Neurologic injury in the form of cognitive decline, delirium, and stroke are common phenomena in patients undergoing cardiac surgery and continues to be one of the most common complication after cardiac surgery, in spite of improvements in mortality and and improved surgical and anesthetic techniques. These complications lead to a significant increase in length of stay in the intensive care unit, increased length of hospital admission, and functional impairment, resulting in not only profound negative effects on patients who experience these complications, but also to increased costs of medical care and delivery. We discuss each of these complications in regard to their risks factors, incidence, potential therapeutic modalities, and relevant intraoperative and postoperative considerations.

Use of dexmedetomidine (n = 69) as an intraoperative and postoperative sedative as opposed to propofol (n = 209) was significantly associated with increased likelihood of extubation (ie, shorter time to extubation; hazard ratio = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.21-2.19, P = 0.001). There was no significant association between use of dexmedetomidine and ICU discharge ( P = 0.99), hospital discharge ( P = 0.52), and incidence of delirium ( P = 0.27) after adjusting for other covariates. Conclusion and Relevance: Dexmedetomidine increased the likelihood of extubation when compared with propofol, with no increase in ICU or hospital length of stay or incidence of delirium. Our study is unique in that there was no crossover between patients who received dexmedetomidine and propofol infusions intraoperatively and postoperatively Dexmedetomidine-based regimens could serve as a suitable alternative to propofol-based regimens for fast-track extubation.

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Millions of passengers board commercial flights every year. Healthcare providers are often called upon to treat other passengers during in-flight emergencies. The case presented involves an anesthesia resident treating a tracheostomy-dependent infant who developed hypoxemia on a domestic flight. The patient had an underlying congenital muscular disorder and was mechanically ventilated while at altitude. Although pressurized, cabin barometric pressure while at altitude is less than at sea level. Due to this environment patients with underlying pulmonary or cardiac pathology might not be able to tolerate commercial flight. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has mandated a specific set of medical supplies be present on all domestic flights in addition to legislature protecting “Good Samaritan” providers.