Use Of Thoracic Epidural Anesthesia Research Articles

Sympathetic Denervation for Treatment of Ventricular Arrhythmias

Ventricular arrhythmias are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with heart disease. A growing understanding of the cardiac autonomic nervous system's crucial role in the pathogenesis of ventricular arrhythmias has led to the development of several neuromodulation therapies. Sympathetic neuromodulation is being increasingly utilized to treat ventricular arrhythmias refractory to medical therapy and catheter ablation. There is a growing body of preclinical and clinical evidence supporting the use of thoracic epidural anesthesia, stellate ganglion blockade, cardiac sympathetic denervation, and renal denervation in the treatment of recurrent ventricular arrhythmias. This review summarizes the relevant literature and discusses approaches to sympathetic neuromodulation, particularly in the management of scar-related ventricular arrhythmias.

Effects of Thoracic Epidural Anesthesia on Neuronal Cardiac Regulation and Cardiac Function

Cardiac sympathetic blockade with high-thoracic epidural anesthesia is considered beneficial in patients undergoing major surgery because it offers protection in ischemic heart disease. Major outcome studies have failed to confirm such a benefit, however. In fact, there is growing concern about potential harm associated with the use of thoracic epidural anesthesia in high-risk patients, although underlying mechanisms have not been identified. Since the latest review on this subject, a number of clinical and experimental studies have provided new information on the complex interaction between thoracic epidural anesthesia-induced sympatholysis and cardiovascular control mechanisms. Perhaps these new insights may help identify conditions in which benefits of thoracic epidural anesthesia may not outweigh potential risks. For example, cardiac sympathectomy with high-thoracic epidural anesthesia decreases right ventricular function and attenuates its capacity to cope with increased right ventricular afterload. Although the clinical significance of this pathophysiologic interaction is unknown at present, it identifies a subgroup of patients with established or pending pulmonary hypertension for whom outcome studies are needed. Other new areas of interest include the impact of thoracic epidural anesthesia-induced sympatholysis on cardiovascular control in conditions associated with increased sympathetic tone, surgical stress, and hemodynamic disruption. It was considered appropriate to collect and analyze all recent scientific information on this subject to provide a comprehensive update on the cardiovascular effects of high-thoracic epidural anesthesia and cardiac sympathectomy in healthy and diseased patients.This review provides a comprehensive update on the cardiovascular effects of high-thoracic epidural anesthesia and cardiac sympathectomy in healthy and diseased patients.

The use of epidural analgesia in the treatment of acute pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is one of the most frequent gastrointestinal diseases requiring hospital of microcirculation and ischemia of the pancreas are the main causes of pancreatic necrosis. There is currently no specific therapy of acute pancreatitis. Symptomatic therapy admissions worldwide. AP has an overall mortality of 1%, increasing to 30% in its severe form. Violation focuses on aggressive rehydration, early nutrition, acceptable analgesia, oxygenation, and use of antibiotics is the main treatment for OP. Increasing evidence shows benefits of TEA in animal AP: improved splanchnic and pancreatic perfusion, improved pancreatic microcirculation, reduced liver damage, and significantly reduced mortality. This article provides an overview of research on the use of thoracic epidural anesthesia in the treatment of acute pancreatitis.

Effects of Thoracic Epidural Anesthesia on Liver Blood Flow and Indocyanine Green Clearance Test in Living-Donor Liver Transplantation: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind Study

BackgroundDonors are volunteers without any health problems. Therefore, the anesthetic management of donor safety is an important issue. Our aim in this study was to compare thoracic epidural anesthesia and general anesthesia effects on liver blood flow by means of liver function tests and indocyanine green and compared with living-donor liver transplantation. MethodsSubjects were divided into 2 equal groups: the control group (group I) and the epidural block group (group II, closed envelope method). In group II patients, the epidural catheter was inserted at the T6-8 level. In all patients, anesthesia was standardized with the use of lidocaine, fentanyl, and thiopental. Indocyanine green clearance test values before general anesthesia (T0), after induction of general anesthesia (T1), after transection (T2), and at postoperative 24 and 72 hours were recorded. Simultaneously, hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelet count, prothrombin time (PT), international normalized ratio (INR), total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, albumin, aspartate transaminase, and alanine transaminase values were analyzed. ResultsPlasma disappearance rate (PDR) and retention at 15 minutes (R15) of indocyanine green were not statistically significant difference between groups (P > .05). Intragroup comparison of PDR and R15 values at times T1, T2, T3, and T4 showed that the values at T0 were statistically significant (P < .05). PT and INR values were significantly different for all times within each group (P < .05). It was concluded that the use of thoracic epidural anesthesia has no effect on global liver function and liver-related liability tests in patients undergoing elective liver donor surgery.

