Perineural Administration of Dexmedetomidine in Axillary Brachial Plexus Block Provides Safe and Comfortable Sedation : A Randomized Clinical Trial

Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2022 Rocans, Ozolina, Andruskevics, Narchi, Ramane and Mamaja.Dexmedetomidine prolongs the duration of regional block while its systemic sedative effect when administered perineurally is unknown. We aimed to evaluate the systemic sedative effect of perineural dexmedetomidine in patients after axillary brachial plexus block (ABPB). This single-blinded prospective randomized control trial included 80 patients undergoing wrist surgery receiving ABPB. Patients were randomized into two groups – Control group (CG, N = 40) and dexmedetomidine group (DG, N = 40). Both groups received ABPB with 20 ml of 0.5% Bupivacaine and 10 ml of 2% Lidocaine. Additionally, patients in DG received 100 mcg of dexmedetomidine perineurally. Depth of sedation was evaluated using Narcontrend Index (NI) and Ramsay Sedation Scale (RSS) immediately after ABPB and in several time points up to 120 min. Duration of block as well as patient satisfaction with sedation was evaluated using a postoperative survey. Our results showed that NI and RSS statistically differed between groups, presenting a deeper level of sedation during the first 90 min in DG compared to controls, P < 0.001. In the first 10 to 60 min after ABPB the median RSS was 4 (IQR within median) and median NI was 60 (IQR 44–80) in DG group, in contrast to CG patients where median RSS was 2 (IQR within median) and median NI was 97 (IQR 96–98) throughout surgery. The level of sedation became equal in both groups 90 and 120 min after ABPB when the median NI value was 98 (97–99) in DG and 97.5 (97–98) in CG, P = 0.276, and the median RSS was 2 (IQR within median) in both groups, P = 0.128. No significant intergroup differences in hemodynamic or respiratory parameters were found. Patients in DG expressed satisfaction with sedation and 86.5% noted that the sensation was similar to ordinary sleep. In DG mean duration of motor block was 13.5 ± 2.1 h and sensory block was 12.7 ± 2.8 h which was significantly longer compared to CG 6.3 ± 1.5 h, P < 0.001 and 6.4 ± 1.8 h, P < 0.001. We found that beside prolongation of analgesia, perineural administration of dexmedetomidine might provide rather safe and comfortable sedation with no significant effect on hemodynamic or respiratory stability and yields a high level of patient satisfaction.publishersversionPeer reviewe

The Impact of Different Ventilatory Strategies on Clinical Outcomes in Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia

Funding Information: The authors declare that the article publication fee has been covered with the support of Educational Centre of Riga East University Hospital. No funders were involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data or writing of this article. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Introduction: The aim was to investigate the impact of different ventilator strategies (non-invasive ventilation (NIV); invasive MV with tracheal tube (TT) and with tracheostomy (TS) on outcomes (mortality and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay) in patients with COVID-19. We also assessed the impact of timing of percutaneous tracheostomy and other risk factors on mortality. Methods: The retrospective cohort included 868 patients with severe COVID-19. Demographics, MV parameters and duration, and ICU mortality were collected. Results: MV was provided in 530 (61.1%) patients, divided into three groups: NIV (n = 139), TT (n = 313), and TS (n = 78). Prevalence of tracheostomy was 14.7%, and ICU mortality was 90.4%, 60.2%, and 30.2% in TT, TS, and NIV groups, respectively (p < 0.001). Tracheostomy increased the chances of survival and being discharged from ICU (OR 6.3, p < 0.001) despite prolonging ICU stay compared to the TT group (22.2 days vs. 10.7 days, p < 0.001) without differences in survival rates between early and late tracheostomy. Patients who only received invasive MV had higher odds of survival compared to those receiving NIV in ICU prior to invasive MV (OR 2.7, p = 0.001). The odds of death increased with age (OR 1.032, p < 0.001), obesity (1.58, p = 0.041), chronic renal disease (1.57, p = 0.019), sepsis (2.8, p < 0.001), acute kidney injury (1.7, p = 0.049), multiple organ dysfunction (3.2, p < 0.001), and ARDS (3.3, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Percutaneous tracheostomy compared to MV via TT significantly increased survival and the rate of discharge from ICU, without differences between early or late tracheostomy.publishersversionPeer reviewe