DIAGNOSTIC BRONCHOSCOPY FOR EVALUATION OF CONGENITAL STRIDOR:A CASE SERIES

Introduction: Stridor is a noise mechanically produced through partially occluded airway. Airway obstruction may be extrathoracic or intrathoracic. Stridor may be congenital or acquired. Timing in respiratory cycle determines anatomic location of lesion – inspiratory, biphasic, or expiratory. Gold standard for diagnosis is bronchoscopy which requires general anaesthesia in infants and small children. Major anaesthetic concerns are – possible difficult airway, sharing of an already compromised airway, airway oedema. Case Description: 40 infants, 0 - 6 months age, with history of noisy breathing suggestive of congenital stridor, planned for diagnostic rigid bronchoscopy with or without therapeutic procedure, over one year period. Preoperative treatment – humidified oxygen, nebulization, dexamethasone, antibiotics, anti-reflux medication. Not premedicated, standard monitors applied. Induction of anaesthesia with inhalational oxygen and sevoflurane or intravenous propofol, fentanyl 1 mcg/kg, dexamethasone 0.5 mg/kg. Topical lidocaine 2% sprayed at vocal cords. 100% oxygen with propofol infusion for maintenance with spontaneous ventilation via nasopharyngeal airway. Patients requiring surgical intervention intubated using microcuffed endotracheal tube. Patients observed post-operatively. If ventilation was inadequate, intubated to control airway during recovery, extubated on restoration of spontaneous ventilation. After surgical intervention, babies shifted to ICU for elective ventilation for 48 hours. Discussion: On bronchoscopy, laryngomalacia was the finding in majority of cases. Others had subglottic stenosis, tracheomalacia, vocal-cord paresis, laryngeal cyst. Out of 40 patients, 9 underwent therapeutic procedure and were electively ventilated, 26 resumed spontaneous breathing, 2 patients had delayed recovery and 2 had severe chest retractions and desaturations and they were managed accordingly. One baby aged 6 months diagnosed with grade III subglottic stenosis desaturatedand tracheostomy had to be done. Conclusion:Anaesthesia for rigid diagnostic bronchoscopy is a significant challenge. Rigid bronchoscopy under general anaesthesia requires multidisciplinary approach and close cooperation between all team members.

BRONCHOSCOPIC BALLOON DILATATION COMBINED WITH ELECTRIC CAUTERIZATION OF TRACHEAL STENOSIS UNDER CONSCIOUS SEDATION: A CASE REPORT

Post intubation tracheal stenosis remains the most common indication of tracheal resection and reconstruction. It can cause respiratory symptoms that can often be misdiagnosed as obstructive lung disease. Various treatment modalities are available. As ofce-based procedures have been common, awake or mildly sedated endoscopic procedures with spontaneous ventilation are now being performed by exible bronchoscopy. We report a case involving a 45-year-old male who presented with dyspnea and stridor from 15 days. Patient had past history of intubation and icu stay one month back. After proper topicalization of upper airway of the patient, electric cauterization and balloon dilation was performed by exible bronchoscope under conscious sedation and spontaneous ventilation. Conscious sedation was achieved by graded doses of propofol and fentanyl. Post-operative period was uneventful, and patient didn’t describe any discomfort. Improvement in symptoms were reported. Endoscopic procedures for tracheal pathology under conscious sedation seems to be feasible and safe procedure.

Subxiphoid Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery for Lung Resection Under Spontaneous Ventilation: Case Report

This case report describes two patients that underwent successful video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lung resections under spontaneous ventilation using the uniportal subxiphoid approach. The authors performed lung wedge resection in both patients under local anesthesia without using of a Foley catheter, arterial line, or intercostal chest drain. Only intravenous drugs and an oxygen mask with reservoir bag were used. The postsurgical course for both patients was uneventful. Both were discharged on postoperative day 2 and were doing well at 1- and 3-month follow-ups. Keywords: Subxiphoid approach; Pulmonary resection; Lung cancer

Mediastinal Masses, Anesthetic Interventions, and Airway Compression in Adults: A Prospective Observational Study

Background Central airway occlusion is a feared complication of general anesthesia in patients with mediastinal masses. Maintenance of spontaneous ventilation and avoiding neuromuscular blockade are recommended to reduce this risk. Physiologic arguments supporting these recommendations are controversial and direct evidence is lacking. The authors hypothesized that, in adult patients with moderate to severe mediastinal mass–mediated tracheobronchial compression, anesthetic interventions including positive pressure ventilation and neuromuscular blockade could be instituted without compromising central airway patency. Methods Seventeen adult patients with large mediastinal masses requiring general anesthesia underwent awake intubation followed by continuous video bronchoscopy recordings of the compromised portion of the airway during staged induction. Assessments of changes in anterior–posterior airway diameter relative to baseline (awake, spontaneous ventilation) were performed using the following patency scores: unchanged = 0; 25 to 50% larger = +1; more than 50% larger = +2; 25 to 50% smaller = −1; more than 50% smaller = −2. Assessments were made by seven experienced bronchoscopists in side-by-side blinded and scrambled comparisons between (1) baseline awake, spontaneous breathing; (2) anesthetized with spontaneous ventilation; (3) anesthetized with positive pressure ventilation; and (4) anesthetized with positive pressure ventilation and neuromuscular blockade. Tidal volumes, respiratory rate, and inspiratory/expiratory ratio were similar between phases. Results No significant change from baseline was observed in the mean airway patency scores after the induction of general anesthesia (0 [95% CI, 0 to 0]; P = 0.953). The mean airway patency score increased with the addition of positive pressure ventilation (0 [95% CI, 0 to 1]; P = 0.024) and neuromuscular blockade (1 [95% CI, 0 to 1]; P < 0.001). No patient suffered airway collapse or difficult ventilation during any anesthetic phase. Conclusions These observations suggest a need to reassess prevailing assumptions regarding positive pressure ventilation and/or paralysis and mediastinal mass–mediated airway collapse, but do not prove that conventional (nonstaged) inductions are safe for such patients. Editor’s Perspective What We Already Know about This Topic What This Article Tells Us That Is New

