SNACC’s article of the month for July is an excellent narrative review on the pharmacodynamics of vasopressors in health and in the setting of brain injury. The review is preceded by an introductory commentary by neuroscand.com contributor Dr. Riikka Takala.
From our quality-focused colleagues at the Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC) comes this set of guidelines for management of the most common emergencies encountered in neuroanaesthetic practice. Conceived with the purpose of addressing complex emergent issues in a concise, goal-directed and simplified manner, these cognitive aids are clear-cut and based on… Continue reading SNACC – How to Handle Neuroanaesthetic Emergencies
In this interesting trial by Lima and colleagues, with findings published recently in the Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology, the authors compare normal saline (NS) with a balanced crystalloid as a maintenance fluid for elective tumour resection in paediatric patients. Their main endpoint was change in serum chloride from baseline to end of surgery. Perhaps unsurprisingly… Continue reading Balanced Crystalloids Better Than Isotonic Saline for Craniotomy in Kids?
I came across this useful little review in Kidney International Reports covering a subject I always find difficult to grasp: sodium disturbances and their influence on the brain. The article delves into the matter in a concise and understandable way, making it just about manageable even for an anaesthetist.
Excellent and widely read overview of sedation regimes in acute brain injury. Find the article by Oddo et al in Critical Care here.
From our fellow anaesthetist Lars Prag Antonsen comes this eye-opening essay on cognitive processes and how we apply them in high-pressure settings. Very relevant for anaesthetic practice as well as being an enjoyable read. Find the full-text article in the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association here.
A recently published review [1] by our Danish colleagues sums up the more recent trials on the subject of anaesthetic technique for endovascular treatments of ischaemic stroke. Previous publications, many of which are based largely on observational or retrospective data, have suggested harm from general anaesthesia (GA) for these procedures, when compared with conscious sedation… Continue reading Anaesthesia for Endovascular Treatment of Acute Ischaemic Stroke: Still Controversial?
Just published: the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine´s consensus document on fluid administration in the NICU. It covers all manner of neurocritical conditions and sums up the available evidence for various fluid therapy approaches. As expected there are few recommendations that aren´t already well established and by now fairly uncontroversial (multimodal monitoring, avoiding colloids,… Continue reading Fluid Therapy in Neurointensive Care patients – An ESICM Recommendation
In the last issue of Journal of neurosurgical anesthesiology, there is an interesting article discussing elevated serum lactate during craniotomies. Brallier et al performed a retrospective cohort study of elective adult craniotomy cases (436 patients). They found that elevated intraoperative serum lactate in craniotomy patients is associated with new neurological deficits (odds ratio, 2.11) and longer length… Continue reading Elevated serum lactate during craniotomies…
Here’s a few resources on anaesthesia for awake craniotomies that have recently come to our attention, thanks to some of our colleagues: The first, from UpToDate, was updated this year. The second is part of the British Journal of Anaesthesia’s Continuing Education in Anaesthesia Critical Care & Pain series. It dates back to 2013 but is still… Continue reading Awake Craniotomy: Useful Resources
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