Orthostatic intolerance during early mobilization following video-assisted thoracic surgery

Early postoperative mobilization is crucial for early ambulation to reduce postoperative pulmonary complications after lung resection. However, orthostatic intolerance (OI) may delay patient recovery, leading to complications. It is therefore important to understand the prevalence of and predisposing factors for OI following video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), which have not been established. This study evaluated the incidence of OI, impact of OI on delayed ambulation, and predisposing factors associated with OI in patients after VATS. This retrospective cohort study consecutively analyzed data from 236 patients who underwent VATS. The primary outcome was defined as OI with symptoms associated with ambulatory challenge on postoperative day 1 (POD1), including dizziness, nausea and vomiting, feeling hot, blurred vision, or transient syncope. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify independent factors associated with OI. Of the 236 patients, 35.2 % (83) experienced OI; 45.8 % of these could not ambulate at POD1, compared with 15.7 % of patients without OI (P < 0.001). Factors independently associated with OI included advanced age [odds ratio 2.83 (1.46-5.58); P = 0.002], female gender [odds ratio 2.40 (1.31-4.46); P = 0.004], and postoperative opioid use [odds ratio 2.61 (1.23-5.77); P = 0.012]. Use of thoracic epidural anesthesia was not independently associated with OI [odds ratio 0.72 (0.38-1.37); P = 0.318]. Postoperative OI was common in patients after VATS and significantly associated with delayed ambulation. Advanced age, female gender, and postoperative opioid use were identified as independent predisposing factors for OI.

Open or minimally invasive esophagectomy: are the outcomes different?

Since the beginning of the 1990s, the use of minimally invasive esophagectomy instead of the open technique has increased. Should this type of approach change the way we manage anesthesia for a patient undergoing esophagectomy for cancer? Because valid direct comparisons with open surgery are lacking, one cannot make definitive statements regarding the potential benefits of minimally invasive surgery. Rough comparisons with recent reports on open surgery suggest that reduced mortality, respiratory complications and blood loss, plus a more rapid return to a good quality of life are areas in which minimally invasive surgery might prove superior. Leak rates were similar to those reported with open procedures. Surprisingly, length of hospital stay and overall morbidity are similar with both techniques. Reported operating times appear longer than one might expect for open operations, which mirrors the experience of laparoscopic procedures in other areas. The implantation of minimally invasive esophagectomy seems inevitable in spite of the absence of randomized, controlled trials. The use of the prone position with one lung ventilation during minimally invasive esophagectomy seems positive. Protective ventilation during one lung ventilation may help to prevent pulmonary complications. Finally, the well accepted use of thoracic epidural anesthesia now has a new positive role following esophagectomy, improving the perfusion at the anastomotic level.

Thoracic epidural anaesthesia in valvular cardiac surgery

Thoracic epidural anaesthesia in valvular cardiac surgery

Epidural anesthesia and pulmonary function

The epidural administration of local anesthetics can provide anesthesia without the need for respiratory support or mechanical ventilation. Nevertheless, because of the additional effects of epidural anesthesia on motor function and sympathetic innervation, epidural anesthesia does affect lung function. These effects, i.e., a reduction in vital capacity (VC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1.0)), are negligible under lumbar and low thoracic epidural anesthesia. Going higher up the vertebral column, these effects can increase up to 20% or 30% of baseline. However, compared with postoperative lung function following abdominal or thoracic surgery without epidural anesthesia, these effects are so small that the beneficial effects still lead to an improvement in postoperative lung function. These results can be explained by an improvement in pain therapy and diaphragmatic function, and by early extubation. In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, the use of thoracic epidural anesthesia has raised concerns about respiratory insufficiency due to motor blockade, and the risk of bronchial constriction due to sympathetic blockade. However, even in patients with severe asthma, thoracic epidural anesthesia leads to a decrease of about 10% in VC and FEV(1.0) and no increase in bronchial reactivity. Overall, epidural administration of local anesthetics not only provides excellent anesthesia and analgesia but also improves postoperative outcome and reduces postoperative pulmonary complications compared with anesthesia and analgesia without epidural anesthesia.

In patients undergoing cardiac surgery, thoracic epidural analgesia combined with general anaesthesia results in faster recovery and fewer complications but does not affect length of hospital stay

A best evidence topic in cardiac surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was whether the use of thoracic epidural anaesthesia (TEA) in combination with general anaesthesia during adult cardiac surgery resulted in a faster recovery, fewer complications and shorter length of hospital stay. Altogether 313 papers were identified on Medline and 368 on Embase using the reported search of which 15 represented the best evidence on the topic. The author, journal, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses were tabulated. We conclude that the use of TEA in combination with general anaesthesia results in more rapid extubation and significantly better pain relief in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. In addition, common postoperative complications such as chest infection, dysrhythmia, confusional states, renal failure and psychological sequelae may be decreased although there is currently no evidence that its use decreases length of hospital stay. Finally, whilst there are case reports of neurological injury secondary to epidural haematoma in the literature these are rare and a number of large studies have been performed confirming the safety of the technique when basic precautions regarding technical aspects of the procedure and coagulation management are followed.

