BackgroundThe association between pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and postoperative outcomes remains unknown. This study investigated outcomes following non-chest surgeries in patients with previous pulmonary TB.MethodsUsing Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database, we analyzed 6911 patients (aged ≥ 20 years) with preoperative diagnosis of pulmonary TB and 6911 propensity score-matched controls receiving non-chest surgeries in 2008–2010. Postoperative outcomes were compared between patients with or without pulmonary TB by calculating adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in the multivariate logistic regressions.ResultsSurgical patients with pulmonary TB had a significantly higher postoperative complication rates than controls, including septicemia, pneumonia, acute renal failure, deep wound infection, overall complications, and 30-day postoperative mortality (OR 1.41; 95% CI 1.07–1.86). The ORs of patients with low-income status were as high as 2.27 (95% CI 1.03–5.03). Preoperative use of TB drugs and TB-related medical expenditure also associated with higher postoperative mortality among surgical patients with pulmonary TB.ConclusionsSurgical patients with pulmonary TB have significantly increased risks of postoperative complications and mortality after non-chest surgeries. This study suggests the need to improve postoperative care for surgical patients with pulmonary TB.

s u m m a r yAnesthetic management of patients with difficult airway is challenging, especially in patients who present with near total occlusion of the airway. Tracheal tumors occur more frequently in elderly patients who are more prone to hypoxic injury. Reliable ventilation and oxygenation are mandatory for a safe and sound intervention. Herein, we report on a 71-year-old woman with a large tracheal tumor occluding approximately 90% of the tracheal lumen. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation under local anesthesia was used during electrocautery resection of the tumor because of the possibility of fatal airway collapse due to the degree of occlusion and location of the tumor. After the tumor had been successfully resected by means of bronchoscopy, an endotracheal tube was inserted, and the patient was weaned from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Postoperative paraplegia secondary to spinal cord ischemia (SCI) is an extremely rare and devastating complication of endovascular repair in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) surgery. The reported incidence is only 0.21 % worldwide. This case of postoperative paraplegia occurred in a 60-year-old man immediately following endovascular repair of an infrarenal AAA. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple foci of SCI involvement from C5 to L1. However, neither cerebral spinal fluid drainage nor steroid therapy was effective; he was eventually admitted with no improvement in his neurological status. The mechanism remains multifactorial until now and needs more attention in perioperative management. We report the first case involved in the most significantly extensive SCI after endovascular repair of an infrarenal AAA.

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