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Biomedical subjects

John E Morrison

Publications and source records attributed to John E Morrison.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

A 15-year review of children with Kawasaki's Syndrome having general anesthesia or deep sedation.

BACKGROUND: Children with Kawasaki's syndrome (KS), also known as Kawasaki's disease or 'mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome', have approximately 20-25% incidence of developing coronary artery aneurysms (CAA), stenosis or obliteration if not appropriately diagnosed and treated. In addition some children have myocarditis, pericardial effusions and/or cardiac arrhythmias during the acute phase of KS. Even with current treatment protocols, 2-4% will still be at risk of coronary artery pathology and the long-term implications regarding future coronary artery disease are unknown. Many of these children present for surgical or diagnostic procedures requiring general anesthesia or deep sedation. Only sporadic case reports have been published on the anesthetic experiences of such patients. METHODS: With Institutional Review approval, we reviewed the medical records of all children with discharge diagnosis of KS from 1985 to 2000 for those receiving general anesthesia or deep sedation. Data abstracted from the medical records included information on any surgical procedures performed any time after onset of KS symptoms, type of anesthetic, perioperative monitoring and presence or absence of operative or perioperative complications. RESULTS: A total of 178 children with KS were identified of whom 47 (26.4%) received either general anesthesia (34) or deep sedation (13). There were no deaths; one child developed congestive heart failure in the immediate postoperative period associated with KS myocarditis. Five (15%) of those having general anesthesia initially were either not diagnosed as having KS or had no preoperative cardiac evaluations. None of the children having general anesthesia had ST segment analysis, invasive monitoring or troponin measurements perioperatively. CONCLUSIONS: The high incidence of serious myocardial complications attributable to KS reported in the pediatric literature is rarely noted in the anesthesia literature. We feel there is a potential for more serious perioperative complications among KS children, although we can only speculate why complications are not more frequently encountered. Anesthetists involved in pediatric services are encouraged to consider KS in their diagnosis of children presenting with febrile illnesses with rashes and to consider the possibility of KS myocardial compromise if they encounter unexpected deterioration perioperatively. Preoperative ultrasound examination and perioperative monitoring (e.g. ST segment analysis and troponin measurements) for myocardial compromise are encouraged if KS is suspected.

Anesthesia, General↗

Outpatient laparoscopic hysterectomy in a rural ambulatory surgery center.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a cost-optimized operative technique for outpatient laparoscopic hysterectomy in a rural ambulatory surgery center focusing on shortening hospital stay and substitution of expensive disposable laparoscopic instruments with standard surgical techniques. DESIGN: Prospective feasibility and observational study (Canadian Task Force classification II-3). SETTING: Rural ambulatory surgery center in Lamar, Alabama. PATIENTS: Fifty-two women. INTERVENTION: Outpatient laparoscopic hysterectomy. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: From September 2001 through September 2003, 52 consecutive procedures with a modified classical intrafascial supracervical hysterectomy (CISH) technique without disposable instruments have been performed on patients with an average age of 42.2 years (range 25-62 years) and a follow-up of 12.5 months (range 0.4-23.6 months). Mean postoperative length of stay was 6 hours, 79 minutes (range 3 hours, 10 minutes-17 hours, 30 minutes), and overall length of stay was 11 hours, 37 minutes (range 6 hours, 45 minutes-22 hours, 50 minutes). Five patients (9.6%) stayed overnight, three for medical and two for social reasons. With an average of 2 hours, 14 minutes, the operating room time was about 1 hour longer than with disposable instruments. Health insurance reimbursement for the ambulatory surgery center was on average $1814.11. No complications occurred, and no readmission to the hospital was necessary. CONCLUSION: Outpatient laparoscopic hysterectomy is feasible and safe and can be performed cost effectively in ambulatory surgery centers, even in rural areas. Development of a protocol with patient selection, preoperative and postoperative patient teaching, caring family environment, and round-the-clock medical telephone backup is necessary.

Adult↗

Twenty-five simple ways to increase insufflation performance and patient safety in laparoscopy.

Technical aspects of laparoscopic insufflation technique and interaction among patient, technique, and physician can affect the performance of laparoscopy and patient safety. A variety of laparoscopic equipment was evaluated regarding insufflation performance in laboratory measurements and/or in an intraoperative computer-based data-acquisition model for intraabdominal pressure, gas flow, and temperature. In this article, we present 25 suggestions for improving insufflation performance and increasing patient safety. These tips may help avoid and solve insufflation problems and malfunction, over- and under-pressure peaks, laparoscopic hypothermia, and gas embolism, and shorten operation room and anesthesia time, thereby saving time, money, and physician stress.

