Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Patient Blood Management in Elective Total Hip- and Knee-replacement Surgery (Part 2): A Randomized Controlled Trial on Blood Salvage as Transfusion Alternative Using a Restrictive Transfusion Policy in Patients with a Preoperative Hemoglobin above 13 g/dl.
There is no benefit of blood salvage during or after total knee or hip replacement surgery for patients with pre-operative Hb over 13 g/dL.
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Anatomic, physiologic, and behavioral studies in animals suggest that spinally released oxytocin should produce analgesia in humans and may also protect from chronic pain after injury. In this article, the authors report preclinical toxicity screening of oxytocin for intrathecal delivery. ⋯ Substances, including natural neurotransmitters, may be toxic when administered in pharmacologic doses in the spinal cord. This preclinical toxicity screen in two species suggests that bolus injections of oxytocin in concentrations up to 1,100 μg/ml are unlikely to cause neurotoxicity. The authors also support cautious clinical application of intrathecal oxytocin under regulatory supervision.
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D-Amino acid oxidase (DAAO) is a flavin adenine dinucleotide-dependent peroxisomal flavoenzyme which is almost exclusively expressed within astrocytes in the spinal cord. DAAO catalyzes oxidation of D-amino acids to hydrogen peroxide, which is a stable and less active reactive oxygen species, and may represent a final form of reactive oxygen species. This study tested the hypothesis that the spinal astroglial DAAO-hydrogen peroxide pathway plays an important role in the development of morphine antinociceptive tolerance. ⋯ For the first time, the authors' result identify a novel spinal astroglial DAAO-hydrogen peroxide pathway that is critically involved in the initiation and maintenance of morphine antinociceptive tolerance, and suggest that this pathway is of potential utility for the management of morphine tolerance and chronic pain.
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The role of lung ultrasound has never been evaluated in parturients with severe preeclampsia. The authors' first aim was to assess the ability of lung ultrasound to detect pulmonary edema in severe preeclampsia. The second aim was to highlight the relation between B-lines and increased left ventricular end-diastolic pressures. ⋯ In parturients with severe preeclampsia, lung ultrasound detects both pulmonary edema and increased left ventricular end-diastolic pressures. The finding of a B-pattern should restrict the use of fluid. However, these preliminary results are associations from a single sample. They need to be replicated in a larger, definitive study.