A Tale of Two Supercities: Early COVID-19 Outcomes Reflect Social Vulnerability in New York City and San Francisco.

In this narrative review, anesthesiologists at 2 large hospital systems in New York City and San Francisco compare early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health outcomes while considering the role played by social vulnerability and relevant approaches in their 2 cities. An iterative search process allowed for a broad review of medical and public policy research, as well as newspaper reports, expert opinion, and multimedia sources, with the goal of exploring the importance of crowding, the labor force, and social identity in pandemic experiences. Related struggles, pitfalls, and successful interventions in both locales are summarized.

Logistical Considerations and Clinical Outcomes Associated With Converting Operating Rooms Into an Intensive Care Unit During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic in a New York City Hospital.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged as a public health crisis that disrupted normal patterns of health care in the New York City metropolitan area. In preparation for a large influx of critically ill patients, operating rooms (ORs) at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center (NYP-Columbia) were converted into a novel intensive care unit (ICU) area, the operating room intensive care unit (ORICU).

Methods: Twenty-three ORs were converted into an 82-bed ORICU.

Anesthesia for the Patient with Concomitant Hepatic and Renal Impairment.

Hepatic and renal disease are common comorbidities in patients presenting for intermediate- and high-risk surgery. With the evolution of perioperative medicine, anesthesiologists are encountering more patients who have significant hepatic and renal disease, both acute and chronic in nature. It is important that anesthesiologists have an in-depth understanding of the physiologic derangements seen with hepatic and renal disease to evaluate and manage these patients appropriately.

Anesthetic implications of extended right hepatectomy in a patient with fontan physiology.

Patients who have undergone complete cavopulmonary anastomosis, the Fontan procedure, have passive venous blood flow from the superior and inferior vena cava into the pulmonary circulation without passing through the right ventricle. Although this procedure is an effective means of palliation, the resultant chronically increased central venous pressure, leads to several types of hepatic dysfunction including chronic congestion, cardiac cirrhosis, and even hepatocellular carcinoma. In this case report, we describe a patient with Fontan-associated hepatocellular carcinoma who successfully underwent a right hepatectomy.

Anesthetic concerns in patients presenting with renal failure.

Anesthesiologists often care for patients with renal insufficiency or renal failure. These patients may present to the operating room for a minor procedure such as an inguinal hernia repair or an arteriovenous fistula/graft. Alternatively, they may present for major abdominal operations or coronary artery bypass grafting.

Renal failure in patients with cirrhosis: hepatorenal syndrome and renal support strategies.

Purpose Of Review: The development of hepatorenal syndrome in liver cirrhosis leads to an increased morbidity and mortality in patients with cirrhosis. Currently, there are no proven methods for the treatment or prevention of hepatorenal syndrome except to maintain adequate hemodynamics and intravascular volume in this patient population. These patients will frequently require renal replacement therapy when presenting for hepatic transplantation.

Vasopressin decreases portal vein pressure and flow in the native liver during liver transplantation.

Vasodilation due to impaired vascular tone is common in liver failure. Vasoconstrictor drugs are almost always required during the anhepatic phase of a liver transplant to maintain blood pressure unless venovenous bypass is employed. Arginine-vasopressin can be used as a vasoconstrictor instead of or in addition to norepinephrine for this purpose, but the effect of vasopressin on the portal vein pressure and flow in this setting is unknown.

Severe pulmonary hypertension due to chronic echinococcal pulmonary emboli treated with targeted pulmonary vascular therapy and hepatic resection.

Hydatid disease (human echinococcosis) is a zoonotic infection caused by larval forms (metacestodes) of the genus Echinococcus. Although pulmonary hypertension (PH) due to hydatid disease has been described, it is quite rare. We report a patient with chronic echinococcal embolic PH in whom treatment with novel PH therapies permitted successful resection of the hepatic cyst with a good outcome.

Renal disease: the anesthesiologist's perspective.

The kidney is a remarkable organ whose functions include maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance, excreting metabolic waste products, and controlling vascular tone. Blood flow within the kidney is very heterogeneous, which places the metabolically active medulla at high risk for ischemic injury. A number of mediators play a role in the modulation of renal blood flow, including angiotensin II, dopamine, vasopressin, prostaglandins, atrial natriuretic peptide, endothelin, and nitric oxide.

A randomized, double-blind comparison of lactated Ringer's solution and 0.9% NaCl during renal transplantation.

Normal saline (NS; 0.9% NaCl) is administered during kidney transplantation to avoid the risk of hyperkalemia associated with potassium-containing fluids. Recent evidence suggests that NS may be associated with adverse effects that are not seen with balanced-salt fluids, e.

Anesthetic considerations during liver surgery.

This article demonstrates the broad range of considerations that affect the outcome of patients undergoing hepatectomy. The progressive improvements in survival, despite the increasing complexity of the surgery, area testament to advances in both surgery and anesthesia. The key elements include careful patient selection, appropriate monitoring, and mechanical and pharmacologic protection of the liver and other vital organs.