Background: The preadmission clinic (PAC) is crucial in perioperative care, offering evaluations, education, and patient optimization before surgical procedures. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the PAC adapted by implementing telephone visits due to a lack of infrastructure for video consultations. While the pandemic significantly increased the use of virtual care, including video appointments as an alternative to in-person consultations, our PAC had not used video consultations for preoperative assessments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Early hospital discharge shifts the recovery burden toward the patient and can leave patients and their caregivers anxious about the recovery process. Postoperative home care must be broadened to include appropriate and adequate support to address recovery at home. In this prospective study, patient and caregiver perspectives on the level of preparation/satisfaction and cost associated with management of recovery in the postoperative period were evaluated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Sugammadex is known to reverse neuromuscular blockade (NMB) more rapidly and reliably than neostigmine. However, data remain limited in bariatric patients. In this review, we systematically evaluated the efficacy and safety of sugammadex versus neostigmine in reversing NMB in morbidly obese (MO) patients undergoing bariatric surgery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe present a case of a woman who received a left single-injection supraclavicular brachial plexus block for analgesia to facilitate upper extremity orthopaedic surgery. Before tracheal extubation she desaturated, was noted to have a low tidal volume and reduced left-sided air entry on auscultation of the chest. A chest x-ray taken 1 h following tracheal extubation revealed elevation of the left hemidiaphragm and a rightward shift of the trachea and mediastinal structures, with no evidence of pneumothorax.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Protection of healthcare providers (HCP) has been a serious challenge in the management of patients during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Additional physical barriers have been created to enhance personal protective equipment (PPE). In this study, user acceptability of two novel barriers was evaluated and the performance of airway management using PPE alone versus PPE plus the additional barrier were compared.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pediatric tracheostomies occur for various reasons, including prologned intubation, and require a multidisciplinary approach with routine follow-up.
Case Presentation: This report reviews the history and clinical outcome of a 29 year old female patient who was lost to follow-up for nearly two decades after a pediatric tracheostomy. When she presented to the Otolaryngology service as an adult the original indication for tracheostomy had resolved and decannulation was initiated, but a profound psychological dependence had developed.