Background: Paravertabral blocks (PVB) are in use to adequately manage pain arising from a variety of operations on the thorax, abdomen or pelvis. PVB is straightforward, efficacious in operations performed. This study was undertaken to evaluate how efficacious ultrasound-guided thoracic paravertebral block is when used in patients undergoing percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCN). Methods: A total of 44 patients, falling in categories I to III of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, and aged between 18 and 65 years, who were scheduled for PCN, were randomly distributed into two groups. The anaesthetic intervention group (PVB) contained 22 individuals, who were injected at level T8-T9 with 20 mL 0.25% bupivacaine as a single administration. In the control group C, also containing 22 individuals, the intervention was not carried out. The groups were compared after PCN in terms of opioid use, pain score, opioid adverse effects profile and the need for supplemental analgesia. Results: Visual analogue scale pain scores whilst at rest or moving were lower at the level of statistical significance in the PVB group compared to controls at 2 and 4 h post-surgery. At 6 and 8 h post-surgery, the control group had a lower VAS score when moving, and this result reached statistical significance (p < 0.05). The controls used more opioid relief than the PVB group and had lower scores for satisfaction (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided PVB using bupivacaine and an in-plane technique provides effective analgesia in PNL. It is associated with high scores on patient satisfaction and minimal complications. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04406012. Registered retrospectively, on 27 May 2020.

Background: A critical aspect of safe general anesthesia is providing adequate ventilation and oxygenation. Failed endotracheal intubation and inadequate ventilation with insufficient oxygenation may lead to serious complications, even death. Anesthesiologists rarely encounter unexpected difficult airway problems in daily routine. Management of an unexpectedly difficult airway consists of laryngeal mask ventilation, gum-elastic bougie and video laryngoscopy-assisted intubation. Gum-elastic bougie is the easiest and cheapest tool used in case of an unexpected difficult intubation occurring in the operating room. Case: A 53-year-old male patient with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism presented as an unexpected difficult intubation after the induction of anesthesia. No pathological finding or predictor of difficult intubation was present. In addition, bag-mask ventilation was poor and inadequate. The patient was finally successfully intubated with a gum-elastic bougie. Conclusion: A difficult airway has been described in patients with a variety of endocrine disorders, including pituitary diseases, but not with hypogonadism. There may be an unrevealed relationship between hypogonadism and difficult airway. Gum-elastic bougie is still the most attainable and effective tool in the operation room in this situation.

Introduction: Bardet-Biedl syndrome, which compromises airway management and the cardiovascular and renal systems, is a rare ciliopathic syndrome characterized by multisystem involvement and varying genetic etiologies and clinical manifestations. Patient concerns: A 13-year-old female patient had a history of chronic renal failure, hypothyroidism, mental retardation, hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, obesity, and retinitis pigmentosa and was undergoing 4-hour hemodialysis 3 days a week. Diagnosis: We diagnosed Bardet-Biedl syndrome based on the results of genetic tests. Interventions: We performed renal transplantation under general anesthesia while considering the perioperative risks of airway obstruction and hypothermia. Outcomes: Multidisciplinary preoperative evaluation is crucial to avoid perioperative complications. The risk of an obstructed airway should be considered. Hypothyroidism is a rare consequence of Bardet-Biedl syndrome. Rocuronium and sugammadex are safe for anesthetic management during renal transplantation to address Bardet-Biedl syndrome. Conclusion: Safe anesthetic management can be achieved with the rigorous preoperative assessment of perioperative complications.

Long QT syndrome is an inherited disorder of the heart's electrical activity that may also be associated with malignant arrhythmia and cause sudden death. In addition to this inherited condition, several commonly used anesthetic drugs can prolong the QT interval. We present here a 17-month-old male patient who underwent general anesthesia for a cochlear implant. No cardiac arrhythmia was observed in the patient, whose muscle relaxant effect was reversed using sugammadex. The application of intravenous anesthetics was preferred to maintain anesthesia for this patient and was safely applied.

Blunt thoracic injury often leads to pulmonary contusion and the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome, which carries a high risk of morbidity and mortality, originating from the local and systemic inflammatory states. This study aimed to investigate the local and systemic antiinflammatory effects of levosimendan in rat models of blunt chest trauma. A total of 32 Wistar albino rats were randomly assigned to one of the following four groups: control, sham, low-dose levosimendan (LDL) (5 µg/kg loading dose for 10 min and 0.05 µg/kg/min intravenous infusion), and high-dose levosimendan (HDL) (10 µg/kg loading dose for 10 min and 0.1 µg/kg/min intravenous infusion). Blunt chest trauma was induced, and after 6 h, the contused pulmonary tissues were histopathologically and immunohistopathologically evaluated, serum TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, and NO levels were biochemically evaluated. The mean arterial pressure was low throughout the experiment in the LDL and HDL groups, with no statistically difference between the groups. Levosimendan reduced the alveolar congestion and hemorrhage, which developed after inducing trauma. Neutrophil infiltration to the damaged pulmonary tissue was also reduced in both the LDL and HDL groups. In rats in which pulmonary contusion (PC) was observed, increased activation of nuclear factor kappa B was observed in the pulmonary tissue, and levosimendan did not reduce this activation. Both high and low doses of levosimendan reduced serum IL-1ß levels, and high doses of levosimendan reduced IL-6 and NO levels. TNF-α levels were not reduced. In conclusion, the results showed that in a rat model of PC, the experimental agent levosimendan could reduce neutrophil cell infiltration to damaged pulmonary tissues and the systemic expressions of some cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-6, and NO), thereby partially reducing and/or correcting pulmonary damage. Systemic inflammatory response that occurs after trauma could also be reduced.