Perioperative Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Strategies at Three General Hospitals in Japan and a Narrative Review.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread globally ever since the virus was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Despite efforts to accelerate the supply of COVID-19 vaccines worldwide, the global pandemic has continued. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test is currently considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of COVID-19.

A laser mount probe holder facilitates fixation of the optimized ultrasound image and needle alignment in-plane to the ultrasound beam during ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve block.

Laser guidance facilitates needle alignment in-plane to the ultrasound beam. Once the ultrasound image is optimized, there is no further need to maneuver the probe. Therefore, we designed a laser mount probe holder prototype, and examined the ease of visualization of the needle tip using the laser mount probe holder.

A Missing Tooth Found in the Nasal Cavity After an Attempt at Insertion of a Nasogastric Tube: A Case Report.

Dental injury is one of the most common complications of tracheal intubation. Although teeth dislodged during tracheal intubation are usually found in the oral cavity, we encountered a case of a missing tooth found in the nasal cavity in an intubated patient. A 62-year-old man with 4 loose teeth in the upper jaw was scheduled for laparoscopic hernia repair.

Anesthesia Experience for Tonsillectomy in a Patient With Hypofibrinogenemia: A Case Report.

A 26-year-old male patient with hypofibrinogenemia was scheduled to undergo tonsillectomy. Hypofibrinogenemia, defined as low plasma fibrinogen (Fbg) concentration, is a type of congenital Fbg deficiency and is a rare coagulopathy. Perioperative replenishment of Fbg is performed during minor surgeries, aimed at maintaining plasma Fbg concentrations of 50 mg/dL.

Difficult Removal of a Nasogastric Tube Because of Knot Formation Around a Nasotracheal Tube: A Case Report.

Knotting of a nasogastric (NG) tube around a left nasotracheal tube occurred in the pharynx during its blind insertion via the right nares. Unusual resistance was encountered during its advancement and attempted withdrawal. The nasotracheal tube moved in tandem with the NG tube.

[A Clinical Comparison of Continuous Sciatic Nerve Block and Epidural Anesthesia for Postoperative Pain Control in Patients with Fracture of the Foot].

Background: Epidural analgesia provides good pain relief for patients with fracture of the foot Ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve block offers safety and efficacy without affecting the leg.

Methods: We compared the continuous sciatic nerve block with the continuous epidural anesthesia regarding postoperative pain after the open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of the ankle fracture or calcaneal bone fracture.

Results: Fifteen patients were included in the epidural group (group E), and 17 patients in the sciatic nerve block group (group S).

[Postoperative takotsubo cardiomyopathy caused by an ectopic paraganglinoma after gastric submucosal tumor resection].

We encountered an 80-year-old woman with an ectopic paraganglioma of the bladder who developed takotsubo cardiomyopathy after gastric submucosal resection performed for an unrelated tumor. Preoperative blood pressure control was not necessary despite the presence of the noradrenaline-producing paraganglioma However, the patient developed severe intraoperative hypotension, and thereafter manifested takotsubo cardiomyopathy after the operation. Perioperative stress and catecholamine production by the bladder paraganglioma were considered to have induced the takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

[Succesful management of esophageal banding and gastrostomy for esophageal atresia in a trisomy 18 child with complex cardiac malformation].

Trisomy 18 is one of the congenital disorders caused by a chromosomal abnormality. Ninety percent of fetuses with trisomy 18 have various other malformations. The present patient had heart failure due to a complex cardiac malformation and a Gross C type esophageal atresia.

[A case of ilioinguinal hernia with Möbius syndrome].

We gave general anesthesia for an infant with ilioinguinal hernia and Möbius syndrome. Anesthesia was performed with sevoflurane inhalation and intravenous infusion of remifentanil. Intraoperative anesthetic course was uneventful.

[Combined subarachnoidal block and continuous femoral nerve block for two patients undergoing bilateral simultaneous total knee arthroplasty].

We administered combined spinal anesthesia plus bilateral femoral nerve block in two cases undergoing bilateral simultaneous total knee arthroplasty. Although epidural catheters must be removed before anticoagulant treatment can be performed after surgery, femoral nerve block, poses minimal hindrance to anticoagulant therapy. Because femoral nerve block alone cannot provide sufficient postoperative pain relief after total knee arthroplasty, additional sciatic nerve block, spinal anesthesia, opioid administration, or some other means of analgesia is necessary.

[Ultrasound-guided rectus sheath blockade is a safe and accurate method for emergency ileostomy for patients with coagulopathy].

Obstructive ileus is a life-threatening gastrointestinal condition that requires emergency operation. Patients with obstructive ileus sometimes develop coagulopathy. In such cases, central neuraxial blockade should be avoided.

[Peripheral nerve blocks for a patient with spondylolysis undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction].

A 24-year-old man, 178 cm tall and weighting 82 kg, underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. We gave general anesthesia and ultrasound-guided combined femoral and sciatic nerve block. Neuraxial blocks increase the risk of neuropathy in the patient with spondylolysis compared with peripheral nerve blocks.

Ultrasound-guided medial mid-thigh approach to sciatic nerve block with a patient in a supine position.

We report the use of a 'medial mid-thigh approach (medial approach),' a new approach for performing ultrasound-guided sciatic nerve blockade (SNB) with patients in a supine position. Fifty-four patients undergoing knee surgery under general anesthesia and a combined femoral nerve block (FNB) and SNB were included in the study. After FNB, an ultrasound-guided medial approach was used to perform the SNB.

Optical imaging of propofol-induced central respiratory depression in medulla-spinal cord preparations from newborn rats.

1. Propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol) is an intravenous anaesthetic used for the induction and maintenance of general anaesthesia; it also potently and dose-dependently depresses respiration. The aim of the present study was to analyse propofol-induced changes in spatiotemporal patterns of inspiratory-related neural activity and to investigate the involvement of the GABAA receptor by using an optical imaging technique.

[Ultrasound-guided combined femoral-obturator nerve block for the knee arthroscopic surgery of meniscal lesions: case report].

We report successful management of anesthesia in two cases of knee arthroscopic surgery of meniscal lesions using ultrasound-guided combined femoral-obturator nerve block with inhalation anesthesia. The blocks were performed with 30 ml of 0.5% ropivacaine under ultrasonographic visualization.