Background There are several recent reports that left upper lobe lung resection is a risk factor for the development of postoperative thromboembolism. Although administering epidural analgesia is common in thoracic surgery, anesthesiologists should be alert when administering epidural analgesia to a patient undergoing left upper lobectomy, considering the increased risk of postoperative thromboembolism and the potential need for anticoagulation or fibrinolytic therapy in the immediate postoperative period. Case presentation A seventy-one-year-old female with a metastatic lung lesion developed a cerebral infarction approximately 30 h after video-assisted thoracoscopic left upper lobectomy. Cerebral intravascular therapy was indicated and the epidural catheter was removed immediately to avoid formation of an epidural hematoma. Approximately four hours after onset, reperfusion was successfully established by aspiration of endovascular thrombi. She recovered with mild residual paralysis of the left upper extremity and was transferred to a rehabilitation facility. Conclusions We present a patient with a cerebral infarction after left upper lobectomy. Left upper lobectomy is associated with an increased risk of postoperative thromboembolism. Although the exact mechanism of thrombosis after left upper lobectomy is unclear, a judicious decision should be made regarding epidural catheter placement for postoperative analgesia.

BackgroundThe safety of intraoperative administration of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) has been debated. We hypothesized that intraoperative use of HES is associated with postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) following cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).Materials and methodsPatients who underwent cardiothoracic surgery using CPB between 2007 and 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. The incidence of AKI within 7 days after surgery, defined by the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcome criteria, was compared for patients who did or did not receive 6% (70/0.5) or 6% (130/0.4) HES for anesthesia management before or after CPB. Multivariable logistic regression and propensity matching analysis were performed to examine whether use of HES is associated with postoperative AKI. Outcomes comparing patients receiving HES ≥ 1000 mL and < 1000 mL were also compared.ResultsData from 1976 patients were reviewed. All patients received 70/0.5 HES as a part of the priming solution for CPB. The incidence of postoperative AKI was 28.2% in patients who received HES and 26.0% in patients who did not (p = 0.33). In multivariable analysis, there was no correlation between the use of HES and the incidence of AKI (odds ratio 0.87, 95% CI 0.30–2.58, p = 0.81). Propensity matching showed that the incidence of AKI was not significantly different between 481 patients administered with HES and 962 patients (26.6% vs. 26.9%, p = 0.95) who did not receive HES for anesthesia management. However, peak creatinine levels, needed for renal replacement therapy, and in-hospital mortality were higher, and 28-day hospital-free days were lower in patients receiving HES ≥ 1000 mL than those receiving HES < 1000 mL (p < 0.05).ConclusionsIntraoperative use of HES was not associated with postoperative AKI following CPB. However, administration of large volumes of HES may be associated with kidney-related adverse clinical outcomes.

We describe a patient with a pacemaker who developed cardiac arrest shortly after ultrasound-guided rectus sheath block for postoperative analgesia. The cause of cardiac arrest was capture failure due to an increased pacing threshold, and the patient was promptly treated by increasing the pacing amplitude. Local anesthetics used for rectus sheath block might have affected the pacing threshold and caused pacing capture failure, since local anesthetics can block cardiac sodium channels. Anesthesiologists should recognize the risk of pacemaker capture failure when a large amount of local anesthetic is given to patients with a cardiac pacemaker.

Background There are several recent reports that left upper lobe lung resection is a risk factor for the development of postoperative thromboembolism. Although administering epidural analgesia is common in thoracic surgery, anesthesiologists should be alert when administering epidural analgesia to a patient undergoing left upper lobe resection, considering the increased risk of postoperative thromboembolism and the potential need for anticoagulation or fibrinolytic therapy in the immediate postoperative period. Case presentation A seventy-one-year-old female with a metastatic lung lesion developed a cerebral infarction approximately 30 hours after video-assisted thoracoscopic left upper lobectomy. Cerebral intravascular therapy was indicated and the epidural catheter was removed immediately to avoid formation of an epidural hematoma. Approximately four hours after onset, reperfusion was successfully established by aspiration of endovascular thrombi. She recovered with mild residual paralysis of the left upper extremity and was transferred to a rehabilitation facility. Conclusions We present a patient with a cerebral infarction after left upper lobe resection. Left upper lobe resection is associated with an increased risk of postoperative thromboembolism. Although the exact mechanism of thrombosis after left upper lobe resection is unclear, a judicious decision should be made regarding epidural catheter placement for postoperative analgesia.

Background There are several recent reports that left upper lobe lung resection is a risk factor for the development of postoperative thromboembolism. Although administering epidural analgesia is common in thoracic surgery, anesthesiologists should be alert when administering epidural analgesia to a patient undergoing left upper lobectomy, considering the increased risk of postoperative thromboembolism and the potential need for anticoagulation or fibrinolytic therapy in the immediate postoperative period. Case presentation A seventy-one-year-old female with a metastatic lung lesion developed a cerebral infarction approximately 30 hours after video-assisted thoracoscopic left upper lobectomy. Cerebral intravascular therapy was indicated and the epidural catheter was removed immediately to avoid formation of an epidural hematoma. Approximately four hours after onset, reperfusion was successfully established by aspiration of endovascular thrombi. She recovered with mild residual paralysis of the left upper extremity and was transferred to a rehabilitation facility. Conclusions We present a patient with a cerebral infarction after left upper lobectomy. Left upper lobectomy is associated with an increased risk of postoperative thromboembolism. Although the exact mechanism of thrombosis after left upper lobectomy is unclear, a judicious decision should be made regarding epidural catheter placement for postoperative analgesia.