This month’s edition of Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology is replete with neuro-topics, ranging from awake craniotomy to complex spinal surgery and anaesthesia for stroke thrombectomy. Well worth a read, this collection of articles provides (often excellent) summaries of evidence and current practice in numerous fields relevant to the neuroanaesthetist.
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
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
On behalf of our colleague Dr. Ann-Christine Lindroos of Töölö Hospital in Helsinki, Finland we´d like to solicit your opinion on the discontinuation of anticoagulant medication in neurosurgical practice. We´d love to hear from as many of our colleagues as possible. Feel free to comment below and share your institution´s policy with NeuroScand users. In Dr. Lindroos´own… Continue reading Anticoagulants and Neurosurgery – What´s Your Policy?
Cochrane review from 2014: Mannitol versus hypertonic saline for brain relaxation in patients undergoing craniotomy. By Prabhakar et al. “From the limited data available on the use of mannitol and hypertonic saline for brain relaxation during craniotomy, it is suggested that hypertonic saline significantly reduces the risk of tense brain during craniotomy”
Nice review article. Meng et al, USA. Journal og Neurosurgical Anesthesiology, 2015 Oct. Abstract available here.
“Scalp block with a mixture of lidocaine and ropivacaine seems to provide effective and safe anesthetic management in patients undergoing awake craniotomy.” Comment: Be aware of the doses of local anesthetics that you are using. Efficacy and Safety of a Lidocaine and Ropivacaine Mixture for Scalp Nerve Block and Local Infiltration Anesthesia in Patients Undergoing… Continue reading Local anesthetics and awake craniotomy.
Anaesthetic considerations for posterior fossa surgery. A very useful synopsis on the subject. By Sathyanarayanan for Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain. 2013.
“The evidence of benefit of current strategies remains sparse.” Zwerus et al, The Netherlands. Current Opinions in Anesthesiology, 2015 Aug. Read abstract from the article here.
“…update on the relationship between anesthesia and intraoperative hemodynamic complications, early postanesthesia recovery, postoperative pain and postoperative nausea and vomiting after craniotomy.” Bigotta et al, Italy. Current Opinion in Anesthesiology, 2013 Oct. Abstract available here.
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