Sympathetic hyperactivity, respiratory failure, pruritus, and anesthesia after unintentional epidural injection of potassium chloride: Case report

Background and Objectives. A combination of epidural and general anesthesia has been widely used to attenuate the surgical stress response and to provide postoperative analgesia. This case report illustrates the use of this anesthetic technique. Analgesia was induced with local anesthetic in the immediate postoperative period using unintentional 19.1% potassium chloride (KCI) as diluent. Methods. An ASA I male patient was scheduled for surgical correction of idiopathic megaesophagus under continuous epidural anesthesia combined with general anesthesia. In the postoperative period, while preparing 10 mt 0.125% bupivacaine to be administered through the epidural catheter for pain control, 5 mt 19.1% KCI was unintentionally used as diluent, resulting in a 9.55% potassium solution concentration. Results. The patient developed warmness of the lower limbs, tachycardia, hypertension, intense pruritus on the chest, agitation, exacerbation of sensory and motor blocks, and respiratory failure secondary to pulmonary edema, requiring ventilatory support. Total recovery was observed after 24 hours. Conclusions. Epidurally injected potassium leads to severe clinical manifestations caused by autonomic dysfunction, spinal cord irritation, and possible release of histamine. Despite continuous recommendations, ampule misidentification still happens in hospitals, frequently leading to serious accidents.

Liposomal encapsulation improves the duration of soft tissue anesthesia but does not induce pulpal anesthesia

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Anesthesia of fish with benzocaine does not interfere with comet assay results

Fish blood erythrocytes are frequently used as sentinels in biomonitoring studies. Usually, fish blood is collected by painful cardiac or caudal vein punctures. Previous anesthesia could decrease animal suffering but it is not known at present whether anesthesia can cause confounding effects. Therefore, using the alkaline single cell gel (SCG)/comet assay with blood erythrocytes of the cichlid fish Nile tilapia, we tested for a possible modulation of induced DNA damage (methyl methanesulfonate; MMS) by the anesthetic benzocaine administered by bath exposure (80mg/l for ∼10min). Furthermore, benzocaine (80-600mg/l) was tested for its genotoxic potential on fish erythrocytes in vitro and for potential interactions with two known genotoxins (MMS and hydrogen peroxide). Our results did neither indicate a significant increase in the amount of DNA damage (even after a 48h follow-up), nor indicated interactions with MMS-induced DNA damage when fish were exposed to benzocaine in vivo. There was also no increase in DNA damage after in vitro exposure of fish erythrocytes to benzocaine. Clear concentration-related effects were observed for the two genotoxins in vitro, which were not significantly altered by the presence of benzocaine. These results suggest that anesthesia of fish does not confound comet assay results and the use of blood samples from anesthetized fish can be recommended with regard to animal welfare. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of constant rate infusion of anesthetic or analgesic drugs on general anesthesia with isoflurane: A retrospective study in 200 dogs

Constant rate infusion (CRI) shows several advantages in balanced anesthesia, such as reduction of requirement for inhaled anesthetics and control of pain. The most commonly used drugs in these protocols are local anesthetics, dissociative, and opioids, which may be administered alone or in combinations. We evaluated the records of 200 dogs that underwent various surgical procedures with anesthetic or analgesic CRI in the perioperative period during 2011 and 2012 at the Veterinary Hospital of Franca University (Unifran), and identified possible complications during the transoperative period. Records evaluated included clinical state, laboratory tests, drugs used in premedication and induction, and CRI protocol. Acepromazine and morphine were the main drugs used in premedication. Propofol was used to induce anesthesia alone or in combination with other agents. We evaluated records of the 25 different CRI protocols. Fentanyl was the main drug employed in CRI, either alone or in combination. There were 128 episodes of anesthetic complications during CRI;the most common were hypotension, hypertension, and tachycardia, which occurred in 43 (32%), 35 (26.3%), and 19 (14.2%) dogs, respectively. Cardiac arrhythmia was reported in only 4 dogs. Signs of respiratory depression were present in dogs treated with 6 different CRI protocols. The consumption of isoflurane (vol %) reduced between 15.7% and 21.05% after 30minutes of the CRI in the fentanyl and fentanyl-lidocaine-ketamine CRI groups (p<0.05). In conclusion, CRI is a valid component of balanced anesthesia in dogs, safe, and has a low incidence of adverse effects. However, future studies are warranted to describe the results of the clinical use of CRI to better characterize and refine this technique.

Efeitos do extrato aquoso de Ottonia martiana Miq. (Piperaceae), como anestésico local, para o exame oftálmico, em cães

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Anestesia local por tumescência com lidocaína em cadelas submetidas a mastectomia

The present study investigated the benefits of tumescent anesthesia with lidocaine in dogs undergoing mastectomy, seeking the patients' comfort and their postoperative recovery. Seven animals, with different weight and breed, who had cancer in the region of mammary chain underwent mastectomy surgery. All animals received the same anesthetic protocol being used as the association between acepromazine and morphine doses of 0.04mg.kg-1 and 0.4mg.kg-1 (IM), respectively. After 15 minutes a catheter was placed in the cephalic vein and induction with propofol 4mg.kg-1 and 0.2mg.kg-1 followed by maintenance with isoflurane anesthesia was done. After instrumentation, we proceeded to the tumescent anesthesia technique with ice-cold solution consisting of Ringer's lactate, lidocaine 2% without epinephrine and adrenaline in a total volume of 15mL.kg-1. The average duration of the procedure was 74±18 minutes. The plasmatic peak of lidocaine was between 30 and 60 minutes after infiltration. The rescue analgesic was performed after approximately seven hours of infiltration. It can be concluded that the tumescent anesthesia with lidocaine should be considered as a constituent of anesthetic and analgesic protocol in dogs undergoing mastectomy surgery providing parameter stability, safety and good quality postoperative recovery.

Development of hydrophilic nanocarriers for the charged form of the local anesthetic articaine

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Ocular effects of retrobulbar block with different local anesthetics in healthy dogs

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Dental students familiarity with the implications of using local anesthetics and dental materials

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)