Audio-visual distraction as an adjunct to standby anaesthesia in persons with paraplegia: a case series of five operations.

Introduction: Persons with paraplegia present complex challenges to anaesthetists. Complications experienced by these patients can require major orthoplastic surgery such as excision of infected bone and soft tissue due to pressure sores and soft tissue reconstruction. Anaesthetic strategies deemed both safe and acceptable to this population are essential.

Case Presentation: We report a case series of five procedures in four patients with complete chronic spinal cord injury (CSCI) who underwent operations in lateral position under standby anaesthesia and audio-visual distraction (AVD) with minimal sedation. Patients' experience was formally assessed as part of the ongoing AVD service evaluation in our institution. All stated that they were not concerned in the operating theatre and felt "comfortable" or "very comfortable" throughout. All patients rated the experience as "better" than their previous experience with general anaesthesia and felt "very satisfied" with their anaesthetic. Importantly, all patients would recommend sedation with AVD to other patients.

Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first report of AVD application as an adjunct to standby anaesthesia during major surgery in persons with paraplegia. Patient feedback was extremely positive, therefore it is likely that by making standby anaesthesia more acceptable to patients the use of AVD could reduce anaesthetic risk in this complex patient group.