IMPLICATIONS: Priming of the cardiopulmonary bypass circuit with the patients' own blood (retrograde autologous priming) resulted in insignificant reductions in blood use in a large, unselected group of patients undergoing cardiac surgical procedures.
IMPLICATIONS: A combined approach during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) that uses heparin-coated circuits, {epsilon}-aminocaproic acid, and limited reinfusion of shed pericardial blood is associated with reduced activation of the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems that typically occurs during conventional CPB.
IMPLICATIONS: We studied the blood-sparing effects of moderate acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) in 100 patients undergoing off-pump coronary surgery (OPCAB). Combined with tranexamic acid administration and shed blood reinfusion when the intraoperative bleeding exceeded 250 mL, ANH was effective in reducing the number of OPCAB patients who required allogeneic transfusions and the number of packed red blood cell units transfused.
IMPLICATIONS: We investigated whether IV metoprolol given during cardiac surgery attenuates myocardial ß-adrenergic receptor (ßAR) desensitization. Although metoprolol did not reduce ßAR desensitization, the incidence of supraventricular arrhythmias was reduced by 75% in patients receiving 20 mg or 30 mg metoprolol.
IMPLICATIONS: Automated cardiac output measurement by transesophageal color Doppler echocardiography is a practical and rapid method to measure cardiac output. This technique is a promising new approach to echocardiographic quantification in the intraoperative setting.
IMPLICATIONS: Night and daytime Holter recordings before surgical repair of traumatic hip fracture were analyzed with linear and nonlinear heart rate variability methods. Preoperatively increased randomness in heart rate variability was predictive for postoperative, silent prolonged myocardial ischemia. Prolonged myocardial ischemia increases the risk for adverse cardiac events.
IMPLICATIONS: This is a retrospective study of 206 liver transplants over 52 mo to identify the predictive factors of red blood cell transfusions and the anesthesiologists' transfusion strategies. We conclude that there is a wide difference in transfusion practices among anesthesiologists.
IMPLICATIONS: Over the past 7 yr there have been significant increases in the number of anesthesiologists who use preoperative sedative premedication and parental presence for children undergoing surgery.
IMPLICATIONS: Depending on the music therapist, interactive music therapy may relieve anxiety on separation and entrance to the operating room but appears less effective during the induction of anesthesia.
IMPLICATIONS: Left-sided cerebral hemisphere oxygen saturation, measured with near-infrared spectroscopy, was less than right-sided cerebral oxygen saturation during regional low-flow cerebral perfusion used for neonatal aortic arch reconstruction.
IMPLICATIONS: Small or large doses of recombinant surfactant protein-C surfactant given 30 min after intratracheal acidified infant formula attenuated physiological, biochemical, and morphological lung damage.
IMPLICATIONS: In former preterm infants having spinal anesthesia with bupivacaine, a decrease in cerebral blood flow velocity is displayed by middle cerebral artery transcranial Doppler examination.
IMPLICATIONS: Transient vascular insufficiency of the upper limb may happen as a rare complication after axillary block. Knowledge of this complication can help the anesthesiologist in the management of this problem.
IMPLICATIONS: An in-circuit nebulization system to deliver topical lidocaine may facilitate fiberoptic-assisted intubation in anesthetized, spontaneously breathing children with compromised airways.
IMPLICATIONS: In this observer blinded study, we found that IV midazolam treatment (0.09 mg/kg) has a pain-reducing effect after third molar surgery, thus improving postoperative pain management.
IMPLICATIONS: Water intoxication is an unusual but potentially lethal cause of perioperative hyponatremia. We report a patient with severe postoperative hyponatremia resulting from excess perioperative water consumption.
IMPLICATIONS: Isoflurane enhances desensitized {gamma}-aminobutyric acid type A receptor (GABAA-R) currents, an effect that is subunit-dependent and attenuated by a mutation in an {alpha}1-subunit pore residue of the GABAA-R. As GABA release at inhibitory synapses is typically saturating, isoflurane modulation of desensitized receptors may be partly responsible for prolongation of inhibitory postsynaptic currents during anesthesia.
IMPLICATIONS: This study demonstrates that repeated isoflurane general anesthesia impaired psychomotor performance in aged mice during the initial learning period; however, spatial learning improved and, overall, spatial memory and psychomotor performance were unimpaired. Thus, general anesthesia alone does not appear to result in prolonged cognitive deficits in aged mice.
IMPLICATIONS: Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) has a prominent role in fibrinolysis in vivo. Thrombosis has been associated with clinical scenarios involving decreases in tPA activity with concomitant formation of the oxidant peroxynitrite. We determined that peroxynitrite decreased tPA activity via thrombelastography(R). Peroxynitrite-mediated tPA inactivation may have a role in thrombotic states.