Use of thoracic epidural anesthesia for management of electrical storm: A case report

lectrical storm, characterized by clustering of ventricular achyarrhythmic episodes, is associated with an ominous rognosis. Serial antiarrhythmic therapy, beta-blockade, atheter ablation, and left stellate ganglion blockade have all een used for acute management in this setting. Thoracic pidural anesthesia is a therapeutic option that selectively tarets nerve fibers that innervate the myocardium. Thoracic pidural anesthesia has been used for management of refracory angina. We postulated that thoracic epidural anesthesia ight be useful for management of electrical storm by reducng the cardiac sympathetic drive. We report the case of a atient who presented with electrical storm. All conventional ethods for management of arrhythmia control were ineffecive. Thoracic epidural anesthesia effectively managed ventriclar arrhythmias in this patient.

Intraoperative Interventions: American College of Chest Physicians Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery

A comprehensive evidence review was conducted of the medical literature regarding the relationship between intraoperative interventions and the incidence of postoperative atrial arrhythmias, including, most commonly, atrial fibrillation (AF). Fifteen randomized, controlled studies and one large-scale concurrent cohort study were identified that reported on the following issues: systemic temperature during surgery (one report); "beating heart" surgery vs conventional bypass surgery (three reports); type of myocardial protection (five reports); the use of adjunctive posterior pericardiotomy (one report); the use of thoracic epidural anesthesia (TEA) [two reports]; the use of glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) solutions (two reports); and the use of heparin-coated circuits for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) [two reports]. Based on a systematic review of the reported data and an analysis of the quality of the reported data, we recommend the following: (1) that mild hypothermia, rather than moderate hypothermia, may be effective in reducing the frequency of postoperative AF; (2) the use of posterior pericardiotomy may be a useful adjunct to reduce the frequency of postoperative AF; and (3) the use of heparin-coated CPB circuits is associated with less postoperative AF. Because of conflicting or inadequate data, we cannot conclude that the frequency of postoperative AF is affected by (1) the use of beating-heart techniques, (2) the type of myocardial protection strategy used, (3) the use of TEA, or (4) the use of GIK solutions perioperatively.

Anesthesia and renal disease

To present and interpret the relevant research (Jan 2001-Feb 2002) which has the most important implications for clinical anesthesiology as regards the prevention of perioperative renal dysfunction and the anesthetic management of patients with renal disease. Prolonged sevoflurane anesthesia with fresh gas flow less than 1 l min is unlikely to lead to clinically significant renal injury. When used as maintenance agents for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting, sevoflurane anesthesia at a fresh gas flow of 3 l min, isoflurane and propofol are associated with similar rates of postoperative renal dysfunction. Less compound A is produced with smaller soda lime containers. High flow sevoflurane anesthesia (fresh gas flow of 4-6 l min) in combination with perioperative ketorolac is unlikely to lead to renal injury. Chronic treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors is associated with an increased incidence of postoperative renal impairment in patients undergoing elective aortic surgery. Thoracic epidural anesthesia and postoperative analgesia are associated with a decreased incidence of renal failure in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Compared with open surgical repair, endovascular repair of aortic aneurysm is associated with less renal injury. Sevoflurane anesthesia at low or high fresh gas flow rates is probably no more injurious to the kidneys than other commonly used maintenance agents. Chronic angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition may increase perioperative renal dysfunction. The use of thoracic epidural anesthesia and analgesia may reduce the incidence of postoperative renal failure.

Lumbar and thoracic epidural anaesthesia in children

Epidural anaesthetic techniques are an established part of paediatric anaesthesia. Their positive effects on general anaesthetic requirements, stay in the recovery unit, efficient perioperative pain relief and blunting of the perioperative stress response promote the routine use of regional anaesthetic techniques in children.With increasing knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of children, refinements in equipment and increased knowledge of the pharmacology of the agents used, continuous epidural catheter techniques are considered to be safe. There is some evidence that an epidural approach via the caudal and trans-sacral route is a low-risk procedure, even if the catheter is advanced to higher levels. Despite its positive effects the direct puncture at thoracic levels will probably never reach the level of routine practice. Because of its potential risks, the use of thoracic epidural anaesthesia (TEA) should be restricted to experienced paediatric anaesthetists and specialized centres.

