Acute respiratory failure secondary to a cervical goitre in a pregnant woman: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy constitutes a significant factor in thyroid hypertrophy and can rarely progress to respiratory distress. We describe case of pregnant woman with acute respiratory distress following a tracheal compression due to goiter, quickly resulting in respiratory arrest, requiring emergency orotracheal intubation and thyroidectomy. CASE PRESENTATION: A pregnant woman with a growing goiter was referred to the hospital with a respiratory difficulty. During the examination, we found a large homogeneous goiter. The patient showed signs of respiratory exhaustion with bradypnea and pulmonary auscultation revealing decreased ventilation of the two pulmonary fields. The evolution quick led to respiratory arrest. The patient was rapidly intubated, which saved her. A thoracic computed tomography was performed and revealed a large goiter, compressing the trachea in its thoracic area and oppressing the vascular structures. Obstetrical ultrasound was normal. Thyroidectomy was decided after the patient's preparation. After 24 h, the patient was successfully extubated without incident and the postoperative period was uneventful. CONCLUSION: Airway obstruction during pregnancy secondary to goiter is rare but can be fatal. Early diagnosis might have avoided the evolution towards the respiratory failure. Prevention requires early surgery preferably before pregnancy or in our case a surgery in the second trimester.

Erector spinae plane block for rescue analgesia following caesarean delivery.

Pain after caesarean section is still a common and important source of patient dissatisfaction in many obstetric centres. With intrathecal morphine combined with multimodal analgesia, approximately 5­10% of patients experience severe breakthrough pain after caesarean delivery that is difficult to manage [1]. Planned erector spinae plane (ESP) block can result in excellent postoperative analgesia associated with high patient satisfaction after caesarean delivery [2, 3]. However, the role of this block for rescue analgesia following caesarean section has never been described. We present a case in which bilateral ESP block was used as rescue analgesia in a woman who had severe postoperative pain following elective caesarean delivery under spinal anaesthesia combined with multimodal analgesia. The patient described in this case gave written consent for publication of this observation.

Salbutamol-induced severe lactic acidosis in acute asthma.

Selective beta-adrenoceptor agonists are worldwide prescribed to manage bronchial obstruction. However, they expose to a potential risk of hyperlactatemia and lactic acidosis even with normal doses. The mechanism still poorly understood and suggested that salbutamol diverts the metabolism of pyruvate acid from Krebs cycle toward lactate formation. We report the case of a 42-year-old patient, admitted to intensive care unit for acute severe asthma. He presented a transient lactic acidosis over the first 48 h, following an excessive use of salbutamol. The metabolic acidosis caused tachypnea, as a compensatory mechanism, leading to respiratory failure. The diagnosis of salbutamol-induced lactic acidosis must be made by elimination and only accepted after deleting the other causes. The main clinical character is the worsening of dyspnea despite regression of bronchospasm. It is transient and usually normalizes within 24-48 h after stopping or decreasing doses of salbutamol.

[Combined lumbar plexus-sciatic nerve block in the emergency surgery for pertrochanteric fracture: an alternative technique in patients at high risk of anaesthetic complications]. / Bibloc lombaire et sciatique plexique pour la chirurgie urgente des fractures pertrochantériennes: une technique alternative chez les patients à haut risque anesthésique.

INTRODUCTION: emergency surgery for pertrochanteric femoral fractures (PFF) in patients at high risk of anaesthetic complications is a real challenge for surgeons due to the increased intraoperative risk. We report our experience with combined lumbar plexus-sciatic nerve block as an alternative anesthetic technique for these fractures. METHODS: we conducted a three-year descriptive, single-center, cross-sectional study including patients with a history of recent pertrochanteric femoral fractures (PFF) at high risk anaesthetic complications. Combined lumbar plexus-sciatic nerve block was performed using the common neurostimulation technique. A mixture of 20ml of lidocaine 2% and bupivacaine 0.5% (50/50) was injected into each block. The primary endpoint was the effectiveness of lumbar plexus-sciatic nerve block assessed through the rates from anesthesia-related failures defined as need for conversion into general anaesthesia (GA). The secondary endpoints were: 1) anesthetic technique, 2) intraoperative hemodynamic, respiratory and neurological impairment, and 3) outcomes and potential postoperative complications. RESULTS: the study included 30 patients. The average age of patients was 74 ± 10 years. The average admission time in the Department of Emergency Surgery was 12(5-36) hours. The average duration of the procedure was 15.20 ± 3.45 minutes. No conversion into GA was necessary. There were no statistically significant differences between the various recorded intraoperative hemodynamic and respiratory parameters (MAP, HR, SpO2) (p > 0,05). Surgical procedure duration was 46 ± 5 minutes. Surgical satisfaction was 9.7 ± 0.1. The first post-operative analgesic treatment was started after 8(1-24) hours. All patients had complete sensorimotor recovery. CONCLUSION: combined lumbar plexus-sciatic nerve block is an anesthetic alternative for urgent PFF surgery in patients at high risk of anaesthetic complications: reduced operative delays, anesthetic efficiency, hemodynamic and intraoperative respiratory stability, absence of complications due to other anesthetic techniques, rapid admission to recovery room, and good postoperative analgesia.