The Year in Thoracic Anesthesia: Selected Highlights From 2020.

Area of Science:

• Anesthesiology
• Thoracic Surgery
• Critical Care Medicine

Background:

• The year 2020 brought significant updates to thoracic anesthesia practices.
• Key areas included preoperative patient management and intraoperative techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize critical advancements and recommendations in thoracic anesthesia from 2020.
• To provide an overview of new findings in patient care, ventilation, and pain management.

Main Methods:

• Review of selected highlights and recent meta-analyses published in 2020.
• Synthesis of information on preoperative assessment, prehabilitation, one-lung ventilation (OLV), and anesthetic adjuncts.
• Analysis of guidelines for enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) and care for COVID-19 patients.

Main Results:

• Updates in preoperative assessment and prehabilitation strategies for thoracic surgery.
• Advances in one-lung ventilation (OLV) devices and the use of dexmedetomidine for lung protection.
• Comparative reviews of regional anesthesia techniques (truncal blocks vs. paravertebral/epidural) and outcomes of ERAS protocols for lung and esophageal surgery.
• Recommendations for managing thoracic surgical patients with COVID-19.

Conclusions:

• The field of thoracic anesthesia saw important developments in 2020.
• These updates focus on optimizing patient outcomes through improved preoperative care, advanced ventilation strategies, effective pain management, and adherence to enhanced recovery pathways.