Adolescent ; Adult ; Ambulatory Surgical Procedures ; instrumentation ; methods ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Radio Waves ; Tonsillectomy ; instrumentation ; methods ; Young Adult

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact in healthcare systems across the world, with many hospitals having to come up with protocols and measures to contain the spread of the virus. This affects various specialties' clinical practices in many ways. Since early 2020 in Singapore, the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Tan Tock Seng Hospital had to rapidly adapt to this pandemic as we provided services to the main healthcare facility combating the virus in our country. We had to design new workflows and also remain flexible in view of the ever-changing situation. There are 6 important domains for an otolaryngology department or any clinical department in general to consider when making adjustments to their practices in an outbreak: (1) clinical work, (2) education, (3) research, (4) safety of patients and staff, (5) morale of medical staff and (6) pandemic frontline work. We hope that the sharing of our experiences and the lessons learnt will be useful for both our local and international colleagues.
Ambulatory Care ; Biomedical Research ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; Delivery of Health Care/methods* ; Education, Medical ; Elective Surgical Procedures ; Health Workforce ; Humans ; Morale ; Otolaryngology/methods* ; Otorhinolaryngologic Surgical Procedures ; Personal Protective Equipment ; Personnel Staffing and Scheduling ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Workflow

PURPOSE: Dexmedetomidine, a potent selective alpha2-adrenergic agonist, produces sedation and analgesia. This study was conducted to assess the effect of dexmedetomidine infusion on sevoflurane requirements, recovery profiles, and emergence agitation in children undergoing ambulatory surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty children undergoing ambulatory hernioplasty or orchiopexy were randomized into two groups. The dexmedetomidine group (Group D, n=20) received dexmedetomidine 1 microg/kg, followed by 0.1 microg/kg/h until the end of surgery, whereas the saline group (Group S, n=20) received volume-matched normal saline. Sevoflurane was used for induction and maintenance of anesthesia and caudal block was performed in all children. End-tidal sevoflurane concentration (ET-sevo), the incidence of emergence agitation, pain scores, and sedation scores were recorded. Hemodynamic changes and other adverse effects were assessed in the perioperative period. RESULTS: ET-sevo of Group D was significantly reduced in 23.8-67% compared to Group S during surgery. The incidence of emergence agitation was lower in Group D than in Group S (5% vs. 55%, p=0.001). Postoperative pain was comparable, and discharge time was not different between the groups. Mean arterial pressure and heart rate were significantly lower in Group D during surgery. CONCLUSION: Intraoperative infusion of dexmedetomidine reduced sevoflurane requirements and decreased emergence agitation without delaying discharge in children undergoing ambulatory surgery. However, caution should be taken in regard to bradycardia and hypotension.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Ambulatory Surgical Procedures/*methods ; Child ; Dexmedetomidine/*therapeutic use ; Female ; Hemodynamics/drug effects ; Humans ; Male ; Methyl Ethers/*therapeutic use ; Psychomotor Agitation/drug therapy ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo observe the anesthetic effect and safety of differential airway management in patients with mental retardation (MR) during autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cell transplantation (APBMCT) outside the operating room.

METHODSIn this prospective study, 30 uncooperative patients with MR receiving total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with propofol for APBMCT were randomized into 3 groups with monitored anesthesia care (MAC group), inserted classic laryngeal mask airway under general anesthesia (LMA group), or endotracheal tube placement (ETT group). The blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), SpO(2) and pH, PaCO(2), and HCO(3)(-) were monitored at 5 min and 1 h after anesthesia, before completion of the operation and at 1 h after the operation. The total operative time, dosage of propofol, awake time and body movement during the procedure were recorded.

RESULTSCompared with LMA and ETT groups, the MAC groups showed a significantly increased total dosage of propofol (66.07±5.41, 35.83±5.80, and 34.61±3.68 g·kg(-1)·min(-1), respectively, P<0.05 ), body movements (9.90±3.07, 2.5 1±1.50, and 0.82±0.93, P<0.05) and awake time (16.82±7.60, 4.31±1.32, and 3.73±1.33 min, P<0.05). The pH, PaCO(2), or HCO(3)(-) showed no marked changes at 5 min after anesthesia and at 1 h after the operation in the 3 groups (P>0.05). At 1 h after anesthesia, the pH in MAC group decreased markedly compared with that in LMA and ETT groups (P<0.05), and maintained a low level till the completion of the operation; the PaCO(2) was significantly elevated in MAC group and remained so till the end of the surgery (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONEndotracheal tube placement is safer than laryngeal mask airway placement and monitored anesthesia care in patients with MR during APBMCT, and allows rapid onset of sedation with minimal cardiovascular responses, body movement and recovery, therefore is more suitable in the setting outside the operating room.

Adolescent ; Ambulatory Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Anesthesia ; methods ; Anesthesia, General ; Anesthetics, Intravenous ; administration & dosage ; Child ; Disabled Children ; Female ; Humans ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; instrumentation ; methods ; Laryngeal Masks ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; transplantation ; Male ; Mentally Disabled Persons ; Propofol ; administration & dosage ; Prospective Studies ; Transplantation, Autologous

Thirty-two adult female ASA I patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists' grading) undergoing voluntary termination of pregnancy (VTP) under general anaesthesia were randomly divided into three groups. Patients received 0.6 mg/kg pentazocine intravenously five minutes prior to induction of anaesthesia along with either isotonic saline, or promethazine 0.5 mg/kg or metoclopramide 0.2 mg/kg. Anaesthesia was induced with intravenous thiopentone and maintained with nitrous oxide in oxygen and boluses of thiopentone. Vomiting and sedation were scored at the end of anaesthesia, one hour later and at the time of discharge. The mean vomiting score was comparable in the three groups. Though the mean dose of thiopentone used was significantly less in the promethazine group, the sedation scores and the duration of stay in the clinic were comparable in all the groups. It is concluded that promethazine and metoclopramide in the doses used are ineffective as antiemetic agents in outpatient gynaecological patients.
Abortion, Induced ; methods ; Adult ; Ambulatory Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Analysis of Variance ; Anesthesia, General ; adverse effects ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Dilatation and Curettage ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Metoclopramide ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Pregnancy ; Promethazine ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Statistics, Nonparametric ; Vomiting ; etiology ; prevention & control