Safety and efficiency of ultrasound-guided intermediate cervical XXXX for carotid surgery.

@entity1 @entity296 @entity64 @entity548 @entity1337 @entity6949 @entity909 @entity551 @entity204 @entity616
OBJECTIVE: Since @entity64 and @entity296 are major causes of perioperative morbidity and mortality associated with carotid endarterectomy, monitoring the brain and ensuring the best haemodynamic stability are important goals of the management. As regional anaesthesia was reported to improve haemodynamic stability during carotid endarterectomy (CEA), we conducted a prospective observational study on the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided intermediate cervical @entity616 (CPB), with early (immediate postoperative) and mid-term (day 30) outcomes in awake @entity1 undergoing CEA. METHODS: After the ethics committee approval, 50 @entity1 undergoing a carotid endarterectomy with CPB from April 2011 to May 2013 were included. Anaesthesia and surgical dissection parameters, early complications and haemodynamic stability were recorded, as well as neurologic and cardiac outcomes initially and one month later. RESULTS: Cervical space was easy to locate by ultrasound in 90% of the @entity1 . The quality of anaesthesia and surgical dissection was good in 86 and 88% of @entity1 , respectively. No conversion to GA was required, secondary to a lack of @entity1337 . Two @entity1 (4%) had severe @entity551 (<100mmHg). Three @entity1 required a shunt after carotid clamping for @entity909 with a favourable neurological outcome. We observed one elevation of @entity6949 (0.95ng  ml(-1)) without ECG change and 1 @entity204 occurred after a postoperative @entity548 . CONCLUSIONS: The present work reports our first 50 cases of intermediate CPB using ultrasound guidance. The results underline that this technique is easy to perform, safe and reliable, provided good surgical conditions with continuous intraoperative neurologic monitoring and stable haemodynamics are respected.
