Effective use of bronchial blockers in lung isolation surgery: An analysis of 130 cases

Background: One-lung ventilation (OLV) is necessary for selected surgical settings and medical conditions. Different methods have been described and used to isolate 1 lung, including the double-lumen endotracheal tube (DLT) and a variety of bronchial blockers (BBs). This selection is often based on the preferences and experiences of the anesthesiologist and surgeon. Complications associated with OLV isolation tubes have been previously described, but complications specifically associated with the Cohen BB (CBB) (Cook Medical, Bloomington, IN) have not been investigated. The purpose of this retrospective review was to determine the incidence of vocal cord injury, tracheobronchial injury, and hoarseness in adult patients who underwent OLV with the CBB. Methods: We reviewed electronic anesthesia records, operative dictation, and inpatient progress notes to collect information about vocal cord injury, bronchial injury, hoarseness, and sore throat for adults who underwent surgical and diagnostic procedures requiring OLV. Secondary endpoints were types of surgical procedures, degree of difficulty with orotracheal intubation, ability of the patient to tolerate extubation in the operating room, and whether the thoracic surgeon deemed the lung separation adequate.

The modified early warning score as a predictive tool during unplanned surgical intensive care unit admission

Background: The Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) has been proposed to warn healthcare providers of potentially serious adverse events. We evaluated this scoring system during unplanned escalation of care in hospitalized surgical patients during a 1-year period. Methods: Following institutional review board approval, all consecutive, unplanned surgical admissions into the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) during 2016 were entered into this study. MEWS and patient demographics during bedside evaluation for SICU admission were extracted from electronic medical records. Logistic regression was used to analyze the association of MEWS with the incidence of future mortality. P values were set a