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Abstract Disclosure: A. Verma: None. F. Elli: None. S. Rao: None. M. Smith: None. A. Shapiro: None. C. Moshe: None. R. Chadha: None. Introduction: Pheochromocytomas are rare, neuroendocrine tumors derived from chromaffin cells of the neural crest, typically within the adrenal medulla. The pathophysiologic effect of primary concern is the uncontrolled release of catecholamines into the bloodstream, which carry risk for episodic hypertension, palpitations, and life-threatening crises. Preoperative preparation with drugs that block adrenergic receptors is utilized to improve hemodynamic oscillation force and surgical outcomes. Widely used premedication include alpha-blockers, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers. Despite adequate pretreatment, hemodynamic instability continues to evoke massive risk. The objective of this study was to assess the incidence of intraoperative hypertensive episodes in patients undergoing robotic assisted laparoscopic adrenalectomy. Methods: This study is an observational retrospective analysis of patients who underwent elective laparoscopic robotic-assisted adrenalectomies from February 2019 to April 2023. 17 patients total patients were included. Preoperative information included age, BMI, ASA physical classification, preoperative blockade regiment, and urine metanephrines. Intraoperative information included operation duration, tumor size, intraoperative anti-hypertensives, and hypertensive spikes defined as a SBP greater than 175 mmHg for 5 consecutive minutes. Data analysis was performed to obtain frequency counts (%), means (standard deviations), and median (range) as appropriate. Results: The mean age at the time of surgery was 57.12 ± 17.2 years. The majority of patients (76%) were ASA status class III. 7 of the 17 patients did not have active pheochromocytoma based on symptomatology, the incidental diagnoses being made by imaging and workup. The average tumor diameter was 3.90 ± 1.8, with a range of 2.0 - 8.0. Mean operative time was 153.76 ± 53.9 minutes. Preoperative urinary metanephrines were observed to have a mean of 1,248.44 ± 2,866.9 pg/mL. In terms of preoperative preparation, 65% of patients received Doxazosin, and 29% of patients received an alternative anti-hypertensive. Yet, 64.7% of patients were found to have at least 1 intraoperative hypertensive spike Conclusion: Despite premedication with anti-hypertensives, a significant percentage of patients experienced intraoperative hemodynamic instability. This emphasizes the importance of anesthesiologist preparation for intraoperative hypertension management to aggressively prevent hypertensive crises. In addition, it questions the routine use of alpha blockade for all cases preoperatively as has been suggested in certain studies, and whether or not it should be driven by other patient characteristics. Presentation: 6/1/2024
Verma et al. (Tue,) studied this question.