Abstract Background: Percutaneous dilation tracheostomy is an aerosol-generating procedure carrying a documented infectious risk during respiratory virus pandemics. For this reason, during the COVID-19 outbreak, surgical tracheostomy was preferred to the percutaneous one, despite the technique related complications increased risk. Methods: We describe a new sequence for percutaneous dilation tracheostomy procedure that could be considered safe both for patients and healthcare personnel. A fiberscope was connected to a video unit to allow bronchoscopy. Guidewire positioning was performed as usual. While the established standard procedure continues with the creation of the stoma without any change in mechanical ventilation, we retracted the bronchoscope until immediately after the access valve in the mount tube, allowing normal ventilation. After 3 minutes of ventilation with 100% oxygen, mechanical ventilation was stopped without disconnecting the circuit. During apnea, the stoma was created by dilating the trachea and the tracheostomy cannula was inserted. Ventilation was then resumed. We evaluated the safeness of the procedure by recording any severe desaturation and by performing serological tests to all personnel. Results: Thirty-six patients (38%) of 96 underwent tracheostomy; 22 (23%) percutaneous dilation tracheostomies with the new approach were performed without any desaturation. All personnel (150 operators) were evaluated for serological testing: 9 (6%) had positive serology but none of them had participated in tracheostomy procedures. Conclusion: This newly described percutaneous dilation tracheostomy technique was not related to severe desaturation events and we did not observe any positive serological test in health workers who performed the tracheostomies.

Contexto: pacientes de cirurgia cardíaca submetidos a revascularização do miocárdio com circulação extracorpórea. Objetivo: avaliar o efeito hemodinâmico da adição de sufentanil intratecal para anestesia geral. Desenho: estudo prospectivo, randômico e aberto, após aprovação do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa. Cenário: estudo monocêntrico feito no Instituto Dante Pazzanese de Cardiologia, São Paulo, Brasil. Pacientes: foram submetidos à revascularização eletiva 40 pacientes de ambos os sexos que assinaram o termo de consentimento informado. Critérios de exclusão: doença renal crônica, procedimentos de emergência, reoperações, contraindicação para raquianestesia, fração de ejeção do ventrículo esquerdo inferior a 40%, índice de massa corporal acima de 32 kg/m2 e uso de nitroglicerina. Intervenções: os pacientes foram randomizados para receber (ou não) 1μg/kg de sufentanil intratecal. Anestesia foi induzida e mantida com infusão contínua de sevoflurano e remifentanil. Principais medidas de desfecho: variáveis hemodinâmicas, níveis sanguíneos de troponina I cardíaca, peptídeo natriurético do tipo B, interleucina-6 e fator de necrose tumoral alfa durante e após a cirurgia. Resultados: os pacientes do grupo sufentanil precisaram de menos suporte inotrópico com dopamina, comparados aos do grupo controle (9,5% vs 58%, p = 0,001), e menos aumentos de doses de remifentanil (62% vs 100%, p = 0,004). Os dados hemodinâmicos em oito intervalos de tempo diferentes e os dados bioquímicos não apresentaram diferenças entre os grupos. Conclusões: os pacientes que receberam sufentanil intratecal apresentaram uma estabilidade hemodinâmica maior, como sugerido pelo suporte inotrópico reduzido, e menos ajustes nas doses intravenosas de opiáceos.

Context: Cardiac surgery patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting with cardiopulmonary bypass. Objective: Evaluate the effect of adding intrathecal sufentanil to general anesthesia on hemodynamics. Design: Prospective, randomized, not blinded study, after approval by local ethics in Research Committee. Setting: Monocentric study performed at Dante Pazzanese Institute of Cardiology, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Patients: 40 consenting patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass, both genders. Exclusion criteria: Chronic kidney disease; emergency procedures; reoperations; contraindication to spinal block; left ventricular ejection fraction less than 40%; body mass index above 32 kg/m2 and use of nitroglycerin. Interventions: Patients were randomly assigned to receive intrathecal sufentanil 1 μg/kg or not. Anesthesia induced and maintained with sevoflurane and continuous infusion of remifentanil. Main outcome measures: Hemodynamic variables, blood levels of cardiac troponin I, B-type natriuretic peptide, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor alfa during and after surgery. Results: Patients in sufentanil group required less inotropic support with dopamine when compared to control group (9.5% vs 58%, p = 0.001) and less increases in remifentanil doses (62% vs 100%, p = 0.004). Hemodynamic data at eight different time points and biochemical data showed no differences between groups. Conclusions: Patients receiving intrathecal sufentanil have more hemodynamical stability, as suggested by the reduced inotropic support and fewer adjustments in intravenous opioid doses.

Contexto: pacientes de cirugía cardíaca sometidos a revascularización miocárdica con circulación extracorpórea. Objetivo: evaluar el efecto hemodinámico de la adición de sufentanilo intratecal para anestesia general. Proyecto: estudio prospectivo, aleatorizado y abierto, con posterior aprobación del Comité de Ética en Investigación. Escenario: estudio monocéntrico realizado en el Instituto Dante Pazzanese de Cardiología, São Paulo, Brasil. Pacientes: cuarenta pacientes de ambos sexos que firmaron el consentimiento informado fueron sometidos a revascularización electiva. Criterios de exclusión: enfermedad renal crónica, procedimientos de urgencia, reintervenciones, contraindicación para la raquianestesia, fracción de eyección del ventrículo izquierdo inferior al 40%, índice de masa corporal por encima de 32 kg/m2 y uso de nitroglicerina. Intervenciones: los pacientes fueron aleatorizados para recibir (o no), 1 µg/kg de sufentanilo intratecal. La anestesia se indujo y se mantuvo con infusión continua de sevoflurano y remifentanilo. Principales medidas de resultados: variables hemodinámicas, niveles sanguíneos de troponina i cardíaca, péptido natriurético del tipo B, interleucina 6 y factor de necrosis tumoral alfa durante y después de la cirugía. Resultados: los pacientes del grupo sufentanilo necesitaron menos soporte inotrópico con dopamina, comparado con el grupo control (9,5 vs. 58%, p = 0,001) y menos aumentos de dosis de remifentanilo (62 vs. 100%, p = 0,004). Los datos hemodinámicos en 8 intervalos de tiempo diferentes y los datos bioquímicos no presentaron diferencias entre los grupos. Conclusiones: los pacientes que recibieron sufentanilo intratecal tuvieron una estabilidad hemodinámica mayor, evidenciada por el soporte inotrópico reducido y menos ajustes en las dosis intravenosas de opiáceos.