Although the incidence is not high in the general surgical population, pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents can result in serious long-term morbidity and mortality. We report a case of early use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to correct severe hypoxemia refractory to conventional mechanical ventilation in a patient with massive aspiration of gastric contents immediately followed by acute lung injury during general anesthesia induction.
A 64-year-old woman diagnosed with stomach cancer was scheduled for elective diagnostic laparoscopy. Although there was no sign of gastrointestinal tract obstruction and midnight Nil per Os (NPO) was performed before the operation, pulmonary aspiration occurred during the induction of anesthesia. Despite the endotracheal intubation with mechanical ventilation, severe hypoxemia with hypercapnea persisted. Medical team agreed with applying veno-venous (VV) ECMO, and her blood gas analysis results became stable. ECMO was weaned successfully 9 days after the first aspiration event had occurred. Based on this case, early application of extracorporeal life support can have survival benefits.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Massive aspiration syndrome: a possible indication for “emergent” veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation?: a case report Emiliano Gamberini, Venerino Poletti, Emanuele Russo, Alessandro Circelli, Marco Benni, Giovanni Scognamiglio, Domenico Pietro Santonastaso, Costanza Martino, Linda Domenichini, Romina Biondi, Giorgia Bastoni, Etrusca Brogi, Luca Ansaloni, Federico Coccol Journal of Medical Case Reports.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Therapy for Aspiration Pneumonia in a Patient following Left Pneumonectomy for Lung Cancer Jangwhan Jo, Yang Gi Ryu Korean Journal of Critical Care Medicine.2016; 31(2): 156. CrossRef
Urine discoloration occurs in the intensive care unit (ICU) due to many causes such as medications, metabolic disorders, and infections. Propofol is advocated as one of the first line sedatives in the ICU, but it is not well known to the intensivists that propofol can induce urine color change. We experienced two cases of green urine after propofol infusion. Propofol should be warranted as the cause of urine discoloration during ICU stay.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
An unusual instance of propofol-triggered green urine in anesthesia management: A case report Madhusoodan M Gonenavar, Sudhanshu Shukla, Tejashree Sridhar, Rashmi Prasad, Rudresh Tabali MGM Journal of Medical Sciences.2024; 11(1): 165. CrossRef
Propofol-Associated Urine Discoloration: Systematic Literature Review Ana Lasica, Cinzia Cortesi, Gregorio P. Milani, Mario G. Bianchetti, Federica M. Schera, Pietro Camozzi, Sebastiano A.G. Lava Pharmacology.2023; 108(5): 415. CrossRef
Green urine after general anesthesia with propofol: different responses in the same patient -A case report- Go Eun Kim, Dae Yoon Kim, Doek Kyu Yoo, Jong-Hwan Lee, Sangmin Maria Lee, Jeong Jin Min Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.2017; 12(1): 32. CrossRef
BACKGROUND Weaning from mechanical ventilation is difficult in the intensive care unit (ICU). Many controversial questions remain unanswered concerning the predictors of weaning failure. This study investigates patient characteristics and delayed weaning after lung transplantation. METHODS This study retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 17 lung transplantation patients from October 2012 to December 2013. Patients able to be weaned from mechanical ventilation within 8 days after surgery were assigned to an early group (n = 9), and the rest of the patients were assigned to the delayed group (n=8). Patients' intraoperative and postoperative characteristics were collected and analyzed, and conventional weaning predictors, including rapid shallow breathing index (RSBI), were also assessed. RESULTS The results of the early group showed a significantly shorter ICU stay in addition to a shorter hospitalization overall. Notably, the early group had a higher body mass index (BMI) than the delayed group (20.7 vs. 16.9, p = 0.004). In addition, reopening occurred more frequently in the delayed group (1/9 vs. 5/8, p = 0.05).
During spontaneous breathing trials, tidal volume (TV) and arterial oxygen tension were significantly higher in the early group compared to the delayed weaning group, but differences in RSBI and respiratory rate (RR) between groups were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS Low BMI might be associated with delayed ventilator weaning in lung transplantation patients. In addition, instead of the traditional weaning predictors of RSBI and RR, TV might be a better predictor for ventilator weaning after lung transplantation.