Female↗

Body piercing affecting laparoscopy: perioperative precautions.

Piercing is an increasingly popular fashion trend mainly among adolescents. Umbilical piercing in particular can cause perioperative problems during laparoscopic procedures. We describe how to deal with this fashion trend in our institutions. First, any piercing needs to be documented during preoperative physical examination. During preoperative informed consent, patients are told that all pierced jewelry needs to be removed, preferably by the patient before the procedure. For the operation, patients may be offered the use of sterile "sleepers," which are substitutes made of plastic to avoid closure of the wound canal perioperatively. Postoperatively, most pierced jewelry can be put back into position after anesthesia has completely worn off. Only jewelry for piercings close to wounds (e. g., navel piercings) should not be reinserted until the skin is closed. Careful observation and increased hygienic effort to prevent local infection is necessary. To date, we have not seen any severe umbilical infection after laparoscopy. However, in several patients the umbilical pierced jewelry was back in the navel on the same day of surgery, sometimes immediately after waking from anesthesia. Hospital staff should know how to remove and substitute piercing jewelry as well as how to optimize hygienic care perioperatively to prevent umbilical wound infections. Time and effort for patient teaching and hygienic care are slightly increased.

Body Piercing↗

Three-dimensional model for gas flow, resistance, and leakage-dependent nominal pressure maintenance of different laparoscopic insufflators.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare laparoscopic insufflators with different insufflation characteristics and evaluate the effects of resistance and leakage on maintenance of nominal pressure. DESIGN: Prospective study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). SETTING: Laboratory of university clinic. INTERVENTIONS: Measurement in an abdomen box model of insufflator response to different resistance and leakage combinations during steady state while attempting to maintain a nominal set pressure of 12 mm Hg. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: An abdomen box model for laboratory measurements was designed with differing entrance and exit diameters simulated by hole disks of 0.5 mm to 7.6 mm. With a computer-based data-acquisition model, five insufflators (Olympus 9L and 16L, Storz 10L and 30L, HiTec 16L) were evaluated with 150 disk combinations. Average abdominal box pressures were recorded in three-dimensional (3-D) profiles showing different nominal pressure maintenance response for all insufflators regarding the resistance and leakage combination, maximum flow performance, and insufflation principle of the device. Average abdomen model box pressure can increase up to 26.57 mm Hg at 12 mm Hg nominal pressure setting (+121.4%). Insufflators with high flow rates (Storz 30L) tend to compensate leakage better but with the risk of higher intraabdominal pressure peaks. Insufflators with low-pressure principle (HiTec 16L) have limited pressure compensation but are safer for the patient. CONCLUSIONS: Nominal pressure maintenance of insufflators is mainly dependent on flow resistance and leakage rate and less on potential insufflator flow capacity. With this 3-D model, the nominal pressure maintenance of different insufflators can be described for the first time regarding these main factors.

Abdominal Cavity↗

The real intraabdominal pressure during laparoscopy: comparison of different insufflators.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare 5 laparoscopic insufflators with different gas flow rates with regard to accuracy of preset pressure setting versus real intraoperative intraabdominal pressure. DESIGN: Prospective study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). SETTING: Fayette Medical Center, Alabama. PATIENTS: Five patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. INTERVENTIONS: Intraoperative intraabdominal and system pressure measurements during comparable laparoscopic procedures. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Actual intraabdominal pressure was measured and compared between 5 different 10 to 20 L/min insufflators (Storz Laparoflator and Endoflator, Richard Wolf, BEI Medical and Snowden & Pencer) with a computer-based online data acquisition system. At a nominal pressure of 10 mm Hg, the mean intraabdominal pressure during the entire procedure was measured to be between 9.68 and 11.45 mm Hg. The mean intraabdominal pressure during laparoscopy for the insufflators showed a margin of error of 14.5%, with maximum intraabdominal pressure peaks measured between 14.65 and 17.87 mm Hg. CONCLUSIONS: Within an error margin of <15% of the preset intraabdominal pressure setting, the insufflators evaluated can be considered pressure reliable. Although intraabdominal pressure peaks exceeding the nominal pressure temporarily reached up to 78.7% of the setting, no apparent complications were observed. Excessive pressure peaks seen in the previous reported laboratory model could not be confirmed during in vivo application.

Abdominal Cavity↗

Replacement of expensive, disposable instruments with old-fashioned surgical techniques for improved cost-effectiveness in laparoscopic hysterectomy.

