Remimazolam Anesthesia for Thyroid Surgery

Background. Critical upper airway obstruction, hematoma formation, and recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy have been reported as postoperative complications of thyroid surgery. Although remimazolam may reduce the risk of these complications, the efficacy of flumazenil with remimazolam has not been repor...

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Main Authors: Sae Nakagawa, Tomoharu Shakuo, Sakurako Matsudo, Hiroaki Soda, Kenji Shida
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Anesthesiology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/2352693
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author Sae Nakagawa
Tomoharu Shakuo
Sakurako Matsudo
Hiroaki Soda
Kenji Shida
author_facet Sae Nakagawa
Tomoharu Shakuo
Sakurako Matsudo
Hiroaki Soda
Kenji Shida
author_sort Sae Nakagawa
collection DOAJ
description Background. Critical upper airway obstruction, hematoma formation, and recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy have been reported as postoperative complications of thyroid surgery. Although remimazolam may reduce the risk of these complications, the efficacy of flumazenil with remimazolam has not been reported. We present the successful anesthesia management of thyroid surgery using remimazolam and flumazenil. Case Presentation. A 72-year-old woman was diagnosed with a goiter and scheduled for a partial thyroidectomy under general anesthesia. We used remimazolam for induction and maintenance using a neural integrity monitor, electromyogram, and endotracheal tube under the bispectral index monitor. At the end of the surgery, spontaneous respiration was confirmed after the intravenous administration of sugammadex, and the patient was extubated under mild sedation. In the operating room, we administered flumazenil intravenously to confirm recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and active postoperative hemorrhage. The patient was confirmed to have no recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy under full wakefulness but developed active postoperative hemorrhage with normal blood pressure. The patient required reoperation and was reintubated under intravenous administration of propofol. The anesthesia was maintained using 5% of desflurane, and the patient was extubated without any postoperative problems. The anesthesia was then terminated. The patient had no recall of the procedure. Conclusion. Maintenance of general anesthesia using remimazolam allowed the use of a neurostimulator with minimal muscle-relaxant effects, and extubation under sedation reduced the risk of abrupt and unexpected changes in blood pressure, body movement, and coughing. Furthermore, after extubation, the patient was rendered fully awake using flumazenil to confirm the presence of recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and active postoperative hemorrhage. In addition, the patient had no memory of the reoperation, suggesting that the anterograde amnesic effect of remimazolam had a favorable psychological outcome associated with the reoperation. We safely managed thyroid surgery using remimazolam and flumazenil.
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spelling doaj-art-8176ef5667e74e33bcf85997b5e6ac522025-02-03T01:29:48ZengWileyCase Reports in Anesthesiology2090-63902023-01-01202310.1155/2023/2352693Remimazolam Anesthesia for Thyroid SurgerySae Nakagawa0Tomoharu Shakuo1Sakurako Matsudo2Hiroaki Soda3Kenji Shida4Department of AnesthesiologyDepartment of AnesthesiologyDepartment of AnesthesiologyDepartment of AnesthesiologyDepartment of AnesthesiologyBackground. Critical upper airway obstruction, hematoma formation, and recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy have been reported as postoperative complications of thyroid surgery. Although remimazolam may reduce the risk of these complications, the efficacy of flumazenil with remimazolam has not been reported. We present the successful anesthesia management of thyroid surgery using remimazolam and flumazenil. Case Presentation. A 72-year-old woman was diagnosed with a goiter and scheduled for a partial thyroidectomy under general anesthesia. We used remimazolam for induction and maintenance using a neural integrity monitor, electromyogram, and endotracheal tube under the bispectral index monitor. At the end of the surgery, spontaneous respiration was confirmed after the intravenous administration of sugammadex, and the patient was extubated under mild sedation. In the operating room, we administered flumazenil intravenously to confirm recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and active postoperative hemorrhage. The patient was confirmed to have no recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy under full wakefulness but developed active postoperative hemorrhage with normal blood pressure. The patient required reoperation and was reintubated under intravenous administration of propofol. The anesthesia was maintained using 5% of desflurane, and the patient was extubated without any postoperative problems. The anesthesia was then terminated. The patient had no recall of the procedure. Conclusion. Maintenance of general anesthesia using remimazolam allowed the use of a neurostimulator with minimal muscle-relaxant effects, and extubation under sedation reduced the risk of abrupt and unexpected changes in blood pressure, body movement, and coughing. Furthermore, after extubation, the patient was rendered fully awake using flumazenil to confirm the presence of recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and active postoperative hemorrhage. In addition, the patient had no memory of the reoperation, suggesting that the anterograde amnesic effect of remimazolam had a favorable psychological outcome associated with the reoperation. We safely managed thyroid surgery using remimazolam and flumazenil.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/2352693
spellingShingle Sae Nakagawa
Tomoharu Shakuo
Sakurako Matsudo
Hiroaki Soda
Kenji Shida
Remimazolam Anesthesia for Thyroid Surgery
Case Reports in Anesthesiology
title Remimazolam Anesthesia for Thyroid Surgery
title_full Remimazolam Anesthesia for Thyroid Surgery
title_fullStr Remimazolam Anesthesia for Thyroid Surgery
title_full_unstemmed Remimazolam Anesthesia for Thyroid Surgery
title_short Remimazolam Anesthesia for Thyroid Surgery
title_sort remimazolam anesthesia for thyroid surgery
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/2352693
work_keys_str_mv AT saenakagawa remimazolamanesthesiaforthyroidsurgery
AT tomoharushakuo remimazolamanesthesiaforthyroidsurgery
AT sakurakomatsudo remimazolamanesthesiaforthyroidsurgery
AT hiroakisoda remimazolamanesthesiaforthyroidsurgery
AT kenjishida remimazolamanesthesiaforthyroidsurgery