Maternal Oxygen Administration during Labor: A Controversial Practice.

Oxygen administration to the mother is commonly performed during labor, especially in the case of a non-reassuring fetal heart rate, aiming to increase oxygen diffusion through the placenta to fetal tissues. The benefits and potential risks are controversial, especially when the mother is not hypoxemic. Its impact on placental gas exchange and the fetal acid-base equilibrium is not fully understood and it probably affects the sensible placental oxygen equilibrium causing a time-dependent vasoconstriction of umbilical and placental vessels.

Placenta accreta spectrum: experience of conservative surgery during cesarean section and clinical and radiological management during pregnancy and follow-up.

Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) is a condition of abnormal placental invasion including placenta accreta, increta and percreta and is a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. Recently, a conservative surgical technique has been proposed as a valid alternative to peri-partum hysterectomy to reduce the short- and long-term risks for the mothers and to preserve fertility. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) seems to be useful first of all at the time of diagnosis and furthermore to investigate the course of conservative management of PAS.

Perinatal outcomes of pregnant women with severe COVID-19 requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO): a case series and literature review.

Purpose: Pregnant women with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection have a higher risk of hospitalization, admission to intensive care unit (ICU) and invasive ventilation, and of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In case of ARDS and critical severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is recommended when other respiratory support strategies (oxygen insufflation, non-invasive ventilation [NIV], invasive ventilation through an endotracheal tube) are insufficient. However, available data on ECMO in pregnant and postpartum women with critical COVID-19 are very limited.

Lung Deposition of Surfactant Delivered via a Dedicated Laryngeal Mask Airway in Piglets.

It is unknown if the lung deposition of surfactant administered via a catheter placed through a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) is equivalent to that obtained by bolus instillation through an endotracheal tube. We compare the lung deposition of surfactant delivered via two types of LMA with the standard technique of endotracheal instillation. 25 newborn piglets on continuous positive airway pressure support (CPAP) were randomized into three groups: 1-LMA-camera (integrated camera and catheter channel; catheter tip below vocal cords), 2-LMA-standard (no camera, no channel; catheter tip above the glottis), 3-InSurE (Intubation, Surfactant administration, Extubation; catheter tip below end of endotracheal tube).

Risk factors for difficult Laryngeal Mask Airway LMA-Supreme™ (LMAS) placement in adults: a multicentric prospective observational study in an Italian population.

Background: Supraglottic airway devices (SADs) are precious tools for airway management in both routine and rescue situations; few studies have analyzed the risk factors for their difficult insertion.

Methods: The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for difficult insertion for a specific SAD, the Laryngeal Mask Airway LMA-Supreme™ (LMAS). This was a prospective multicentric observational study on a cohort of Italian adult patients receiving general anesthesia for elective surgery.

Supraglottic airway devices for surfactant treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To compare surfactant administration via supraglottic airway device (SAD) vs. nasal CPAP alone or INSURE.

Study Design: A systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Clinicaltrials.

Cardiac arrest in the delivery room after spinal anesthesia for cesarean section: a case report and review of literature.

Cardiac arrest in pregnancy is a rare event due to different cause. When it occurs after spinal anesthesia a cause that can explain this event is the Bezold-Jarish Reflex (BJR). A cardiac arrest occurs in a pregnant women after spinal anesthesia admistered for urgent caesarean section.

Safety aspects of desflurane anesthesia and laryngeal mask airway.

Laryngeal mask (LM) and inhaled anesthesia combination is often deemed unsuitable. Actually the evolution of surgical procedures towards minimal invasiveness, the search of improved productivity, and the contemporary need for patient safety and faster recovery, push the anesthetists to get interested in their use in the daily practice. An Expert Panel composed by anesthetists coming from university and tertiary hospitals undertook to write an experts' opinion on the correct management of LM and desflurane in adult patients, with a view to issuing a simple operative protocol for their combined intraoperative usage.