IMPLICATIONS: Dantrolene substantially decreases the gain of shivering but produces relatively little central thermoregulatory inhibition. It thus seems unlikely to prove more effective than conventional muscle relaxants for treatment of life-threatening hyperthermia.
IMPLICATIONS: We investigated the effect of metoclopramide on the contraction, phosphatidylinositol response, and binding affinity of muscarinic M3 receptors in rat trachea preparations. Our findings suggest that the attenuation by metoclopramide of carbachol-induced contraction and phosphatidylinositol response may be mediated through the muscarinic M3 receptors.
IMPLICATIONS: Using a square-root curve fit model to evaluate the relationship between the dose of droperidol and QTc prolongation, small-dose droperidol (0.625-1.25 mg IV) would be expected to produce <30-ms prolongation of the QTc interval. Therefore, small "antiemetic" doses of droperidol would not be expected to produce proarrhythmogenic effects when used for prophylaxis in surgical patients.
IMPLICATIONS: The relationship between bispectral index (BIS) and electroencephalographic parameters was evaluated during nitrous oxide/isoflurane anesthesia. At surgical levels of anesthesia, BIS and the relative synchrony of fast and slow wave (a parameter derived from bispectral analysis) or burst-compensated spectral edge frequency 95% (a parameter derived from power spectral analysis) are well correlated.
IMPLICATIONS: We compared the usefulness of three electroencephalogram monitors. The Bispectral Index was the easiest for obtaining low impedance, the auditory evoked potential index had the least inappropriateness rate for general anesthesia and had the largest responsiveness, and the spectral edge frequency was the fastest in stabilizing measurement after electric cautery.
IMPLICATIONS: The modern electroencephalographic monitoring systems NarcotrendTM and Bispectral IndexTM are more reliable indicators for the assessment of anesthetic states than classical electroencephalographic and hemodynamic variables to predict anesthetic conditions from before induction of anesthesia until extubation during a standardized anesthetic regime with propofol and remifentanil. The analgesic potency of depth of anesthesia could not be detected by NarcotrendTM and Bispectral IndexTM.
IMPLICATIONS: We studied the performance of pulse oximeter probes in a simulated environment. Our results show significant differences between some probes that affect the accuracy of measurement.
IMPLICATIONS: Continuous electrical stimulation of auricular acupuncture points using the new point stimulation device P-stimTM significantly decreases pain intensity and improves psychological well-being, activity, and sleep in chronic low back pain patients.
IMPLICATIONS: Neither intrathecal nor IV milnacipran, a monoamine reuptake inhibitor, inhibits an acute visceral pain response induced by colorectal or uterine cervical distension.
IMPLICATIONS: This randomized, controlled trial examined the effects of preoperative oral gabapentin 1200 mg on postoperative pain and tramadol consumptions. We conclude that preoperative oral gabapentin is effective in reducing postoperative pain scores and tramadol consumption in patients after abdominal hysterectomy.
IMPLICATIONS: We determined the pharmacological properties of gabapentin combined with either clonidine or neostigmine in the formalin test. Spinal gabapentin reinforced the effects of clonidine and neostigmine in the formalin test. The hitherto unreported action of gabapentin on acute nociceptive stimulus could be of considerable significance.
IMPLICATIONS: Intrathecal administration of diltiazem in combination with a {gamma}-aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonist, muscimol or baclofen, potentiated the GABA agonists-induced visceral antinociception but did not affect motor paralysis. The present results indicate that the coadministration of the two types of drugs may be clinically useful.
IMPLICATIONS: We evaluated, in a qualitative systematic review, the effect of N-methyl D-aspartate antagonists on reducing postoperative pain and analgesic consumption beyond the clinical duration of action of the target drug (preventive analgesia). Dextromethorphan and ketamine were found to have significant immediate and preventive analgesic benefit in 67% and 58% of studies, respectively.
IMPLICATIONS: We examined the effects of tramadol on 5-hydroxytryptamine type 2C receptor (5-HT2CR) expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Tramadol inhibited 5-HT2CR function and the specific binding of [3H]5-HT to 5-HT2CR in a competitive manner. From these data, the mechanism of the inhibitory effect on 5-HT2CR might involve the competitive displacement of 5-HT binding to the 5-HT2CR.
IMPLICATIONS: Topical anesthetics are used in several painful clinical procedures, but they tend to have a slow onset time. A new amethocaine microemulsion with a faster onset of analgesia than commercial formulations was developed and its activity tested in pain states induced by heat or mechanical stimulus in inflamed and healthy rat paws.
IMPLICATIONS: After major visceral surgery, preincisional and repeated intraoperative small-dose S(+)-ketamine added to general and epidural anesthesia causes better postoperative pain relief than general and epidural anesthesia alone.
