Functional Outcome Changes in Surgery for Pituitary Adenomas After Intraoperative Occurrence of the Trigeminocardiac Reflex: First Description in a Retrospective Observational Study

Risk factors associated with trigeminocardiac reflex in patients with trigeminal neuralgia during percutaneous balloon compression: A retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

The trigeminocardiac reflex (TCR) is a brainstem reflex commonly elicited during percutaneous balloon compression (PBC) for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia (TN), which is characterized by drastic hemodynamic disturbances, such as bradycardia, arrhythmias and even cardiac arrest. In order to prevent catastrophic consequences, it is vital to screen the risk factors of TCR during perioperative period. The primary purpose of this study was to identify potential risk factors associated with TCR in patients with TN undergoing PBC, and to summarize the enlightenment of clinical anesthesia management.

METHODS

The clinical data of 165 patients diagnosed with TN undergoing PBC from January 2021 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. TCR was defined as a sudden decrease in heart rate of 20% or more compared with baseline, and / or cardiac arrest, coinciding with the stimulus of any branch of the trigeminal nerve. And a clear cause-effect relationship between heart rate reduction and PBC-related intervention was required. All demographic characteristics as well as surgical and anesthetic data were compared between TCR group and TCR-free group. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to further analyze TCR-related risk factors.

RESULTS

Of the 165 patients enrolled in this study, 73 (44.2%) were male and 92 (55.8%) were female, and the average age was 64.22 ± 9.72 years. The incidence of TCR in the patients with TN during PBC was 54.5%. The results of multivariate regression analysis indicated that the risk factor for TCR was heart rate < 60 beats/min immediately before foramen ovale puncture (OR: 4.622; 95%CI: 1.470-14.531; P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Heart rate < 60 beats/min immediately before foramen ovale puncture was independently associated with TCR. Therefore, it is necessary for anesthesiologists to raise heart rate appropriately to prevent TCR during PBC.

Relationship Between Arterial Blood Pressure During Trigeminal Nerve Combing and Surgical Outcome in Patients with Trigeminal Neuralgia

INTRODUCTION

Changes in blood pressure during trigeminal combing have been discussed in recent years. In this study, a retrospective analysis of patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) requiring microvascular decompression (MVD) with nerve combing was carried out to investigate fluctuation in arterial blood pressure during trigeminal nerve combing and its surgical effect and corresponding pathogenesis.

METHODS

A total of 70 cases of MVD with nerve combing performed during the treatment of primary TN patients were selected between January 2017 and January 2018 at Peking University People's Hospital. The degree of pain and prognosis of the patients were evaluated according to the visual analog scale. Postoperative facial numbness of the 2 groups were assessed by the Barrow Neurological Institute facial numbness score. Arterial blood pressure changes before and while combing the trigeminal nerve during MVD were dynamically monitored, and the patients were divided into responders and nonresponders. Total adrenaline (AD), norepinephrine (NE), and dopamine values were measured before and during trigeminal nerve combing.

RESULTS

Increased arterial blood pressure during the combing of the trigeminal nerve in MVD had a significant correlation with the prognosis of patients, with patients with higher arterial blood pressure having a better prognosis (P < 0.05). In the increased arterial blood pressure patients, precombing total AD and NE means were dramatically improved (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that changes in arterial blood pressure during trigeminal nerve combing in MVD were correlated with the prognosis of patients. Further research is necessary to clarify the mechanism of increased arterial blood pressure.

Successful management of octreotide-insensitive thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma with bromocriptine and surgery: A case report and literature review

RATIONALE

Case reports concerning the value of dopamine agonists in the treatment of patients with thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma (TSHoma) are limited. Herein, we present a rare case of octreotide-insensitive TSHoma responding to bromocriptine therapy.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 45-year-old Chinese man was admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital with marked clinical manifestations of hyperthyroidism.

DIAGNOSES

Thyroid function tests demonstrated elevated concentrations of free thyroid hormones in the presence of normal thyrotropin. Magnetic resonance imaging findings showed a pituitary microadenoma on the right side of the sellar region. Based on characteristic endocrine results and neuroimaging findings, the patient was diagnosed with TSHoma.

