Anesthetic considerations in lung transplantation: past,present and future

Lung transplantation is a very complex surgical procedure with many implications for the anesthetic care of these patients. Comprehensive preoperative evaluation is an important component of the transplant evaluation as it informs many of the decisions made perioperatively to manage these complex patients effectively and appropriately. These decisions may involve pre-emptive actions like pre-habilitation and nutrition optimization of these patients before they arrive for their transplant procedure. Appropriate airway and ventilation management of these patients needs to be performed in a manner that provides an optimal operating conditions and protection from ventilatory injury of these fragile post-transplant lungs. Pain management can be challenging and should be managed in a multi-modal fashion with or without the use of an epidural catheter while recognizing the risk of neuraxial technique in patients who will possibly be systemically anticoagulated. Complex monitoring is required for these patients involving both invasive and non-invasive including the use of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and continuous cardiac output monitoring. Management of the patient’s hemodynamics can be challenging and involves managing the systemic and pulmonary vascular systems. Some patients may require extra-corporeal lung support as a planned part of the procedure or as a rescue technique and centers need to be proficient in instituting and managing this sophisticated method of hemodynamic support.     

Odynophagia/dysphagia in AIDS

Odynophagia and dysphagia are common symptoms of treatable disorders of the esophagus in patients with AIDS. Esophageal candidiasis is the most frequent cause of these symptoms. In patients with AIDS or AIDS-related complex, thrush in combination with odynophagia or dysphagia almost certainly indicates the presence of esophageal candidiasis. Other causes of swallowing disorders in AIDS include opportunistic infection of the esophagus with herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus, or, rarely, cryptosporidiosis. Recently, ulcerative esophagitis in AIDS associated with unidentified viral-like particles has been described. Infrequently, Kaposi's sarcoma or lymphoma may involve the posterior pharynx or esophagus, respectively. Because Candida esophagitis is so frequently the cause of odynophagia and/or dysphagia in AIDS, it is suggested that in most cases, a therapeutic trial with an antifungal agent, like ketoconazole, may be appropriate before radiologic or endoscopic examination. Further investigation can be reserved for patients who do not respond to this trial or who have clinical evidence suggesting another esophageal disorder. Herpes simplex and cytomegalovirus esophagitis can be treated with antiviral agents, such as acyclovir and ganciclovir, respectively. Maintenance therapy with antifungal agents to prevent recurrent esophageal candidiasis may be beneficial, but the efficacy and cost effectiveness of this approach remain to be determined. Because of the increasing numbers of patients with AIDS, frequency of esophageal disorders, such as candidiasis, in these patients and the morbidity of these disorders, an expansion of clinical research efforts to determine effective treatment and prophylaxis for these disorders is warranted.     

Screening for Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas

Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas are highly heterogeneous neuroendocrine tumors that must be considered not only in patients with hypertension and other manifestations of catecholamine excess but also in patients with incidentalomas or mutations in one of the ten tumor susceptibility genes identified to date. To first think of the tumor remains the critical step for screening in patients with signs and symptoms. In these patients, biochemical testing is straightforward and should include measurements of plasma or urinary metanephrines, comprising separately measured normetanephrine and metanephrine. Tumors due to an underlying germline mutation are often found in the absence of hypertension or other signs or symptoms of the tumor. Screening for disease in these patients can benefit from an individualized approach according to the particular mutation. Additional measurements of methoxytyramine, the metabolite of dopamine, can be useful in patients with mutations of succinate dehydrogenase genes or patients who are at risk for malignancy.     

The preoperative cardiovascular evaluation of the intermediate-risk patient: new data, changing strategies

The intermediate-risk preoperative patient can be defined as a patient without severely symptomatic or unstable heart disease who, nonetheless, has clinical predictors of adverse perioperative cardiovascular events. Newer data have created an awareness of competing considerations in managing these patients. There is still debate about how to appropriately select patients for noninvasive cardiac testing, invasive coronary testing, coronary revascularization, beta-blockers, or a combination of these. In this article, we review the evidence pertaining to these issues. We conclude that intermediate-risk preoperative patients are best managed by an approach that emphasizes the following points: intermediate-risk patients should be identified and risk stratified using a clinical tool (eg, the Revised Cardiac Risk Index); noninvasive cardiac testing should be reserved for those patients with multiple clinical predictors of risk or the presence of other modifying factors; preoperative coronary revascularization does not appear to reduce perioperative risk in patients with significant but stable coronary artery disease; and medical therapy should be optimized for these patients, including the application of beta-blockers in all intermediate-risk patients that do not have contraindications.     

