SummaryThis observational study assessed the frequency and risk factors of dental damage after classic direct laryngoscopy for tracheal intubation in 536 adult patients. The patients' sex, age, height, weight, dental condition, dental mobility, Mallampati class, interincisor gap, thyromental distance, neck circumference, and head and neck extension were recorded. From anaesthesia records, the difficulty of intubation, the number of attempts, type of neuromuscular blocking agent used and duration of anaesthesia were recorded. After anaesthesia, examination revealed that 134 patients (25.0%) had dental damage affecting 162 teeth (147 maxillary; 15 mandibular). Enamel fracture was the commonest injury. In tooth number 21, the interincisor gap (OR 2.5 (95% CI 1.0-5.9)) and in tooth number 22, the number of intubation attempts (OR 5.3 (95% CI 1.3-22.0)) were considered a risk factor for dental injury. Conventional direct laryngoscopy is associated with a strikingly high incidence of dental damage, although specific risk factors remain unclear.

Minor oral trauma is significantly more frequent after endotracheal intubation than after use of the laryngeal mask. This is true for injuries of the teeth, inferior lip and tongue. Further studies are needed to evaluate on a long-term basis the clinical relevance of the dental injuries we found.

Patients need to be informed about the current safety of anesthesia and the anesthesiologist's functions. The patient involvement will demystify some fears and reassure the confidence in the health system.

INTRODUCTION: Performing dental treatments on pediatric patients who present behavioral problems is usually a great clinical challenge. Depending on the patients' emotional maturity and their physical, psychological and mental skills, the usual behavior control techniques may not offer adequate efficacy and safety when dental procedures are being carried out. In these circumstances, alternative and more invasive methods such as conscious sedation and general anesthesia may become necessary. OBJECTIVE: To compare the indications and contraindications of conscious sedation and general anesthesia in pediatric dentistry. METHOD: Literature research undertaken through the MEDLINE/Pubmed, Science Direct and B-on search engines between April and June 2013 using a 5 year time frame and the following keywords: conscious sedation, general anesthesia, pediatric dentistry and guidelines. RESULTS: Conscious sedation is recommended to anxious patients who have dental and needle phobia, to patients that present an increased vomiting reflex and also to patients with special needs but capable of communicating. General anesthesia is indicated for non-cooperating patients under the age of four, in mouth breathers, in children ASA III or higher and in pediatric patients who do not communicate. CONCLUSIONS: Each technique must be selected according to the characteristics showed by patient. Although conscious sedation and general anesthesia introduce benefits to pediatric dentistry, they should not be regarded as priority intervention techniques for behavior control. The pediatric dentist's previous knowledge of these techniques provides a better level of dental care quality as well as more safety and less discomfort for their patients.

Introduction. Patients proposed to vascular noncardiac surgery (VS) have several comorbidities associated with major adverse cardiac events (MACE). We evaluated incidence, predictors, and outcomes, and compared different scores to predict MACE after VS. Methods. We included all patients admitted from 2006 to 2013. Perioperative MACE included cardiac arrhythmias, myocardial infarction (MI), cardiogenic pulmonary edema (CPE), acute heart failure (AHF), and cardiac arrest (CA). Lee Revised Cardiac Risk Index (RCRI), Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI-CRI), Vascular Study Group of New England (VSG-CRI), and South African Vascular Surgical (SAVS-CRI) Cardiac Risk Indexes were calculated and analyzed. We performed multivariate logistic regression to assess independent predictors with calculation of odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). To reduce overfitting, we used leave-one-out cross-validation approach. The Predictive ability of scores was tested using area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). Results. A total of 928 patients were included. We observed 81 MACE (28 MI, 22 arrhythmias, 10 CPE, 9 AHF, 12 CA) in 60 patients (6.5%): 3.3% in intermediate-risk surgery and 9.8% in high-risk surgery. Previous history of coronary artery disease (OR = 3.2, CI = 1.8-5.7), atrial fibrillation (OR = 5.1, CI = 2.4-11.0), insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (OR = 3.26, CI = 1.51-7.06), mechanical ventilation (OR = 2.75, CI = 1.41-4.63), and heart rate (OR = 1.02, CI = 1.01-1.03) at admission were considered independent risk factors in multivariate analysis. The AUROC of our model was 0.79, compared with RCRI (0.66), VSG-CRI (0.69), VQI-CRI (0.71), and SAVS-CRI (0.73). Conclusions. Observed MACE were within predicted range (1% to 5% after intermediate-risk surgery and >5% after high-risk surgery). SAVS-CRI and VQI-CRI had slightly better predictive capacity than VSG-CRI or RCRI.

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Anesthesiologists are in a high-risk group to develop burnout, with different manifestations and consequences such as suicide or medical errors. Although there is no specific treatment yet, there are a lot of helpful measures to cope this condition. Prevention is considered an important step in order to reduce the prevalence of burnout.

Schwartz–Jampel syndrome (SJS) is a rare genetic condition that is characterized by several musculoskeletal abnormalities, such as myotonia, joint contractures, and facial dysmorphisms. Patients with this syndrome can present an anesthetic challenge, due to an increased risk of developing malignant hyperthermia (MH) and the possibility of encountering a difficult airway. Several precautions must be taken when general anesthesia is required, such as the avoidance of potential triggers for MH, continuous core temperature, and end-tidal CO2 monitoring, assuring that dantrolene is readily available. It is also fundamental to prepare for a possible difficult airway, guaranteeing that difficult airway devices are available. We describe the anesthetic management of a 14-year-old boy diagnosed with SJS who was scheduled for multiple dental extractions and was successfully anesthetized with our approach.