Anaesthesia Management for Giant Intraabdominal Tumours: A Case Series Study

BACKGROUND

Due to a lack of randomised controlled trials and guidelines, and only case reports being available in the literature, there is no consensus on how to approach anaesthetic management in patients with giant intraabdominal tumours.

METHODS

This study aimed to evaluate the literature and explore the current status of evidence, by undertaking an observational research design with a descriptive account of characteristics observed in a case series referring to patients with giant intraabdominal tumours who underwent anaesthesia.

RESULTS

Twenty patients diagnosed with giant intraabdominal tumours were included in the study, most of them women, with the overall pathology being ovarian-related and sarcomas. Most of the patients were unable to lie supine and assumed a lateral decubitus position. Pulmonary function tests, chest X-rays, and thoracoabdominal CT were the most often performed preoperative evaluation methods, with the overall findings that there was no atelectasis or pleural effusion present, but there was bilateral diaphragm elevation. The removal of the intraabdominal tumour was performed under general anaesthesia in all cases. Awake fiberoptic intubation or awake videolaryngoscopy was performed in five cases, while the rest were performed with general anaesthesia with rapid sequence induction. Only one patient was ventilated with pressure support ventilation while maintaining spontaneous ventilation, while the rest were ventilated with controlled ventilation. Hypoxemia was the most reported respiratory complication during surgery. In more than 50% of cases, there was hypotension present during surgery, especially after the induction of anaesthesia and after tumour removal, which required vasopressor support. Most cases involved blood loss with subsequent transfusion requirements. The removal of the tumor requires prolonged surgical and anaesthesia times. Fluid drainage from cystic tumour ranged from 15.7 L to 107 L, with a fluid extraction rate of 0.5-2.5 L/min, and there was no re-expansion pulmonary oedema reported. Following surgery, all the patients required intensive care unit admission. One patient died during hospitalization.

CONCLUSIONS

This study contributes to the creation of a certain standard of care when dealing with patients presenting with giant intraabdominal tumour. More research is needed to define the proper way to administer anaesthesia and create practice guidelines.

Re-expansion pulmonary edema after minimally invasive cardiac surgery in children

Re-expansion pulmonary edema is a serious complication that can occur after minimally invasive cardiac surgery through a right mini-thoracotomy. Herein, we describe two paediatric cases where re-expansion pulmonary edema was observed after simple atrial septal defect closure through a right mini-thoracotomy. This is the first case report of re-expansion pulmonary edema after a paediatric cardiac surgery.

Noncardiogenic pulmonary edema in small animals

OBJECTIVE

To review various types of noncardiogenic pulmonary edema (NCPE) in cats and dogs.

ETIOLOGY

NCPE is an abnormal fluid accumulation in the lung interstitium or alveoli that is not caused by cardiogenic causes or fluid overload. It can be due to changes in vascular permeability, hydrostatic pressure in the pulmonary vasculature, or a combination thereof. Possible causes include inflammatory states within the lung or in remote tissues (acute respiratory distress syndrome [ARDS]), airway obstruction (post-obstructive pulmonary edema), neurologic disease such as head trauma or seizures (neurogenic pulmonary edema), electrocution, after re-expansion of a collapsed lung or after drowning.

DIAGNOSIS

Diagnosis of NCPE is generally based on history, physical examination, and diagnostic imaging. Radiographic findings suggestive of NCPE are interstitial to alveolar pulmonary opacities in the absence of signs of left-sided congestive heart failure or fluid overload such as cardiomegaly or congested pulmonary veins. Computed tomography and edema fluid analysis may aid in the diagnosis, while some forms of NCPE require additional findings to reach a diagnosis.

THERAPY

The goal of therapy for all types of NCPE is to preserve tissue oxygenation and reduce the work of breathing. This may be achieved by removing the inciting cause (eg, airway obstruction) and cage rest in mild cases and supplemental oxygen in moderate cases and may require mechanical ventilation in severe cases.

PROGNOSIS

Prognosis is generally good for most causes of veterinary NCPE except for ARDS, although data are scarce for some etiologies of NCPE.

Large Intrathoracic Desmoid Tumor and Re-Expansion Pulmonary Edema: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Re-expansion pulmonary edema is a potentially life-threatening situation following thoracic surgery of a compromised lung. We report the case of a 24-year-old female scheduled for a resection of a large intrathoracic desmoid tumor that presented with re-expansion pulmonary edema at the conclusion of her surgery and discuss the clinical presentation, mechanism and predictors of this entity and review similar cases reported in the literature.

Severe re-expansion pulmonary edema after chest tube insertion for the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax: A case report

RATIONALE

Re-expansion pulmonary edema (REPE) is a rare complication after chest tube insertion for the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax. However, this complication can be life threatening when it occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize REPE early and treat it appropriately. In the present study, we report a severe REPE case occurring after chest tube insertion in a patient with spontaneous pneumothorax.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 27-year-old male patient visited out hospital with chest pain on the left, which had started a week ago. After diagnosed with pneumothorax and having chest tube insertion, the patient complained of sudden shortness of breath, persistent cough, foamy sputum, and vomiting.