Influence of OPRM1 Polymorphism on Postoperative Pain After Intrathecal Morphine Administration in Italian Patients Undergoing Elective Cesarean Section.

Objectives: The aim of this prospective observational study was to evaluate the influence of OPRM1 polymorphism on the analgesic efficacy (including visual analog scale [VAS] scores and requirement for rescue analgesia) of a standard dose of intrathecal morphine.

Materials And Methods: An Italian cohort of 63 parturients, scheduled for elective cesarean section at a tertiary University Hospital, received spinal anesthesia with hyperbaric bupivacaine and morphine 100 mcg. For the first 48 hours in the postoperative period the patients received acetaminophen 1 g IV q6hr.

Peri-incisional and intraperitoneal ropivacaine administration: a new effective tool in pain control after laparoscopic surgery in gynecology: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background: A proportion of patients undergoing laparoscopic gynecological surgery experiences excessive post-operative pain, which results in high rescue analgesic treatment and prolonged hospitalization. The aim of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of intraoperative topical ropivacaine in the control of post-operative pain in the first 48 h after operative laparoscopy for benign adnexal or uterine pathologies .

Methods: We conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Ultrasound evaluation of the stomach and gastric emptying in pregnant women at term: a case-control study.

Background: This study aims to assess the rate of gastric emptying in pregnant women in the third trimester scheduled for elective caesarean section (CS), in view to highlight the aspiration risk.

Methods: A prospective case-control study, with the approval of the Ethics Committee, was performed. At term pregnant women (group A) scheduled for CS and volunteer controls were recruited (group B).

Supreme Laryngeal Mask Airway versus Face Mask during Neonatal Resuscitation: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of supreme laryngeal mask airway (SLMA) over face mask ventilation for preventing need for endotracheal intubation at birth.

Study Design: We report a prospective, randomized, parallel 1:1, unblinded, controlled trial. After a short-term educational intervention on SLMA use, infants ≥34-week gestation and/or expected birth weight ≥1500 g requiring positive pressure ventilation (PPV) at birth were randomized to resuscitation by SLMA or face mask.

Tracheal Intubation with Aura-i and aScope-2: How to Minimize Apnea Time in an Unpredicted Difficult Airway.

The supraglottic airway's usefulness as a dedicated airway is the subject of continuing development. We report the case of an obese patient with unpredicted difficult airway management in which a new "continuous ventilation technique" was used with the Aura-i laryngeal mask and the aScope-2 devices. The aScope-2/Aura-i system implemented airway devices for the management of predictable/unpredictable difficult airway.

Two-team simultaneous total radical vulvectomy and inguino-femoral lymphadenectomy via separate incisions for locally advanced (FIGO stages IB ≥ 4 cm-III) squamous vulvar cancer.

Aim: To describe the feasibility, safety, and oncological outcomes of a modified triple-incision total radical vulvectomy and inguino-femoral lymphadenectomy in patients with locally advanced squamous vulvar cancer.

Patients And Methods: A modified triple-incision technique performed by two surgical teams operating simultaneously under regional anesthesia was performed on a consecutive series of 57 patients with Fédération Internationale de Gynécologie Ostétrique (FIGO) stages IB ≥ 4 cm to III squamous vulvar cancer. Adjuvant radiation therapy was delivered according to margin status and groin involvement.

The Supreme Laryngeal Mask Airway™ (LMA): a new neonatal supraglottic device: comparison with Classic and ProSeal LMA in a manikin.

Aim: The study aims to compare the performances (ease of insertion, time to establish effective ventilation and maximal inflation pressure) of classic™ (cLMA), ProSeal™ (PLMA) and Supreme™ (SLMA) Laryngeal Mask Airway when used in a neonatal airway management manikin by inexperienced delivery room trainees. The quality of the three devices, as perceived by participants, was also evaluated.

Methods: Health-care professional trainees were given a brief supervised training with the three devices.