Treatment of HCV: approach to difficult cases

The treatment of patients with HCV in itself represents a challenge for the treating physicians, but is particularly difficult in special situations where experience is limited. In patients with normal aminotransferases or an incomplete response to IFN, the safety of IFN administration is not the major issue, but one should consider the limited effectiveness of the therapy. In other patients, such as those with concomitant autoimmune hepatitis, an immunosuppressed state or a major psychiatric illness, IFN can be administered but may be associated with serious risks. In these cases, IFN should be used under strictly supervised circumstances and only by physicians with considerable familiarity with the drug. After needle stick exposures, IFN may prevent progression of acute infection to chronic hepatitis. Finally, in patients with well-established cirrhosis, IFN treatment may prevent decomposition or the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. In each of these categories, treatment must be tailored to the individual case based on good clinical judgment. It is hoped that greater experience, newer therapies, and a better understanding of the natural history of HCV infection will simplify the treatment of these cases that currently present difficult management problems.     

Biliobiliary Fistula: Review of Nine Cases

We have reviewed nine cases of biliobiliary fistula operated during 1983-85. Two of these patients also had a high hepatic duct stricture, an association not highlighted before. Eight of these patients had jaundice. A classical cholecystectomy in the presence of biliobiliary fistula entails grave risk to the integrity of the upper biliary tract. Preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) or percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography can detect these rare fistulae. It is proposed that all patients with cholelithiasis associated with jaundice be screened by sonography for evidence of biliobiliary fistula. They should then have an ERCP to detect and delineate the biliobiliary fistula. At surgery, all of these patients have a fused gall bladder with obliteration of the Calot's triangle. Both retrograde and antegrade cholecystectomy is hazardous in these cases. Instead, the gall bladder should be opened inferiorly and evacuated of all stones, followed by a partial cholecystectomy and common hepatic duct repair over a T-tube. In the presence of an associated high or low biliary stricture, a suitable bilioenteric anastomosis may be required.     

Spontaneous perirenal hematomas in patients taking anticoagulation medication or having a bleeding diathesis

Spontaneous perirenal hematoma is a rare condition. The clinical features are acute flank or abdominal pain, haematuria, hypotension and shock. Bleeding is most commonly caused by renal tumours, especially angiomyolipomas. Other known causes are long-term haemodialysis, arteriosclerosis or arteritis. A total of 6 patients with spontaneous perirenal haemorrhage have been treated in our hospital since 2003. Nearly all patients had been taking anticoagulation medication. One had a bleeding diathesis. One of the patients died immediately after admission at the hospital. All other patients had an exploratory laparotomy. In three cases total nephrectomy had to be performed, two other patients could be treated with partial nephrectomy. In patients with non-traumatic acute flank or abdominal pain it is important to determine whether the patient has been taking anticoagulation medication or suffers from bleeding diathesis because there is a high incidence of bleeding complications in these cases. If an emergent laparotomy is not necessary we recommend that these cases should be treated surgically after clinical stabilisation because tumours are the main reason for the haematomas and the patients have an urgent need for further anticoagulation therapy.     

Antiphospholipid antibodies and antiphospholipid syndrome in patients with malignancies: features, incidence, identification, and treatment

Thrombotic events associated with antiphospholipid (aPL) antibodies can be the first manifestation of malignancy. The pathologic significance of aPL antibodies in patients with malignancies, however, is still unclear. It remains an unresolved issue as to whether the presence of aPL antibodies may be considered as an "epiphenomenon" of the malignancy itself or whether it contributes directly to the development of thrombosis in these patients. In particular, solid tumors may be associated with the development of aPL antibodies, enhancing the thrombophilic risk in these patients. In general, routine anticoagulant prophylaxis with low-molecular-weight heparin in cancer patients with positive aPL antibodies is strongly indicated.     

