Ridhima Sharma

Delirium after cardiac surgery: A pilot study from a single tertiary referral center

Background: Advances in cardiac surgery has shifted paradigm of management to perioperative psychological illnesses. Delirium is a state of altered consciousness with easy distraction of thoughts. The pathophysiology of this complication is not clear, but identification of risk factors is important for positive postoperative outcomes. The goal of the present study was to prospectively identify the incidence, motoric subtypes, and risk factors associated with development of delirium in cardiac surgical patients admitted to postoperative cardiac intensive care, using a validated delirium monitoring instrument. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective, observational study. This study included 120 patients of age 18-80 years, admitted to undergo cardiac surgery after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. Specific preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data for possible risk factors were obtained. Once in a day, assessment of delirium was done. Continuous variables were measured as mean ± standard deviation, whereas categorical variables were described as proportions. Differences between groups were analyzed using Student′s t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, or Chi-square test. Variables with a P < 0.1 were then used to develop a predictive model using stepwise logistic regression with bootstrapping. Results: Delirium was seen in 17.5% patients. The majority of cases were of hypoactive delirium type (85.72%). Multiple risk factors were found to be associated with delirium, and when logistic regression with bootstrapping applied to these risk factors, five independent variables were detected. History of hypertension (relative risk [RR] =6.7857, P = 0.0003), carotid artery disease (RR = 4.5000, P < 0.0001) in the form of stroke or hemorrhage, noninvasive ventilation (NIV) use (RR = 5.0446, P < 0.0001), Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay more than 10 days (RR = 3.1630, P = 0.0021), and poor postoperative pain control (RR = 2.4958, P = 0.0063) was associated with postcardiac surgical delirium. Conclusions: Patients who developed delirium had systemic disease in the form of hypertension and cerebrovascular disease. Delirium was seen in patients who had higher postoperative pain scores, longer ICU stay, and NIV use. This study can be used to develop a predictive tool for diagnosing postcardiac surgical delirium.

Pharmacological update: New drugs in cardiac practice: A critical appraisal

Cardiac practice involves the application of a range of pharmacological therapies. An anesthesiologist needs to keep pace with the rampant drug developments in the field of cardiovascular medicine for appropriate management in both perioperative and intensive care set-up, to strengthen his/her role as a perioperative physician in practice. The article reviews the changing trends and the future perspectives in major classes of cardiovascular medicine.

WHO safe surgery checklist: Barriers to universal acceptance

Development of the Safe Surgery Checklist is an initiative taken by the World Health Organization (WHO) with an aim to reduce the complication rates during the surgical process. Despite gross reduction in the infection rate and morbidity following adoption of the checklist, many health-care providers are hesitant in implementing it in their everyday practice. In this article, we would like to highlight the hurdles in adoption of the WHO Surgical Checklist and measures that can be taken to overcome them.

Randomised controlled trial of central venous catheterisation through external jugular vein: A comparison of success with or without body manoeuvres

Background and Aims: The external jugular vein (EJV), often used for resuscitation, has been underutilised for central venous catheterisation (CVC) in view of an unpredictable success rate. There is an encouraging literature on the improved success rate of CVC through EJV with the inclusion of certain body manoeuvres. This prospective randomised controlled study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the efficacy of body manoeuvres in improving the success rate of CVC through EJV. Methods: One hundred patients aged 18–50 years, scheduled for elective surgery requiring CVC, were randomly assigned to either undergo CVC using Seldinger technique with body manoeuvres or a control group undergoing CVC without body manoeuvres. The primary outcome was the success rate of CVC, as observed in the post-procedure chest radiograph. Secondary outcomes included quality of central venous pressure waveform, catheterisation attempts, total time for CVC, complications. Results: CVC was achieved in 98% (49/50) of patients in study group and 80% (40/50) of patients in control group (P = 0.008). Mean catheterisation time was significantly lower in the study group (151.06 ± 40.50 s) compared to control group (173.50 ± 50.66 s) (P = 0.023). The incidence of catheter misplacement and failure to cannulate were lower in the study group (0%, 2% vs. 20%, 12.5%, respectively). Groups did not differ in a number of catheterisation attempts and incidence of haematoma. Conclusion: Inclusion of various body manoeuvres to Seldinger technique significantly improves the success rate of CVC through EJV.

Anaesthesia for emergency caesarean section in a morbidly obese achondroplastic patient with PIH: Feasibility of Neuraxial anaesthesia?

A 25‐year‐old primigravida was referred to our hospital at 38 ± 3 week gestation with meconium stained liquor for emergency caesarean section (CS). She weighed 90 Kg with a height of 104 cm and body mass index (BMI 80 kg/m2, morbid obesity). She was a diagnosed case of pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH), not on medications. She had complaints of fever, productive cough and dyspnea (NYHA III) since10 days and was on antibiotics. She was afebrile, pale with stable vitals. Systemic examination revealed lumbar lordosis, pedal edema and crepitations in lung bases. She had an anticipated difficult airway in view of short neck, limited neck extension, large tongue and Mallampatti grade 3. Her haemoglobin was 7 gm% but coagulation, renal and liver functions were normal. Chest X‐ray demonstrated bilateral lower zones haziness, and increased bronchovesicular markings. ECG showed sinus rhythm and 2‐D echocardiography revealed left ventricular ejection fraction 55‐60%.