Background: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols are utilizing a multidisciplinary approach, reassessing physiology to improve clinical outcomes, reducing length of hospital stay (LOS) stay, resulting in cost reduction. Since its introduction in colorectal surgery. the concept has been utilized in various fields and benefits have been recognized also in adult cardiac surgery. However, ERAS concepts in pediatric cardiac surgery are not yet widely established. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the effects of on-table extubation (OTE) after pediatric cardiac surgery compared to the standard approach of delayed extubation (DET) during intensive care treatment. Study Design and Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of all pediatric cardiac surgery cases performed in children below the age of two years using cardiopulmonary bypass at our institution in 2021. Exclusion criteria were emergency and off pump surgeries as well as children already ventilated preoperatively. Results: OTE children were older (267.3 days vs. 126.7 days, p < 0.001), had a higher body weight (7.0 ± 1.6 kg vs. 4.9 ± 1.9 kg, p < 0.001), showed significantly reduced duration of ICU treatment (75.9 ± 56.8 h vs. 217.2 ± 211.4 h, p < 0.001) and LOS (11.1 ± 10.2 days vs. 20.1 ± 23.4 days; p = 0.001) compared to DET group. Furthermore, OTE children had significantly fewer catecholamine dependencies at 12-, 24-, 48-, and 72-h post-surgery, while DET children showed a significantly increased intrafluid shift relative to body weight (109.1 ± 82.0 mL/kg body weight vs. 63.0 ± 63.0 mL/kg body weight, p < 0.001). After propensity score matching considering age, weight, bypass duration, Society of Thoracic Surgeons-European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Mortality (STATS)-Score, and the outcome variables, including duration of ICU treatment, catecholamine dependencies, and hospital LOS, findings significantly favored the OTE group. Conclusion: Our results suggest that on-table extubation after pediatric cardiac surgery is feasible and in our cohort was associated with a favorable postoperative course.

Background: In the course of the corona pandemic, digital media has increasingly been used in many areas of medical practice to reduce personal contact. As it is of interest whether this can be practiced in the context of anesthesia consultations without loss of quality, we interviewed parents whose children received a cardiac or neuro magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) under sedation. Parents either received an on‐site or a remote consultation conducted by an anesthesiologist. Both parents and anesthesiologist were asked to indicate their satisfaction with the respective consultation procedure in a questionnaire.Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate if remote pre‐anesthesia consultation, supported by an online video, for parents whose children are receiving MRI examinations under sedation can replace the commonly performed on‐site consultation, without decreasing its quality.Methods: In this randomized trial, a total of 200 patients were included, one half received pre‐anesthesia consultation on‐site and the other half was given a link to a video and pre‐anesthesia consultation was conducted by phone. As a primary analysis, we compared the level of satisfaction for the general procedure, the quality of the pre‐anesthesia consultation and the contact to the anesthesiologists (or parents). We further investigated the frequency of complications and the preference for a possible next informed consent.Results: Both groups showed high levels of satisfaction. Some anesthesiologists and parents were less satisfied with the quality of on‐site pre‐anesthesia consultation than with the remote. In our patient cohort, there was no evidence for higher risk of complications when information was provided by telephone. Further, parents as well as anesthesiologists clearly favored the combined form of telephone information and online video. Overall, 61.2% of parents and 64% of anesthesiologists would choose this form of pre‐anesthesia consultation for repeat anesthesia.Conclusions: We did not observe that combined telephone and video decreased the quality of pre‐anesthesia consultation. A remote version seems feasible for simple procedures such as sedation for MRI. Further research on this topic in other areas of anesthesia would be beneficial.

Background: Central venous catheters (CVC) are commonly required for pediatric congenital cardiac surgeries. The current standard for verification of CVC positioning following perioperative insertion is postsurgical radiography. However, incorrect positioning may induce serious complications, including pleural and pericardial effusion, arrhythmias, valvular damage, or incorrect drug release, and point of care diagnostic may prevent these serious consequences. Furthermore, pediatric patients with congenital heart disease receive various radiological procedures. Although relatively low, radiation exposure accumulates over the lifetime, potentially reaching high carcinogenic values in pediatric patients with chronic disease, and therefore needs to be limited. We hypothesized that correct CVC positioning in pediatric patients can be performed quickly and safely by point-of-care ultrasound diagnostic. Methods: We evaluated a point-of-care ultrasound protocol, consistent with the combination of parasternal craniocaudal, parasternal transversal, suprasternal notch, and subcostal probe positions, to verify tip positioning in any of the evaluated views at initial CVC placement in pediatric patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery for congenital heart disease. Results: Using the combination of the four views, the CVC tip could be identified and positioned in 25 of 27 examinations (92.6%). Correct positioning was confirmed via chest X-ray after the surgery in all cases. Conclusions: In pediatric cardiac patients, point-of-care ultrasound diagnostic may be effective to confirm CVC positioning following initial placement and to reduce radiation exposure.

Background and Objectives: Early postoperative mobilization is central for postoperative outcomes after lower extremity joint replacement surgery. By providing adequate pain control, regional anaesthesia plays an important role for postoperative mobilization. It was the objective of this study to investigate the use of the nociception level index (NOL) to determine the effect of regional anaesthesia in hip or knee arthroplasty patients undergoing general anaesthesia with additional peripheral nerve block. Materials and Methods: Patients received general anaesthesia, and continuous NOL monitoring was established before anaesthesia induction. Depending on the type of surgery, regional anaesthesia was performed with a Fascia Iliaca Block or an Adductor Canal Block. Results: For the final analysis, 35 patients remained, 18 with hip and 17 with knee arthroplasty. We found no significant difference in postoperative pain between hip or knee arthroplasty groups. NOL increase at the time of skin incision was the only parameter associated with postoperative pain measured using a numerical rating scale (NRS > 3) after 24 h in movement (−12.3 vs. +119%, p = 0.005). There was no association with intraoperative NOL values and postoperative opioid consumption, nor was there an association between secondary parameters (bispectral index, heart rate) and postoperative pain levels. Conclusions: Intraoperative NOL changes may indicate regional anaesthesia effectiveness and could be associated with postoperative pain levels. This remains to be confirmed in a larger study.

Background: Digitalization in the health system is a topic that is rapidly gaining popularity, and not only because of the current pandemic. As in many areas of daily life, digitalization is becoming increasingly important in the medical field amid the exponential rise in the use of computers and smartphones. This opens up new possibilities for optimizing patient education in the context of anesthesia. The main aim of this study was to assess the implementation of remote consent in Europe. Methods: An online survey entitled “Digital online Patient Informed Consent for Anesthesia before Elective Surgery. Recent practice in Europe,” with a total of 27 questions, was sent by the European Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) to their members in 47 European countries. To assess the effect of the economy on digitalization and legal status with regard to anesthesia consent, data were stratified based on gross domestic product per capita (GDPPC). Results: In total, 23.1% and 37.2% of the 930 participants indicated that it was possible to obtain consent online or via telephone, respectively. This observation was more often reported in countries with high GDPPC levels than in countries with low GDPPC levels. Furthermore, 27.3% of the responses for simple anesthesia, 18.7% of the responses for complex anesthesia, and 32.2% of the responses for repeated anesthesia indicated that remote consent was in accordance with the law, and this was especially prevalent in countries with high GDPPC. Concerning the timing of consent, patients were informed at least one day before in 67.1% of cases for simple procedures and in 85.2% of cases for complex procedures. Conclusion: Even European countries with high GDPPC use remote informed consent only in a minority of cases, and most of the time for repeated anesthetic procedures. This might reflect the inconsistent legal situation and inhomogeneous medical technical structures across Europe.