OBJECTIVE: Patients demand that health care and procedures in rural areas be provided by ambulatory surgery centers close to home. However, the reimbursement rate for such procedures in ambulatory centers is extremely low, so a standard classic intrafascial supracervical hysterectomy procedure needs to be more cost effective to be performed there. Instruments and disposable devices can make up > or = 50% of hospital costs for this procedure, so any cost reduction has to focus on this aspect. METHODS: We identified the 3 most expensive disposable devices: (1) an Endostapler, 498 US dollars and 3 staple reloads, 179 US dollars each; (2) a calibrated uterine resection tool 15 mm for encoring of the endocervical canal, 853 US dollars; and (3) a serrated edged macro morcellator for intraabdominal uterus morcellation, 321 US dollars, and substituted them using classic conservative surgical techniques. RESULTS: From September 2001 to September 2002, we performed 26 procedures with this modified technique at an ambulatory surgery center with a follow-up of 6.7 (2 to 14) months. This modified operative technique was feasible; no conversions were necessary, and no complications occurred. Cost savings were 2209 US dollars per procedure; additional costs were 266.33 US dollars for suture material and an Endopouch, resulting in an overall savings of 50 509.42 US dollars. The disadvantage was an increase in operating room time of about 1 hour 20 minutes per case. CONCLUSION: These modifications in the classic intrafascial supracervical hysterectomy technique have proven to be feasible, safe, and highly cost effective, especially for a rural ambulatory surgery center. Long-term follow-up is necessary to further evaluate these operative modifications.

Adult↗

Carbon dioxide gas heating inside laparoscopic insufflators has no effect.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Within recent years, the insufflation technique for laparoscopy has become more important with high flow insufflators (> or = 30 L/min) and high gas turn over (> or = 800 L/procedure). Increased amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas used can lead to laparoscopic hypothermia. We studied the insufflator with versus insufflators without internal gas heating (inside insufflator) as a sufficient method of hypothermia prevention at different flow rates. METHODS: With a computer-based data acquisition model, different standard insufflators with internal gas heating (Snowden Pencer) vs. without (Storz Endoflator, Storz Laparoflator, Richard Wolf, and BEI Medical) were compared regarding CO2 gas temperature at different points in the insufflation system (insufflator exit, insufflation hose end). RESULTS: Gas temperature of the Snowden Pencer insufflator, which is flow-rate dependent, increases at the exit (max. 35.4 degrees C). However, gas temperature is back to room temperature (-0.22 to +1.10 degrees C) at the end of the insufflation hose (10 ft or 3 m) for all 5 insufflators studied. Even at high gas flow rates (< or = 20 L/min), CO2 gas is at room temperature when it reaches the patient. DISCUSSION: No difference was noted regarding gas temperature between the insufflators compared. Insufflator internal gas heating, such as the Snowden Pencer insufflator, can not have a clinically significant effect because it is too far away from the patient to raise the gas temperature in the abdomen. Purchasers are misled because the gas-heating device has no measurable benefit for the patient.

Carbon Dioxide↗

Classic intrafascial supracervical hysterectomy (CISH): 10-year experience.

OBJECTIVE: We report and review herein our 10-year experience with classic intrafascial supracervical hysterectomy focusing on our long-term experience, evolution of the operative technique, and increased use of this technique. METHOD: We performed a parallel, observational study with retrospective data to evaluate classic intrafascial supracervical hysterectomy, a laparoscopic hysterectomy technique, at Fayette Medical Center, a community hospital in Northwestern Alabama, USA. Patients comprised a consecutive series of 579 over a 10-year period from November 1992 through November 2002. RESULTS: The classic intrafascial supracervical hysterectomy technique, similar to standard supracervical hysterectomy, leaves the cardinal ligament, uterosacral ligament, vascular supply, and innervation to the upper vagina and cervix intact, but unlike supracervical hysterectomy removes the transition zone and endocervical canal. For 579 patients, the average age was 45.4 years (range, 22 to 92), follow-up was 75.3 months (range, 17 to 137), operating room time was 69 minutes (range, 44 to 370), blood loss was 72 mL (range, 10 to 765), length of hospital stay was 23.2 hours (range, 14 hours to 5 days), time to return to work was 13.2 days (range, 3 to 28). Complications include 11 cervical bleedings, 1 uterine artery bleeding, 1 pelvic hematoma, 1 postoperative ileus, and 16 mucoceles of the cervical stump. Three patients were converted from a laparoscopic to an open procedure (0.52%). Long-term follow-up of up to 137 months shows no adverse events thus far. CONCLUSIONS: Classic intrafascial supracervical hysterectomy is a safe procedure with a low short- and long-term complication rate. It has a short recuperation period and high patient satisfaction. It is the procedure of choice when hysterectomy is indicated for benign disease.

Adult↗