Endotracheal tube cuff pressure monitoring is one of the standard degrees of care afforded to anesthetized patients in the operative theater. Traditional pressure transducer when used to monitor cuff pressure provides real time continuous sine wave pressure waveform which has not been described in literature so far. This unique waveform needs to be further processed and evaluated to check its utility in airway pressure monitoring.
Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumour of childhood. Dilated cardiomyopathy as an initial presentation of neuroblastoma is rare. We report the case of a three-year-old child with giant abdominal neuroblastoma encasing the abdominal aorta who presented with dilated cardiomyopathy in heart failure without hypertension or elevated serum catecholamine levels. The probable pathophysiological mechanism for such an occurrence and review of similar cases along with perioperative management is presented.
Succinylcholine is one of the most commonly used drugs by anesthesiologists worldwide for rapid access to airway both in emergency and elective situations. Nonetheless, the very mention of succinylcholine generates the most energetic high decibel debate between its users and nonusers. Despite its potential to produce a short-acting, ultra-intense neuromuscular block rapidly in seconds, it is surrounded by a plethora of side effects and drug interactions. This case report is about one such drug interaction of this innocent yet malicious drug, which resulted in the death of a 14-year-old girl. Both β-adrenergic blockers and succinylcholine are known to cause hyperkalemia. Life-threatening hyperkalemia in susceptible individuals who have been administered succinylcholine has the most severe effect on the myocardium and can result in asystole with minimal chances of resuscitation. Both succinylcholine and a nonselective β-adrenergic blocker, propranolol, have the propensity to affect the transcellular redistribution of potassium which can result in hyperkalemia. We advocate cautious use of this drug combination till further studies confirm the drug interaction and find the potential triggering factors involved.
In paediatric patients, airway management can be challenging due to unique anatomical and physiological variations. Hence, a thorough history, examination and pre-operative planning are essential in securing difficult airway in paediatrics. We report a case of a 7-month-old infant with rhabdomyosarcoma of the upper lip with anticipated difficult airway. The airway was managed with three different conventional techniques (modified nasal trumpet, supraglottic airway and direct laryngoscopy) for three different procedures in the same infant. The procedures were uneventful and recovery was good. This case report emphasises the use of conventional techniques in the management of difficult airway.
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