IMPLICATIONS: Psychological, physiological, and procedural workload measures during routine general anesthesia cases documented the increased work demands of induction and emergence. Intraoperative teaching increased workload and decreased vigilance, suggesting the need for caution when educating during patient care.
IMPLICATIONS: Although cardiovascular collapse occurs mostly immediately after rapid injection of a local anesthetic in the presence of anesthesiologists, resuscitation may be difficult, and the outcome is usually poor. In this model of bupivacaine-induced cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary resuscitation with a combination of vasopressin and epinephrine resulted in significantly better survival rates than in the placebo group.
IMPLICATIONS: Recruitment maneuvers (RM) produce high intrathoracic pressures and volumes that may compromise hemodynamics. We found a marked transient impairment of hemodynamics during a RM in 10 anesthetized pigs. At 8 min after RM, blood flow remained reduced in the celiac trunk, superior mesenteric, and renal arteries, as well as in the portal vein. This residual decrease may present a risk in conditions with markedly compromised circulatory reserves.
IMPLICATIONS: This study shows that a novel route (via the pulmonary circulation) used to administer pentoxifylline after hemorrhagic shock leads to superior cardiac performance in comparison with administration via lactated Ringer's solution or IV systemic pentoxifylline.
IMPLICATIONS: Management of patients with penetrating neck trauma must guarantee cervical spine stability. Moreover, the prone position increases the risk of difficult ventilation and cervical spine injury. Anesthesia may be induced and the airway can be managed with the patient already in the prone position for surgery.
IMPLICATIONS: Like other antegrade single-step techniques, the PercuTwist tracheostomy presents the risk of anterior tracheal wall damage during the initial stage of the dilation process. Antegrade forces applied to the trachea should be minimized by sufficiently deep skin incision and both slow and smooth initial rotation of the dilator.
IMPLICATIONS: Intracarotid injection of anesthetic drugs in doses that are sufficient to produce electrocerebral silence do not obtund early cerebral hyperemia after transient cerebral ischemia. This suggests that vascular, not neuronal mechanisms, are primarily responsible for early postischemic cerebral hyperperfusion.
IMPLICATIONS: A multimodal approach to postcesarean analgesia, using subarachnoid bupivacaine, fentanyl, morphine 100 {micro}g, and clonidine 60 {micro}g, improves pain relief compared with morphine 100 {micro}g or clonidine 150 {micro}g alone, but increases intraoperative sedation and may increase perioperative vomiting.
IMPLICATIONS: We report the successful use of the ProSealTM laryngeal mask airway for failed obstetric intubation and postoperative respiratory support in a patient with HELLP syndrome.
IMPLICATIONS:Pregnancy in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria increases the risk of hemolysis, thrombosis, anemia, and thrombocytopenia. We describe the anesthetic management of a patient with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and thrombocytopenia who underwent general anesthesia for cesarean delivery.
IMPLICATIONS: Turning the Tuohy introducer needle 45 degrees toward the operative side before threading the epidural catheter is a simple maneuver that produces a preferential distribution of epidural anesthesia and analgesia toward the operative side, minimizing the volume of local anesthetic required to provide adequate pain relief after total hip arthroplasty.
IMPLICATIONS: The ultrastructural anatomy of the human pia mater, such as pial cells, membrane thickness, and subpial tissue at different levels of the thoracic and lumbar spinal cord and nerve roots, was studied by special staining techniques, immunohistochemistry, and transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Fenestrations were found in samples at the thoracic-lumbar junction, conus medullaris, and nerve root levels. No fenestrations were found in samples at the thoracic level. At present, we cannot determine the significance of these findings.
IMPLICATIONS: Orthopedic surgeons understand the benefits of and are supportive of the use of regional anesthesia in their practices. Barriers to increased popularity include perceived operating room delays and lack of reliability.
IMPLICATIONS: Application of positive end-expiratory pressure during induction of general anesthesia in morbidly obese patients prevents atelectasis formation and improves oxygenation. Therefore, this technique should be considered for anesthesia induction in morbidly obese patients.
IMPLICATIONS: Radiologic-assisted intubation facilitated endotracheal intubation without sedation, instrumentation, or significant movement of the occiput, cervical spine, or mandible. The procedure was accomplished in <12 min and with only 22 s of fluoroscopy. This approach provides the ultimate adjunct to the preoperative airway physical evaluation while providing for immediate (or delayed) atraumatic endotracheal intubation. The diagnostic information and procedure can be recorded on a compact disk.
To see an article, click its [Full Text] or [PDF] link. To review many abstracts, check the boxes to the left of the titles you want, and click the 'Get All Checked Abstract(s)' button. To see one abstract at a time, click its [Abstract] link.