Cardiac output monitoring during Cesarean delivery in a patient with palliated tetralogy of Fallot

Anesthetic drug concentrations and placental transfer rate in fetus between term and preterm infants, twins, and singletons

Objective: This study aims to determine the drug concentration of etomidate, remifentanil, and rocuronium bromide for general anesthesia in fetus as well as the placental transport rate between term and preterm delivery, twins, and singleton. Study design: Sixty parturients with 72 fetuses undergoing cesarean section under general anesthesia were included. According to whether the fetus was a twin or premature, parturients were divided into Group I (term singleton), Group II (premature singleton), Group III (term twins), and Group IV (premature twins). The preoperative demographic characteristics and laboratory examination of parturients, hemodynamic indicators, the Apgar score of neonates at 1, 5, and 10 min after delivery and at specific assigned values, umbilical artery blood gas analysis results, neonatal weight, and resuscitative measures were recorded. Anesthetic drug concentrations in maternal arterial (MA), umbilical arterial (UA), and umbilical venous (UV) blood were detected by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Result: No significant differences were observed in the concentrations of etomidate, remifentanil, and rocuronium bromide in MA, UV, and UA blood, or in the UV/MA and UA/UV ratios between term and preterm infants, twins, and singletons. Moreover, there was no variation in the anesthetic drug concentration among each pair of twins. Additionally, no correlation was found between the neonatal weight and the plasma concentrations of anesthetic drugs in UV and UA blood, except for remifentanil in UA blood. Conclusion: Preterm or twin deliveries do not affect the neonatal concentration of etomidate, remifentanil, and rocuronium bromide used in general anesthesia for cesarean sections. Clinical Trial Registration: www.chictr.org.cn, identifier ChiCTR2100046547.

Prolonged Anesthesia Induction to Delivery Time Did Not Influence Plasma Remifentanil Concentration in Neonates

Objective

Remifentanil, in combination with etomidate and sevoflurane, is commonly used in clinics for general anesthesia induction in cesarean section (CS). This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between the induction to delivery (I-D) time and neonatal plasma drug concentration and anesthesia, as well as its effects on neonates.

Methods

Fifty-two parturients in whom general anesthesia was induced for CS were divided into group A (I-D<8 min) and group B (I-D≥8 min). Maternal arterial (MA), umbilical venous (UV), and umbilical arterial (UA) blood samples were collected at delivery to analyze the remifentanil and etomidate concentrations using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Results

There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of plasma concentrations of remifentanil in the MA, UA, and UV blood (P > 0.05). The plasma concentration of etomidate in MA and UV was higher in group A than that in group B (P<0.05), whereas the UA/UV ratio of etomidate was higher in group B than that in group A (P<0.05). The Spearman rank correlation test showed no correlation between the I-D time and plasma remifentanil concentration in the MA, UA, and UV plasma (P>0.05). The concentrations of etomidate in the MA and UV were negatively correlated with the I-D time (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Prolonged I-D time did not significantly influence the maternal or neonatal plasma concentration of remifentanil. It is safe to administer remifentanil target-controlled infusion in combination with etomidate and sevoflurane for general anesthesia induction during CS.

Safety Evaluation of Sevoflurane as Anesthetic Agent in Mouse Model of Myocardial Ischemic Infarction

The selection of anesthetics for patients with myocardial infarction is critically challenging. Sevoflurane is a volatile anesthetic gradually used in recent years. The intraoperative hemodynamic stability of sevoflurane was supported by several studies with some suggestions for its use for patients with cardiac events. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of sevoflurane on mice with myocardial infarction to evaluate the safety issue of this agent for possible application in patients with myocardial infarction. Mice of 7-12 weeks old were subjected to left anterior descending artery ligation to introduce acute myocardial infarction. The effect of sevoflurane on the hemodynamics was examined in comparison with that of currently available agent etomidate at low and moderate doses. The results showed that sevoflurane caused unstable hemodynamic changes in mice with myocardial infarction at both low and moderate inhaled concentrations relative to low and moderate doses of etomidate. In addition, the relative safety margin estimated from therapeutic index was decreased by 50 % when sevoflurane was used for mice with myocardial infarction relative to control mice, but only decreased by 20 % for etomidate. These analyses indicate that in comparison with currently available agent etomidate, sevoflurane should not be applied to patients with myocardial infarction or other cardiac events.