneous, arterial and end-tidal measurements of carbon dioxide were compared in patients (American Society of Anesthesiology physical status classes II and III) with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy with carbon dioxide insufflation. METHODS: General anaesthesia was performed in all patients. The Sentec(®) system was used for transcutaneous monitoring of the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (TcPCO(2)). TcPCO(2) and arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO(2)) were recorded preoperatively, after induction of anaesthesia, during insufflation and postoperatively; end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO(2)) was recorded after induction and during insufflation. RESULTS: PaCO(2) increased during insufflation and reached a maximum at extubation. It declined within 20 min postoperatively but did not return to preoperative levels during this time. TcPCO(2) levels followed a similar pattern. ETCO(2) was significantly lower than PaCO(2) after induction and during insufflation. CONCLUSION: TcPCO(2) was a valid and practical measurement compared with ETCO(2). In patients with COPD undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, TcPCO(2) and ETCO(2) could be used instead of arterial blood gas sampling.