Intravenous Anesthesia With Bispectral Index Monitoring vs Inhalational Anesthesia for Rhytidoplasty: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Total Intravenous Anesthesia With Dexmedetomidine for Hemodynamic Stability and Enhanced Recovery in Facial Aesthetic Surgery

BACKGROUND

Patients undergoing facial rejuvenation surgery are at unique risk of perioperative complications from the anesthetic utilized during the procedure. The ideal anesthetic agent is one that is safe to use in the outpatient population, has analgesic, sedative, and anesthetic properties, yet does not cause respiratory depression or hemodynamic irregularities.

OBJECTIVES

A retrospective analysis of a large outpatient facelift cohort was performed to determine if dexmedetomidine, an α 2-adrenergic receptor agonist, meets the criteria of an ideal adjunct for propofol in a total intravenous anesthesia protocol.

METHODS

The charts of 791 patients who underwent rhytidectomy with total intravenous anesthesia were reviewed and data of patients' operative risk factors, perioperative management including medications administered, perioperative vital signs, and postoperative adverse events were recorded. Statistical univariate analyses were performed on the data.

RESULTS

Dexmedetomidine resulted in a significant reduction and maintenance of blood pressure from onset of anesthesia until discharge from the postanesthetic recovery unit. The utilization of opioids and anxiolytics was significantly less than previously reported for other anesthetic types. The postoperative nausea/vomiting rate was 0.8% (6 patients). There were no postoperative admissions for inpatient management. Forty-three (5.3%) patients required a conversion to general endotracheal anesthesia and statistically significant risk factors include increased BMI, American Society of Anesthesiologists Class II or higher, preoperative hypertension, and multiple procedures performed.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated the safety and efficacy of dexmedetomidine in a large cohort of outpatients undergoing facelift. Dexmedetomidine meets the requirements for an ideal adjunct anesthetic within a total intravenous anesthesia protocol.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4

Quality of recovery and safety of deep intravenous sedation compared to general anesthesia in facial plastic surgery: A prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Facial plastic surgical procedures are performed under either general anesthesia (GA) or sedation. GA is often associated with post-operative nausea and longer recovery, while deep sedation is thought to greatly facilitate perioperative patient comfort and expedite recovery. The objective of this study was to compare these two anesthetic techniques in a relatively healthy patient population undergoing facial plastic surgery and to discuss optimizing patient safety with a deep sedation technique.

METHODS

A non-randomized, prospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate patients undergoing facial plastic surgery with a focus on rhinoplasty under either deep intravenous sedation (DIVS) in an ambulatory surgery center or under GA in a community hospital. Patients were between ages 18-65 and agreed to participate in the study and complete a quality of recovery (QoR-40) survey. Two-tailed Student's t-test was done for numerical data and Chi-squared test for categorical data.

RESULTS

Twenty-three patients and 16 patients had surgery under DIVS and GA, respectively. Compared to the GA group, the DIVS group had less post-operative nausea and vomiting (21.7% vs 50%, P = 0.04; 4.3% vs 37.5%; P = 0.004, respectively), shorter emergence time (4 vs 13 min, P < 0.001), and higher QoR-40 scores for almost all the categories except for physical independence. There were no post-operative medical or surgical complications.

CONCLUSION

DIVS appeared to be safe in the office-based setting and provided a higher quality recovery after a predominantly rhinoplasty-based practice compared to the GA group. Vigilant monitoring of the patient is crucial for careful titration of sedation to avoid respiratory depression and possible compromise of the surgical result from having to rescue the airway.

Intravenous versus inhalational maintenance of anesthesia for quality of recovery in adult patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery: A systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis

Background

Intravenous and inhalational agents are commonly used in general anesthesia. However, it is still controversial which technique is superior for the quality of postoperative recovery. This meta-analysis aimed at comparing impact of total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) versus inhalational maintenance of anesthesia on the quality of recovery in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery.

Methods

We systematically searched EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane library for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), with no language or publication status restriction. Two authors independently performed data extraction and assessed risk of bias. The outcomes were expressed as mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) based on a random-effect model. We performed trial sequential analysis (TSA) for total QoR-40 scores and calculated the required information size (RIS) to correct the increased type I error.

Results

A total of 156 records were identified, and 9 RCTs consisting of 922 patients were reviewed and included in the meta-analysis. It revealed a significant increase in total QoR-40 score on the day of surgery with TIVA (MD, 5.91 points; 95% CI, 2.14 to 9.68 points; P = 0.002; I² = 0.0%). The main improvement was in four dimensions, including “physical comfort”, “emotional status”, “psychological support” and “physical independence”. There was no significant difference between groups in total QoR-40 score (P = 0.120) or scores of each dimension on POD1. The TSA showed that the estimated required information size for total QoR-40 scores was not surpassed by recovered evidence in our meta-analysis. And the adjusted Z-curves did not cross the conventional boundary and the TSA monitoring boundary.

Conclusion

Low-certainty evidence suggests that propofol-based TIVA may improve the QoR-40 score on the day of surgery. But more evidence is needed for a firm conclusion and clinical significance.

Advances in awareness monitoring technologies

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Initial studies suggested that the use of processed electroencephalogram technology could significantly decrease the incidence of unintended intraoperative awareness events during general anesthesia. Subsequent work has cast doubts on these findings. This review will examine the current state of awareness monitoring.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recently published randomized controlled trials examining the use of the bispectral index during general anesthesia have not been able to show superiority over other forms of monitoring depth of anesthesia, such as end-tidal anesthetic-agent concentration. Additionally, there is current interest in utilizing the unprocessed electroencephalogram to ascertain depth of anesthesia and recent studies have demonstrated its use in preventing postoperative delirium.

SUMMARY

Although awareness monitors such as the bispectral index monitor may have benefit in patients in whom volatile anesthetic agents must be minimized - such as in hemodynamically unstable patients, or patients undergoing total intravenous anesthesia - these monitors do not appear to be useful for all patients.