Management of psoriasis patients with hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus infection

The systemic therapies available for the management of Psoriasis(PsO) patients who cannot be treated with more conservative options, such as topical agents and/or phototherapy, with the exception of acitretin, can worsen or reactivate a chronic infection. Therefore, before administering immunosuppressive therapies with either conventional disease-modifying drugs(c DMARDs) or biological ones(b DMARDs) it is mandatory to screen patients for some infections, including hepatitis B virus(HBV) and hepatitis C virus(HCV). In particular, the patients eligible to receive an immunosuppressive drug must be screened for the following markers: antibody to hepatitis B core, antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen(anti-HBs Ag), HBs Ag, and antibody to HCV(anti-HCV). In case HBV or HCV infection is diagnosed, a close collaboration with a consultant hepatologist is needed before and during an immunosuppressive therapy. Concerning therapy with immunosuppressive drugs in PsO patients with HBV or HCV infection, data exist mainly for cyclosporine a(Cy A) or b DMARDs(etanercept, adalimumab, infliximab, ustekinumab). The natural history of HBV and HCV infection differs significantly as well as the effect of immunosuppression on the aforementioned infectious diseases. As a rule, in the case of active HBV infection, systemic immunosuppressive antipsoriatic therapies must be deferred until the infection is controlled with an adequate antiviral treatment. Inactive carriers need to receive antiviral prophylaxis 2-4 wk before starting immunosuppressive therapy, to be continued after 6-12 mo from its suspension. Due to the risk of HBV reactivation, these patients should be monitored monthly for the first 3 mo and then every 3 mo for HBV DNA load together with transaminases levels. Concerning the patients who are occult HBV carriers, the risk of HBV reactivation is very low. Therefore, these patients generally do not need antiviral prophylaxis and the sera HBs Ag and transaminases dosing can be monitored every 3 mo. Concerning PsO patients with chronic HCV infection their management with immunosuppressive drugs is less problematic as compared to those infected by HBV.In fact, HCV reactivation is an extremely rare event after administration of drugs such as CyA or tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors. As a rule, these patients can be monitored measuring HCV RNA load, and ALT, aspartate transaminase, gamma-glutamyl-transferase, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, albumin and platelet every 3-6 mo. The present article provides an updated overview based on more recently reported data on monitoring and managing PsO patients who need systemic antipsoriatic treatment and have HBV or HCV infection as comorbidity.     

Transcatheter treatment of pulmonary outflow tract obstruction: A review

The role of transcatheter methods in the management of pulmonary outflow tract obstruction are discussed in this review. Balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty for relief of isolated pulmonary valve stenosis has been successfully used by many investigators and is the procedure of choice for the management of these lesions. Supravalvar pulmonic stenosis, if discrete, can be relieved by balloon dilatation. Cyanotic children with interatrial right-to-left shunts secondary to severe valvar pulmonary stenosis respond in a manner similar to that observed with isolated pulmonary valve stenosis. In these patients, balloon valvuloplasty is the treatment of choice and may be corrective in most patients. In patients with interventricular right-to-left shunting secondary to pulmonary outflow tract obstruction and in patients with narrowed BT shunts, balloon dilatation may be an effective palliative procedure in a substantial proportion of patients obviating the need for an initial or second palliative shunt. Balloon dilatation is recommended if the patient's size or cardiac anatomy make them unsuitable for safe total surgical correction. In patients with pulmonary atresia, either initial opening of the atretic pulmonary valve by laser or by surgery with subsequent balloon dilatation are potentially beneficial in reducing the total number of surgical procedures that these children are likely to require. However, further clinical trials are needed before their general use.     

Stem cell transplantation for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome and secondary leukemias

Most patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are too old to be considered for intensive treatment, such as stem cell transplantation (SCT). Allogeneic SCT from an HLA-identical sibling donor is the curative treatment option for a relatively young patient (younger than 60 years) with MDS or secondary acute myeloid leukemia. Older age and lack of sibling donors limit this application. Alternative stem cell sources, such as unrelated donors, nonidentical family members, or autologous transplants, have been used more recently. Most patients may benefit optimally from an allogeneic SCT when the transplant is performed as soon as an HLA-identical family member has been identified. Progression to more advanced leukemia conditions will be associated with a higher failure rate due to increased relapse rate after SCT and higher treatment-related mortality. Delay of the transplant may be justified in a minority of patients with refractory anemia or refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts without profound cytopenias or complex cytogenetic abnormalities and no need for erythrocyte transfusions. The present data from patients transplanted with sources of hematopoietic stem cells other than histocompatible sibling donors give an indication of the potential of other forms of transplantation. The disease-free survival of patients transplanted with histocompatible sibling donors was significantly better than the outcome of patients transplanted with other sources of stem cells. About one-third of the patients transplanted with stem cells from histocompatible siblings and about one-quarter of the patients with stem cells from other sources may be free of disease for 3 years or longer. The results of these treatment forms have improved considerably, but the continuing high treatment-related mortality warrants that these patients should be treated within investigational protocols.     