Phrenic nerve block during nonintubated video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: a single-centre, double-blind, randomized controlled trial

There has been interest in the use of nonintubated techniques for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in both awake and sedated patients. The authors’ centre developed a nonintubated technique with spontaneous ventilation for use in a patient under general anaesthesia using a phrenic nerve block. This treatment was compared with a case-matched control group. The authors believe that this technique is beneficial for optimizing anaesthesia for patients undergoing VATS. The patients were randomly allocated (1:1) to the phrenic nerve block (PNB) group and the control group. Both groups of patients received a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) that was inserted after anaesthetic induction, which permitted spontaneous ventilation and local anaesthesia in the forms of a paravertebral nerve block, a PNB and a vagal nerve block. However, the patients in the PNB group underwent procedures with 2% lidocaine, whereas saline was used in the control group. The primary outcome included the propofol doses. Secondary outcomes included the number of propofol boluses, systolic blood pressure (SBP), pH values of arterial blood gas and lactate (LAC), length of LMA pulled out, length of hospital stay (length of time from the operation to the time of discharge) and complications after 1 month. Intraoperatively, there were increases in lactate (F = 12.31, P = 0.001) in the PNB group. There was less propofol (49.20 ± 8.73 vs. 57.20 ± 4.12, P = 0.000), fewer propofol boluses (P = 0.002), a lower pH of arterial blood gas (F = 7.98, P = 0.006) and shorter hospital stays (4.10 ± 1.39 vs. 5.40 ± 1.22, P = 0.000) in the PNB group. There were no statistically significant differences in the length of the LMA pulled out, SBP or complications after 1 month between the groups. PNB optimizes the anaesthesia of nonintubated VATS.

Cardiorespiratory Parameters in Intermittent Positive Pressure Ventilation Versus Spontaneous Ventilation in Under One-Year-Old Pediatrics: A Randomized Trial

Background: Cardiac catheterization is a useful method for determining the anatomy and pressure in cardiac vessels and chambers. The use of anesthesia methods with minimal hemodynamic and respiratory effects can increase diagnostic accuracy. Objectives: Since there are a few exclusive pediatric angiography centers, scarce studies have been done in this area. Accordingly, this study determined the effects of intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) versus spontaneous ventilation on cardiorespiratory parameters in less than one-year-old pediatric patients undergoing angiography with general anesthesia. Methods: In this interventional study that was performed as a double-blind, randomized clinical trial, 60 children younger than one year were enrolled. The pulmonary, renal, hepatic, and metabolic background diseases, previous cardiac and thoracic surgery, requiring over two ketamine doses, and receiving sedative or anti-convulsant therapeutics were excluded. The patients were randomly assigned to two groups, including IPPV and spontaneous ventilation. Their vital signs were also recorded before and after anesthesia induction and needling, as well as during measurements of pulmonary parameters and systemic blood pressure. All measurements were done by a single operator using the same device for each variable. Results: It was seen that SPO2, as well as PCO2 after anesthesia had significant alterations among the study variables. Nausea and vomiting, pain, and agitation were not different across the groups (P-value > 0.05). Conclusions: In this study, we found that IPPV and spontaneous ventilation have the same effects on respiration. Both techniques can be used in children with different cardiovascular catheterization conditions to increase accuracy and reduce alterations in cardiopulmonary parameters.

Comparison of Midazolam and Dexmedetomidine for sedation in Postoperative intubated patients of head and neck surgery on spontaneous ventilation in Intensive care unit

Introduction: Sedation is important in the care of the critically ill and postoperative patients. Amount of drug and duration for which it is given, is important in determining patient outcome. Aim: Study aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of injection midazolam and injection dexmedetomidine for sedation in postoperative patients of oromaxillofacial surgery with endotracheal tube in-situ, on spontaneous ventilation in ICU. Methodology: This prospective, randomized, comparative study was conducted on 60 patients undergoing oromaxillofacial surgery who were randomized in two groups of 30 patients each. Group D received injection demedetomidine loading dose of 1μg/kg over 15 minutes, followed by infusion at the rate of 0.2-0.7µg/kg/hr (microgram/kilogram/hour) and Group M received injection midazolam loading dose of 0.05mg/kg over 15 minutes followed by maintenance infusion at the rate of 0.02-0.06mg/kg/hr (milligram/kilogram/hour). The monitored indices included heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, respiratory rate, SpO2 and Ramsay sedation score at the start of sedation when the Ramsay sedation score (RSS) was I and time to extubation after stopping sedation. Results: Target sedation range was achieved in a mean duration of 10.36 ± 3.05 minutes in dexmedetomidine group and that in midazolam group was 7.43±2.06 minutes. Highest value of RSS score in dexmedetomidine group was 2.43±0.50, which was observed at the 4th and 10th hour whereas in midazolam group it was 2.83±0.38 which was observed at 6th hour of the study period. Total dose of rescue analgesic required was more in midazolam group as compared to the dexmedetomidine group. The mean duration of extubation after cessation of sedation was 33.27±11.37 minutes in dexmedetomidine group and 49.43±5.58 minutes in midazolam group. Conclusion: Injection dexmedetomidine is better as compared to injection midazolam for postoperative sedation.