Evaluation of the difficulty of peripheral venous cannulation during anesthesia induction in children: Is DIVA score sufficient?

Background: The primary objective of the present study was to determine the rate and the independent predictors of the difficult peripheral intravascular access (PIVA) in the operating room (OR). The secondary objective was to validate the ability of the difficult intravenous access (DIVA) scoring system in the detection of difficult PIVA in the operating room. Methods: In this prospective observational study, patients between 0 and 18 years old who were operated in the pediatric hospital were evaluated. Peripheral intravenous cannulation performed during inhalation induction in 1008 patients were recorded. The following data were collected: demographic characteristics, the presence of a chronic disease, the DIVA score, operating room temperature, the area of PIVA application, the duration of PIVA and the number of PIVA attempts. The independent determinants of the difficult PIVA were determined with multivariate logistic regression. Results: A total of 1008 patients (82% boys) with a median age of 4 (range 0.04–17 years) were included in the study. The median number of PIVA attempts was 1 whereas the median duration for successful PIVA was 15 s (range 4–2100). PIVA was successful at the first attempt in 75.3% of patients. Among patients who required more than two PIVA attempts, the most common adjunctive method was to seek help from another operator (80.8%). In the multivariable logistic regression model, only the presence of chronic disease, being underweight, and DIVA score ⩾4 (OR 6.355, CI 4.57–9.486) remained to be the significant determinants of difficult PIVA. Conclusion: The success rate of anesthesiologist-performed PIVA at the first attempt in the OR was 75.3%. Having a chronic disease, a DIVA score ⩾4 and being underweight appeared as the independent predictors for difficult PIVA.

A Comparative Study of Intramuscular Alfaxalone- or Ketamine-Based Anesthetic Mixtures in Gray Squirrels Undergoing Gonadectomy: Clinical and Physiologic Findings

The gray squirrel is one of the most common invasive species in Europe, whose presence is dangerous for the survival of the European red squirrel. To cope with this biological invasion and to safeguard biodiversity, the LIFE+U-SAVEREDS project aims to protect the red squirrel, by limiting the growth of the current population of gray squirrels and simultaneously promoting their eradication with surgical sterilization. This study compares two different anesthetic protocols, including dexmedetomidine (40 µg/kg) and midazolam (0.3 mg/kg) associated with ketamine (15 mg/kg; n = 25 squirrels) or alfaxalone (5 mg/kg; n = 22 squirrels). A blinded investigator evaluated the quality and onset of sedation, intraoperative anesthesia, and recovery, as well as the physiologic parameters for each animal. Alfaxalone provided a good quality of anesthesia with limited cardiovascular effects (p < 0.05) and good intraoperative myorelaxation. Ketamine induced complete relaxation in a shorter time (p < 0.05) and a rapid (p < 0.001) and excellent (p < 0.05) recovery. Despite the overall superiority of ketamine, alfaxalone appeared to be an adequate alternative anesthetic drug that can be administered without requiring intravascular access. It should be rapidly metabolized and excreted; however, it requires the combination of longer acting sedatives/myorelaxants to prevent a poor recovery quality.