Evaluation of prognostic classifications for patients with syncope

To evaluate two published sets of prognostic classifications for patients with syncope, 176 consecutive patients who presented to an emergency room with syncope were studied. Although relatively few patients had cardiac syncope, these data confirmed their high one-year mortality. At the other extreme, it was also confirmed that patients who were 30 years of age or less or 70 years of age or less and had vasovagal/psychogenic syncope or syncope of unknown cause had a benign prognosis, with only two deaths in 225 patients in pooled data. However, these data did not confirm the previously reported prognoses for "medium-risk patients" or for patients with diagnosable noncardiovascular causes of syncope, largely because of differences in criteria for patient eligibility. It is concluded that available data allow over 70 percent of patients with syncope to be placed into either very-high or very-low-risk groups. However, further investigation, taking into account differences in patient selection criteria, will be required before accurate prognostic classifications can be derived for the nearly 30 percent of patients who do not fall into one of these extreme prognostic categories.     

Coagulation abnormalities in malignancy: a review.

As outlined in this review, patients with cancer may harbor many alterations of hemostasis. These are multifaceted and must be taken into account when trying to control hemorrhage or thrombosis in cancer patients. Often, hemorrhage or thrombosis is the final fatal event in many patients with metastatic solid tumor or hematologic malignancies. Patients with malignancy present a major clinical challenge in this new era of oncologic awareness and more aggressive care, which has led to prolonged survival for patients and a longer time frame during which these complications may develop. Therefore, these complications are occurring more commonly. It is important to realize that these alterations of hemostasis exist and must be approached in a sequential and logical manner with respect to diagnosis; only in this way can responsible, efficacious, and rational therapy be delivered to patients. By far the most common alteration of hemostasis in malignancy is that of hemorrhage associated with thrombocytopenia, either drug-induced, radiation-induced, or from bone marrow invasion. However, hemorrhage resulting from DIC is also quite common and may present as hemorrhage, thrombosis, thromboembolus, or any combination thereof. Many antineoplastic drugs and radiation therapy may lead to or significantly enhance hemorrhage in patients with malignancy. Thrombosis, also commonly seen in patients with malignancy, is often a manifestation of low-grade DIC, conspicuous as an intravascular thrombotic or thromboembolic event instead of an intravascular proteolytic (hemorrhagic) event. When suspecting this, confirmatory laboratory evidence must be sought and the patient treated appropriately. When approaching the patient with malignancy and either hemorrhage or thrombosis, all the potential defects in hemostasis must be taken into account, defined from the laboratory standpoint, and treated in as precise and logical manner as possible.     

Dietary protein antigenemia in humoral immunodeficiency: Correlation with splenomegaly

Enhanced gastrointestinal absorption of dietary substances is an important feature of normal neonatal life that also exists in particular disease states such as selective IgA deficiency and atopic allergy. In these studies, it is shown that patients with hypogammaglobulinemia have increased absorption of dietary bovine antigens and that most patients have large amounts of these proteins present in the serum even after an overnight fast. The amounts of such proteins were found to be correlated with spleen size and/or peripheral lymphoid hypertrophy. Interestingly, three patients with X-linked agammaglobulinemia did not have detectable amounts of these proteins in the serum nor did they have splenomegaly or lymphadenopathy. It is speculated that hypogammaglobulinemic patients have a specific gastrointestinal mucosal lesion that permits the chronic excessive absorption of dietary antigens and may result in lymphoid hypertrophy.     

Secondary prevention of sudden cardiac death.

Sudden cardiac death is still the largest cause of natural death in western countries, especially in patients with coronary artery disease and in those who have already experienced an episode of resuscitated out-of-hospital cardiac arrest or ventricular tachycardia. Prevention of arrhythmia recurrences (i.e. secondary prevention) in these patients remains a challenge for the cardiologist. To date no studies have demonstrated that drug therapy can be of some value in preventing arrhythmia recurrences or sudden death in these patients, and only cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation resulted effective in reducing mortality rate. It remains, however, to be defined which patients who survived an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest or who already experienced a sustained ventricular tachycardia could benefit the most from an ICD, but to date no invasive or non-invasive tests have proven to be effective for this stratification. Vaughan-Williams class II and III drugs could be of some value in reducing tachycardia cycle length thus increasing antitachycardia pacing efficacy and reducing ICD shocks.     