Use of thoracic epidural anaesthesia for thoracic surgery and its effect on pulmonary function

Pulmonary complications following thoracic surgery significantly contribute to peri-operative morbidity and mortality. This chapter discusses some pathophysiological aspects of thoracic surgery, the effects of epidural anaesthesia on pulmonary function and its implications for use of thoracic epidural anaesthesia after thoracic surgery. A favourable effect of epidural anaesthesia on incidence of pulmonary morbidity was recently demonstrated in a meta-analysis involving a broad spectrum of surgical procedures. There is less evidence that the use of thoracic epidural anaesthesia techniques is associated with fewer respiratory complications in patients undergoing thoracotomy. However, thoracic epidural anaesthesia provides excellent analgesia after thoracotomy, particularly if local anaesthetics are combined with opioids. In addition, decreased length of stay on an intensive care unit and reduced hospital stay could be demonstrated if thoracic epidural anaesthesia was used in cardiac or thoracic surgical patients.

Use of thoracic epidural anaesthesia for coronary artery bypass grafting

Cardiac sympathetic blockade in experimental settings show beneficial effects on blood flow redistribution after myocardial infarction and functional recovery following myocardial ischaemia. This aim can be achieved by TEA without jeopardizing systemic haemodynamics.In patients, thoracic epidural anaesthesia (TEA) demonstrates potential benefit for the perioperative management for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Perioperative sympathetic blockade of the cardiac nerves and an effective postoperative analgesia seem to be the key for suppression of the perioperative hormonal stress response, which has a favourable impact on cardiac morbidity in this patient group.

THORACIC EPIDURAL ANESTHESIA IN CABG SURGERY

S116 Introduction: The use of thoracic epidural anesthesia (TEA) during coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) may facilitate hemodynamic stability and early extubation. [1,2] However, a major concern with TEA in heparinized patients undergoing CABG is the risk of epidural hematoma formation with potential serious neurologic sequelae. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of clinically significant epidural hematoma formation in patients undergoing CABG surgery with TEA. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the perioperative course of 278 patients who underwent CABG surgery with TEA as part of their routine management at a local community hospital*. Patients who were receiving preoperative anticoagulation, including tPA, were not candidates for TEA. Epidural catheters were inserted no less than one hour prior to anticoagulation. In the event of a bloody tap, surgery was delayed for 24 hours. Postoperatively, catheters were not removed if the INR > 1.5. RESULTS: Three patients had bloody taps but had successful catheter placement the following day. The level of catheter placement is shown in the following Table 1:Table 1No patients developed clinically significant epidural hematomas. Discussion: We conclude that there is minimal risk associated with placement of thoracic epidural catheters one hour prior to anticoagulation in patients undergoing CABG surgery. Our results indicate that the risks and benefits of TEA in CABG surgery warrant further prospective study.

The use of thoracic epidural anesthesia as the sole anesthetic for intrathoracic surgery

In a select group of patients, thoracic epidural anesthesia may be used as the sole anesthetic for intrathoracic surgery. One must have a thorough understanding of the physiological changes associated with an open chest before undertaking this technique. Additionally, one must be comfortable with the placement and use of a thoracic epidural catheter. This article reviews the physiology of an open chest and the pathophysiology of postresection bronchopleural fistulas. The use of general anesthesia for patients with bronchopleural fistulas is reviewed. Additionally, the method of placement of a thoracic epidural catheter is described. Finally, a method of thoracic epidural anesthesia is described in a select group of patients presenting for surgical management of postresection bronchopleural fistula.

Epidural anaesthesia for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting

The additional use of thoracic epidural anaesthesia in the perioperative management of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery is still uncommon. However, experimental and clinical studies strongly suggest that thoracic epidural anaesthesia may lead to a reduced frequency of perioperative myocardial ischaemia and infarction and may improve postoperative pulmonary function. Early recovery from anaesthesia may be enhanced. Procedural safeguards to minimize neurological complications must be thoroughly established and observed before the routine use of thoracic epidural anaesthesia.

The use of thoracic epidural anesthesia in repair of an aortic coarctation

The use of thoracic epidural anesthesia in repair of an aortic coarctation

Pectus excavatum repair in a patient with prune belly syndrome

SummaryWe describe the anaesthetic management of a child with ‘Prune Belly’ syndrome who was presented for repair of pectus excavatum. In addition to having severe restrictive lung disease, the patient was also asthmatic. Prior surgical procedures had resulted in long term debilitation because of pulmonary complications. Principles of anaesthetic management first described more than twenty years ago were utilized and combined with an effective perioperative pain management plan to provide for a smooth and satisfactory postoperative outcome. Repair of the patient's pectus excavatum deformity improved his respiratory mechanics, while the use of thoracic epidural anaesthesia in the immediate perioperative period allowed rapid improvement in pulmonary function.