Cerebrovascular Accident Under Anesthesia During Dental Surgery

Stroke, or cerebrovascular accident (CVA), is a medical emergency that may lead to permanent neurological damage, complications, and death. The rapid loss of brain function due to disruption of the blood supply to the brain is caused by blockage (thrombosis, arterial embolism) or hemorrhage. The incidence of CVA during anesthesia for noncardiac nonvascular surgery is as high as 1% depending on risk factors. Comprehensive preoperative assessment and good perioperative management may prevent a CVA. However, should an ischemic event occur, appropriate and rapid management is necessary to minimize the deleterious effects caused to the patient. This case report describes a patient who had an ischemic CVA while under general anesthesia for dental alveolar surgery and discusses the anesthesia management.Key Words: General anesthesia, Cerebrovascular event, Complication, Dentistry.Central nervous system infarction occurs over a clinical spectrum.¹ A cerebrovascular accident (CVA), or stroke, is a sudden interruption in the blood supply to the brain, accompanied by overt signs.¹ Most strokes (85%) are caused by an abrupt occlusion of a cerebral artery leading to loss of adequate blood supply to a specific area of the brain (ischemic stroke).² Ischemic strokes are either thrombotic or embolic. A thrombotic stroke occurs when a blood clot (thrombus) forms in one of the arteries that supply blood to the brain.³ An embolic stroke occurs when a blood clot or other debris forms away from the brain and is carried through the bloodstream to lodge in narrower brain arteries. Another cause of stroke is when bleeding occurs into brain tissue from a ruptured blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke).³Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality.⁴ Perioperative acute ischemic stroke is a recognized complication of noncardiac, nonvascular surgery.⁵ Among the general population, the rate of acute ischemic stroke in the perioperative period has been reported to be as high as 0.7%.⁵ The incidence increases to 1.0% as age increases above 65 years.⁵ Other major risk factors that predispose to acute ischemic stroke in the perioperative period include: renal disease, atrial fibrillation, previous history of stroke, valvular disease, congestive heart failure, male sex, diabetes mellitus, and race.^5–7Adequate preoperative assessment of risk is imperative.⁸ When possible, patients should receive optimum medical treatment in the interest of attenuating the impact of risk factors in the perioperative period.⁸ However, when strokes occur, rapid, immediate treatment is required to prevent permanent brain damage.⁹     

Expression of Phosphofructokinase in Skeletal Muscle Is Influenced by Genetic Variation and Associated With Insulin Sensitivity

Using an integrative approach in which genetic variation, gene expression, and clinical phenotypes are assessed in relevant tissues may help functionally characterize the contribution of genetics to disease susceptibility. We sought to identify genetic variation influencing skeletal muscle gene expression (expression quantitative trait loci [eQTLs]) as well as expression associated with measures of insulin sensitivity. We investigated associations of 3,799,401 genetic variants in expression of >7,000 genes from three cohorts (n = 104). We identified 287 genes with cis-acting eQTLs (false discovery rate [FDR] <5%; P < 1.96 × 10⁻⁵) and 49 expression–insulin sensitivity phenotype associations (i.e., fasting insulin, homeostasis model assessment–insulin resistance, and BMI) (FDR <5%; P = 1.34 × 10⁻⁴). One of these associations, fasting insulin/phosphofructokinase (PFKM), overlaps with an eQTL. Furthermore, the expression of PFKM, a rate-limiting enzyme in glycolysis, was nominally associated with glucose uptake in skeletal muscle (P = 0.026; n = 42) and overexpressed (Bonferroni-corrected P = 0.03) in skeletal muscle of patients with T2D (n = 102) compared with normoglycemic controls (n = 87). The PFKM eQTL (rs4547172; P = 7.69 × 10⁻⁶) was nominally associated with glucose uptake, glucose oxidation rate, intramuscular triglyceride content, and metabolic flexibility (P = 0.016–0.048; n = 178). We explored eQTL results using published data from genome-wide association studies (DIAGRAM and MAGIC), and a proxy for the PFKM eQTL (rs11168327; r² = 0.75) was nominally associated with T2D (DIAGRAM P = 2.7 × 10⁻³). Taken together, our analysis highlights PFKM as a potential regulator of skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity.     

Procalcitonin in the recognition of complications in critically ill surgical patients

Background

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a relatively new, promising indirect parameter for infection. In the intensive care unit (ICU) it can be used as a marker for sepsis. However, in the ICU there is a need for reliable markers for clinical deterioration in the critically ill patients. This study determines the clinical value of PCT concentrations in recognizing surgical complications in a heterogeneous group of general surgical patients in the ICU.

Material and methods

We prospectively collected PCT concentration data from April 2010 to June 2012 for all general surgical patients admitted to the ICU. Both the relationships between PCT levels and events (diagnostic and therapeutic interventions) as well as between PCT levels and surgical complications (abscesses, bleeding, perforation, ischemia, and ileus) were studied.

Results

PCT concentrations were lower in patients who developed complications than those who did not develop complications on the same day, although not significant (P = 0.27). A 10% increase in PCT levels resulted in a 2% higher complication odds, but again this was not significant (odds ratio [OR], 1.020; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.961–1.083; P = 0.51). Even a 20% or 30% increase in PCT concentrations did not result in higher complication probability (OR, 1.039; 95% CI, 0.927–1.165 and OR, 1.057; 95% CI, 0.897–1.246). Furthermore, an increase in PCT levels did not show an increase or a reduction in the number of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.

Conclusions

An increase in PCT levels does not help to predict surgical complications in critically ill surgical patients.     

Caudal anesthesia with sedation for inguinal hernia repair in high risk neonates

Background/Purpose

The use of caudal anesthesia with sedation (CAS) has theoretical benefits over general anesthesia (GA) in high risk neonates undergoing inguinal hernia repair. This benefit has not been established in clinical studies. We compare outcomes of these two approaches at a single institution.

Methods

A retrospective review was performed of all neonates and preterm infants undergoing inguinal hernia over an 8 year period.

Results

Of 71 infants meeting inclusion criteria, 50 underwent repair with caudal block and systemic sedation, and 21 with general anesthesia. Minor incidents of respiratory depression requiring non invasive interventions were common in the first 24 h post operatively (24% for CAS, 14% with GA), 4% of patients receiving CAS had a respiratory complication which prolonged their hospital stay beyond 24 h post operation. Both required conversion to general anesthesia. Statistically significant differences between the two groups were lacking in terms of preoperative risk and post operative outcome.

Conclusions

CAS is a safe, effective anesthetic option for high risk neonates undergoing inguinal hernia repair. Patients requiring conversion to GA from CAS may be at increased risk for complications. Large, randomized trials are needed to determine any benefit over GA.