INTERVENTIONS

Most patients with TSHomas are significantly responsive to somatostatin analog treatment. However, our patient was orally administered with bromocriptine to normalize thyroid function as assessed by suppression tests conducted prior to surgery. A transsphenoidal surgery was performed by an experienced neurosurgeon for tumor removal.

OUTCOMES

The pituitary lesion was totally resected. Following the operation, the results of thyroid function tests were immediately within reference limits. During the follow-up, there was no residual or recurrent tumor.

LESSONS

Attention should be paid to the role of dopamine agonists such as bromocriptine and cabergoline as adjuvant therapy for TSHomas that are insensitive to traditional medical treatment by somatostatin analogs.

A novel "total pituitary hormone index" as an indicator of postoperative pituitary function in patients undergoing resection of pituitary adenomas

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between pre- and postoperative pituitary hormone levels in patients undergoing surgical resection of pituitary adenoma and to identify factors associated with preoperative hypopituitarism. Data from 81 patients with histologically confirmed functioning and non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA) who underwent transsphenoidal resection from January 2011 to December 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. Logistic regression was applied to analyze factors associated with preoperative hypopituitarism. In patients with functioning pituitary adenomas, GH and PRL levels declined after the operation; TSH, FSH and LH levels returned to preoperative values after an initial decline at postoperative day 1. In contrast, with the exception of a postoperative reduction in PRL level, NFPA patients had postoperative ACTH, TSH, FSH and LH levels at 4 months follow-up that were similar to preoperative levels. Similarly, a decrease in total hormone index was observed following surgery irrespective of NFPA type and in null-cell type NFPA patients with values increasing over the 4-month follow-up period. A higher percentage of patients receiving partial resection had high PRL levels (≥200 ng/ mL) compared to those receiving complete resection. Age (P = 0.041) and male sex (P = 0.004) were significantly associated with preoperative hypopituitarism. In conclusion, the postoperative total hormone index decreased immediately following surgery in all patients with pituitary adenoma who underwent resection, and then increased over the follow-up period. The extent of surgical resection correlated with PRL levels >200 ng/mL. Age and male sex were also independent risk factors for preoperative hypopituitarism.

The Role of Acute Trigemino-Cardiac Reflex in Unusual, Non-Surgical Cases: A Review

Trigemino-cardiac reflex (TCR) is a well-established phenomenon that is mainly reported in the various surgical specialties. However, the role of this unique reflex is entirely unknown in other medicine domains. Therefore, the present mini-review aims to explore the role of TCR in such unusual cases and also highlights the importance of case reports for knowledge creation in such context.

How to apply case reports in clinical practice using surrogate models via example of the trigeminocardiac reflex

Case reports are an increasing source of evidence in clinical medicine. Until a few years ago, such case reports were emerged into systematic reviews and nowadays they are often fitted to the development of clinical (thinking) models. We describe this modern progress of knowledge creation by the example of the trigeminocardiac reflex that was first described in 1999 by a case series and was developed over the cause-and-effect relationship, triangulation to systematic reviews and finally to thinking models. Therefore, this editorial not only underlines the increasing and outstanding importance of (unique) case reports in current science, but also in current clinical decision-making and therefore also that of specific journals like the Journal of Medical Case Reports.

Severe Bradycardia During Neurosurgical Procedure: Depth of Anesthesia Matters and Leads to a New Surrogate Model of the Trigeminocardiac Reflex: A Case Report

Hemodynamic alterations are observed in various neurosurgical procedures and commonly related to different neurogenic mechanisms. However, anesthetic influences on causation of these perturbations or management are rarely investigated and therefore our present knowledge is still limited.In this case of 43-old Caucasian male, propofol boluses aborted the trigeminal cardiac reflex (TCR) induced severe bradycardia during dural manipulation. There is a correlation of severity of bradycardia and slightness of anesthesia.In the light of the larger distribution of the TCR all over the world, we see more and more aborted TCR, as seen in the present case; then the neuro-anesthesists more and more recognize the TCR at its very onset. A surrogate model for the daily use is present to underline the clinical needs.We have therefore developed, for the first time, a surrogate model that helps in daily practice to recognize and prevent TCR episodes.