DIAGNOSIS

Based on the symptoms and imaging findings, the patient was diagnosed as REPE.

INTERVENTIONS

After the condition of the patient deteriorated rapidly, he was transferred to intensive care unit and then mechanical ventilation and conservative treatment were performed after endotracheal intubation.

OUTCOMES

After mechanical ventilation and conservative treatment in the intensive care unit, the symptoms and radiological findings improved, and then mechanical ventilation was weaned and the chest tube was removed from the patient. However, due to recurrent pneumothorax after removal of the chest tube, video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) wedge resection was performed. At 6 months post-operative follow up, he was well with normal radiological findings.

LESSONS

REPE occurs rarely, but once it does, it causes a serious condition that can be life-threatening. Therefore, patients with the risk factors related to it should receive a closed observation after chest tube insertion. Moreover, if REPE occurs, appropriate treatments should be carried out by recognizing it early.

A Huge Hydatid Pulmonary Cyst

This case report describes a patient with an unusually large pulmonary hydatid cyst and discusses important management issues.

Re-expansion pulmonary edema in a patient with anorexia nervosa and delayed drainage of traumatic pneumothorax

A 21-year-old patient with anorexia developed re-expansion pulmonary edema after delayed drainage of traumatic pneumothorax. The patient was treated with non-invasive respiratory support [helmet continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and nasal high flow] until the resolution of the edema. Risk factors associated with re-expansion pulmonary edema are anorexia nervosa, prolonged lung collapse, age in the 20-39 range and re-expansion by high suctioning pressure.

Adenocarcinoma masked by re-expansion pulmonary edema after chest drainage for pneumothorax

Re‐expansion pulmonary edema is a rare complication that may occur after chest drainage performed for pneumothorax. This condition manifests as areas of ground‐glass opacities (GGO) and septal thickening on imaging studies. In the case reported here, chest computed tomography (CT) showed diffuse ground‐glass opacity secondary to ruptured bullae in a patient who underwent chest tube drainage for pneumothorax, suggesting re‐expansion pulmonary edema. Histopathological examination of lung tissue resected from the vicinity of the bullae showed focal adenocarcinoma, which was masked by re‐expansion pulmonary edema on preoperative computed tomography. Right upper lobectomy with mediastinal lymph node dissection was performed on postoperative day 3.

Re-expansion pulmonary edema after resection of cerebellar lesion in a patient with bronchial occupying lesion: A case report

RATIONALE

Re-expansion pulmonary edema (RPE) is a non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, and is secondary to pulmonary collapse caused due to various reasons. However, RPE is rarely encountered during non-thoracic surgeries and is associated with much higher risk than that occurring in thoracic surgeries.

PATIENT CONCERNS

Herein we have reported a case report of a 55-years-old male patient. Preoperative examination indicated occupying lesions in the bronchus and cerebellar hemisphere. Under general anesthesia, the patient received resection of cerebellar lesion and developed acute atelectasis, and RPE occurred when cannulation was withdrawn after re-expansion. Supportive and symptomatic treatment was given to the patient for recovery well.

DIAGNOSIS

RPE.

INTERVENTIONS

The trachea was cannulated and connected to a ventilator for assisted ventilation. The patient was also given symptomatic treatment including nebulization, diuresis, and anti-inflammation.

OUTCOMES

The patient recovered well and was discharged on day 8 after surgery.

LESSONS

Patients with occupying lesions of the airway should undergo bronchoscopy to determine the location, size, and distance of the lesion from the incisors. The anesthesiologists should determine appropriate anesthetic regimens according to the examination results to avoid acute atelectasis and postoperative pulmonary edema.

Prevention of Pulmonary Edema after Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery with Mini-Thoracotomy Using Neutrophil Elastase Inhibitor

PURPOSE

Unilateral re-expansion pulmonary edema (RPE) is a rare but one of the most critical complications that may occur after re-expansion of a collapsed lung after minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS) with mini-thoracotomy.

METHODS

We performed a total of 40 consecutive patients with MICS by right mini-thoracotomy with single-lung ventilation between January 2013 and June 2016. We divided the patients into control group (n = 13) and neutrophil elastase inhibitor group (n = 27). Neutrophil elastase inhibitor group received continuous intravenous infusion of neutrophil elastase inhibitor at 0.2-0.25 mg/kg per hour from the start of anesthesia until extubation during the perioperative period.

RESULTS

There were no relations with operative time, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time, aortic clamp time, and intraoperative water valances for postoperative mechanical ventilation support time. Compared with the neutrophil elastase inhibitor group, the control group had significantly higher initial alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient and significantly lower initial ratio of partial pressure of arterial oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen at the intensive care unit (ICU). The control group had significantly longer postoperative mechanical ventilation support time and hospital stay compared with the neutrophil elastase inhibitor group.

CONCLUSIONS

Neutrophil elastase inhibitor may have beneficial effects against RPE after MICS with mini-thoracotomy.