Spirometric criteria for hospital admission of patients with acute exacerbation of COPD

Recent studies have demonstrated that there is a high relapse rate for patients discharged from the Emergency Department (ED) following treatment of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Objective criteria have not been established to determine when to hospitalize these patients. This study evaluated spirometric criteria for that use. Eighty-three patients with an acute exacerbation of COPD were studied; 45 percent were admitted to the hospital while 17 percent of the patients who were discharged suffered a relapse. An FEV1 of less than 40 percent of predicted normal identified patients who required hospital admission or suffered a relapse with a sensitivity of 0.96, specificity of 0.58, and overall accuracy of 0.78. Combining clinical assessment with spirometry led to an improvement in specificity to 0.73 with a minimal decrease in sensitivity. Patients with an FEV1 of 40 percent or greater of predicted normal or no clinical evidence of respiratory distress after treatment may be safely discharged from the hospital. Patients not meeting these criteria are at high risk for relapse and should either be admitted or have further aggressive ED therapy.     

Immunizing patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a review of effectiveness and safety

Concerns regarding the safety and efficacy of immunization in patients with SLE have persisted for over 60 years, despite the increased risk of infection in these patients. There are many anecdotal case reports of SLE induction or exacerbation following immunization, but overall, these events seem to be very rare. Evidence from prospective trials suggests that inactivated and component vaccines are probably safe in patients with SLE. Live vaccines are contraindicated in patients on immunosuppressive agents or high dose steroids (prednisone 20 mg/day or greater). There is limited evidence regarding efficacy of vaccination in patients with SLE. Studies assessing serological response to vaccination have generally shown that the majority of patients have an appropriate response, but a significant minority do not. Response to hepatitis B vaccination may be impaired and serological responses should be assessed post vaccination. It is not clear if disease activity or immunosuppressive medications are risk factors for a poor response, rather than intrinsic abnormalities of immune function in patients with SLE. The majority of patients appear to have a reasonable serological response to vaccination.     

X-ray sensitivity of diploid fibroblasts from patients with hereditary or sporadic retinoblastoma.

Fibroblasts derived from patients with hereditary retinoblastoma appear to be more sensitive to the lethal effects of x-rays than do fibroblasts from patients with sporadic retinoblastoma or normal controls. A defect in DNA repair is postulated to account for the high incidence of second tumors in these patients. Retinoblastoma appears to be an interesting model for the study of genetic susceptibility to the development of spontaneous or radiation-induced tumors.     

What is the value of physical therapies for back pain?

Some would say that the value of physical therapies for low back pain patients is the provision of pain relief; others argue that it is all about helping the person to get on with his or her life. There is an on-going debate amongst practitioners as to whether a hands-on or a hands-off approach is likely to be most effective for these patients. This chapter reviews these positions through an exploration of the literature. It examines the evidence for the effectiveness of a range of commonly used physical therapies.     

Use of an open access spirometry service by general practitioners.

AIMS: To understand better which patients with which diagnoses or suspected diagnoses are referred for spirometry in primary care, and to assess whether all such referrals are appropriate. METHODS: 200 consecutive patient referrals to an open access spirometry service from ten local general practices were evaluated by perusing the request forms, and analysis of the spirometry results and the report sent to the general practitioner (GP). RESULTS: 51% of all referrals had suspected or stated COPD, but airway obstruction was demonstrated in only 53% of cases. A minority had a degree of reversibility which suggested an additional asthma component at least. Airway obstruction was rarely demonstrated in patients referred with stated or suspected asthma. 117 patients were referred with stated or suspected airway disease but had no evidence of airway narrowing on testing. 14.5% of these had an unexpected small lung (restrictive) disorder. Six of these had a BMI of more than 30. CONCLUSION: Most referrals with stated or suspected COPD were highly appropriate since spirometry is required in order to establish the correct diagnosis. Referral of patients with suspected asthma is less likely to be helpful, and a period of home peak flow monitoring may be more useful. Restrictive disorders can be confused with airway disorders, and obesity may be underestimated as a cause of breathlessness.