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Bhargavi Gali

Publications and source records attributed to Bhargavi Gali.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Anesthetic, patient, and surgical risk factors for neurologic complications after prolonged total tourniquet time during total knee arthroplasty.

Nerve injury after prolonged tourniquet inflation results from the combined effects of ischemia and mechanical trauma. Tourniquet release, allowing a reperfusion interval of 10-30 min followed by re-inflation, has been recommended to extend the duration of total tourniquet time. However, this practice has not been confirmed clinically. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 1001 patients undergoing 1166 primary or revision knee replacements with tourniquet time more than 120 min during a 5-yr interval. Mean total tourniquet time was 145 +/- 25 min (range, 120-308 min). In 759 patients, the tourniquet inflation was uninterrupted. Two tourniquet inflations, interrupted by a single deflation, were noted in 371 patients, and 3 tourniquet inflations interrupted by 2 deflation intervals were noted in 23 patients. A total of 129 neurologic complications (peroneal and/or tibial nerve palsies) were noted in 90 patients for an overall incidence of 7.7%. Eighty-five cases involved the peroneal nerve and 44 cases involved the tibial nerve. In 39 cases, both peroneal and tibial deficits were noted. Complete neurologic recovery occurred in 76 (89%) peroneal and 44 (100%) tibial palsies. Postoperative neurologic dysfunction was associated with younger age (P < 0.001; odds ratio = 0.7 per 10-yr increase), longer tourniquet time (P < 0.001; odds ratio = 2.8 per 30-min increase), and preoperative flexion contracture >20 degrees (P = 0.002; odds ratio = 3.9). In a subset of 116 patients with tourniquet times > or =180 min, longer duration of deflation was associated with a decreased frequency of neurologic complications (P = 0.048). We conclude that the likelihood of neurologic dysfunction increases with total tourniquet time and that a reperfusion interval only modestly decreases the risk of nerve injury.

Aged↗

Vasotrac arterial blood pressure and direct arterial blood pressure monitoring during liver transplantation.

During liver transplantation two arterial catheters are often placed. The Vasotrac is a noninvasive monitor that provides radial arterial blood pressures by a tonometric method. We investigated whether the Vasotrac would be an accurate substitute for an arterial catheter by comparing Vasotrac blood pressures with simultaneous direct radial blood pressures recorded from the contralateral arm in 14 patients undergoing liver transplantation. Correlation between the two methods was calculated and a Bland-Altman analysis performed to assess agreement. A total of 6468 simultaneous measurements were made over a duration of 1.5-7.5 h per case. For mean arterial blood pressure 57% of Vasotrac measurements were within 10% of direct arterial measurement. Correlation (r) was 0.82. Vasotrac bias was +5.4 mm Hg and limits of agreement were +/-18.6 mm Hg. For systolic arterial blood pressure 65% of Vasotrac measurements were within 10% of direct arterial measurement. Correlation was 0.78. Vasotrac bias was +7.6 mm Hg and limits of agreement +/-25 mm Hg. For diastolic arterial blood pressure 57% of Vasotrac measurements were within 10% of direct arterial measurement. Correlation was 0.82. Vasotrac bias was +3.3 mm Hg and limits of agreement +/-15 mm Hg. We conclude that the Vasotrac is not adequately accurate to substitute for direct arterial blood pressure monitoring in liver transplantation.

Adult↗

Positive pressure mechanical ventilation.

There have been numerous advances in the application of positive pressure mechanical ventilation in the last two decades. As knowledge of pulmonary physiology expands, the application of modes and parameters to maximize the efficacy and minimize the complications of ventilatory support continues to advance. As the use of noninvasive ventilation becomes more widespread, its usefulness in certain clinical entities such as COPD exacerbations and acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema will become more prominent. The role of specific modes and parameters of these devices likely will be further refined to maximize outcomes.

Asthma↗

Fast track anesthesia for liver transplantation reduces postoperative ventilation time but not intensive care unit stay.

Fast tracking is an approach to health care delivery that emphasizes the efficient use of resources. This investigation was designed to determine whether shorter-acting drugs and different drug administration practices reduce the length of time for which patients require mechanical ventilation and intensive care after liver transplantation. After obtaining Institutional Review Board approval and informed consent, we randomized 80 consecutive patients (>17 years) undergoing liver transplantation to receive either our traditional anesthetic (thiopental, pancuronium, 50 microg/kg fentanyl), or fast track anesthetic (propofol, cisatracurium, 20 microg/kg fentanyl). The patients were weaned to extubation in the intensive care unit after an established clinical protocol. Measured data included the occurrence of intraoperative hypotension, intraoperative hypertension, intraoperative tachycardia, the length of postoperative mechanical ventilation, length of intensive care unit stay, and episodes of reintubation. Seventy-eight patients remained in the study through the investigation (two died intraoperatively). Operating time; amount of intraoperative red blood cells transfused; lowest body temperature achieved; and minutes of intraoperative hypotension, hypertension, and tachycardia were not different between the traditional and fast track patient groups. Postoperative ventilation time was greater in the patients who received the traditional anesthetic; mean. 1,081 minutes (median, 855) versus mean, 553.5 minutes (median, 390) (P <.001). However, there was no difference in length of intensive care unit stay. Five patients required reintubation (two patients given the traditional anesthetic, three given the fast track anesthetic). We conclude that a fast track approach to anesthetic care reduces the requirement for postoperative mechanical ventilation, but does not reduce intensive care unit stay after liver transplantation.

Adult↗