Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2000
Clinical TrialFalse alarms and sensitivity of conventional pulse oximetry versus the Masimo SET technology in the pediatric postanesthesia care unit.
We compared the incidence and duration of false alarms (FA)and the sensitivity of conventional pulse oximetry (CPO) with Masimo Signal Extraction Technology (Masimo SET; Masimo Corporation, Irvine, CA) in children in the postanesthesia care unit. Disposable oximeter sensors were placed on separate digits of one extremity. Computerized acquisition of synchronous data included electrocardiograph heart rate, SpO(2), and pulse rate via CPO and Masimo SET. Patient motion, respiratory, and other events were simultaneously documented. SpO(2) tracings conflicting with clinical observations and/or documented events were considered false. These were defined as 1) Data dropout, complete interruption in SpO(2) data; 2) False negative, failure to detect SpO(2) = 90% detected by another device or based on observation/intervention; 3) FA, SpO(2) = 90% considered artifactual; and 4) True alarm (TA), SpO(2) = 90% considered valid. Seventy-five children were monitored for 35 +/- 22 min/patient (42 h total). There were 27 TAs, all of which were identified by Masimo SET and only 16 (59%) were identified by CPO (P < 0.05). There was twice the number of FAs with CPO (10 vs 4 Masimo SET; P < 0.05). The incidence and duration of data dropouts were similar between Masimo SET and CPO. Masimo SET reduced the incidence and duration of FAs and identified a more frequent incidence of TAs compared with CPO. ⋯ Pulse oximetry that incorporates Masimo Signal Extraction Technology (Masimo Corporation, Irvine, CA) may offer an advantage over conventional pulse oximetry by reducing the incidence of false alarms while identifying a higher number of true alarms in children in the postanesthesia care unit.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2000
Comparative Study Clinical TrialRapid evaluation of coagulopathies after cardiopulmonary bypass in children using modified thromboelastography.
Complex coagulopathies follow cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in children. However, objective laboratory data that can be acquired rapidly to guide their management are lacking. Because thromboelastography has proven useful in this regard, we evaluated the use of celite or tissue factor (TF) activation and heparinase modification of blood samples to allow rapid determination of thromboelastogram data in children younger than 2 yr undergoing CPB. Celite or TF activation shortened the initiation of clotting and, thus, the time required for the important thromboelastogram alpha and maximum amplitude values to begin evolving. Although thromboelastogram alpha and maximum amplitude values were increased with these activators, correlations persisted between platelet count or fibrinogen level and each of these values. The additional use of heparinase allowed thromboelastograms to be obtained during CPB with values not different from those obtained without heparinase after protamine administration. Therefore, celite- or TF-activated, heparinase-modified thromboelastograms begun during CPB allow objective data to be available by the conclusion of protamine administration to help restore hemostasis after CPB in children. Thromboelastography identified transient fibrinolysis during CPB in some children that resolved by the conclusion of protamine administration. Future investigations of the effectiveness of modified thromboelastography-guided coagulopathy management after CPB in children are needed. ⋯ Thromboelastography is useful in assessing the coagulopathies that follow cardiopulmonary bypass in children. Modifying blood samples with celite or tissue factor and heparinase allows thromboelastography begun before the termination of cardiopulmonary bypass to become a rapid point-of-care monitor to provide objective data for guiding blood component therapy to manage these coagulopathies.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2000
Clinical TrialThe effects of tramadol and morphine on immune responses and pain after surgery in cancer patients.
There has been growing interest in determining the possible immune consequences of opioid administration for the management of postoperative pain. We studied the effects of morphine and tramadol on pain and immune function during the postoperative period in 30 patients undergoing abdominal surgery for uterine carcinoma. Phytohemoagglutinin-induced T lymphocyte proliferation and natural killer cell activity were evaluated immediately before and after surgery, and 2 h after the acute administration of either 10 mg of morphine IM or 100 mg tramadol IM for pain. In all patients, phytohemagglutinin-induced lymphoproliferation was significantly depressed by surgical stress. However, in the morphine-treated group, proliferative values remained lower than basal levels for 2 h after treatment, whereas in tramadol-administered patients proliferative values returned to basal levels. Natural killer cell activity was not significantly affected by surgery nor by morphine administration, whereas tramadol significantly enhanced the activity of natural killer cells. Both drugs produced a comparable reduction in postoperative pain. We conclude that, as previously observed in the experimental animal, tramadol and morphine, when administered in analgesic doses, induce different immune effects. ⋯ Recent studies suggest that opioids can have an adverse impact on the immune system. Because surgical stress also induces immune dysfunction, the search for analgesic drugs devoid of immunosuppressive effects is of import. This study compared the effects on immune responses of morphine and of the atypical opioid analgesic, tramadol, given for postoperative pain to gynecological cancer patients. Tramadol and morphine showed comparable analgesic activity; however, tramadol, in contrast to morphine, induced an improvement of postoperative immunosuppression and, therefore, may be preferred to morphine for the treatment of postoperative pain.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2000
Clinical TrialHigh frequency jet ventilation in interventional fiberoptic bronchoscopy.
High frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) is a well accepted method for securing ventilation in rigid and interventional bronchoscopy. We describe a technique of HFJV using a 14F nylon insufflation catheter placed in the trachea to support stent implantation or endobronchial balloon dilation in endobronchial stenoses with the flexible fiberscope. One hundred sixty-one cases were treated with either a metal wire stent (n = 105) or with balloon dilation (n = 56). In addition to HFJV, IV anesthesia was applied in 132 cases. Driving pressure was 1125-1275 mm Hg, frequency 80-100/min, and inspiratory:expiratory ratio of 1:2. Fraction of inspired oxygen ranged from 0.3-1.0. The effects on alveolar ventilation were assessed by using blood-gas analysis and continuous monitoring of transcutaneous oxygen and carbon dioxide tension (P(tc)CO(2)). Complications consisted of hypertension (n = 8), hypotension (n = 6), bronchospasm (n = 5), and hypoxia (n = 6). In 52% of the cases, mild hypercarbia (P(tc)CO2 50-60mm Hg) was observed. In two cases, a P(tc)CO(2) > 80 mm Hg resolved spontaneously when the patients returned to normal breathing after intermittent superimposed ventilation with a face mask. During placement of stents in the proximal trachea, the jet catheter had to be withdrawn, resulting in displacement of the catheter into the pharynx in one case, which was managed safely with the bronchoscope. In conclusion, HFJV achieves satisfactory operating conditions and provides adequate gas exchange for interventional bronchoscopic procedures with the fiberscope. ⋯ Safe ventilation is desired when performing tracheobronchial stent implantation and balloon dilation with the fiberscope. High frequency jet ventilation, applied with a 14F insufflation catheter through the nasotracheal route, offers safe ventilatory support with minimal complications. This was evaluated in 161 procedures treating benign and malignant airway stenoses.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2000
Clinical TrialEchocardiographic and pathological evaluation of atherosclerosis in the ascending aorta during coronary artery bypass grafting.
We performed intraoperative echocardiography with an epiaortic probe to assess the correlation between echocardiographic appearance and pathological findings of the aorta and to examine the effect of cross-clamping on the aortic wall in 276 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting. The ascending aorta was divided into three segments as follows: lower (L), upper (U), and innominate. The anterior (ant) and posterior (post) intimal thicknesses of each of the three segments were measured. The echogenicity at each of the six locations was examined and was classified as isoechoic or nonisoechoic (hyperechoic, hypoechoic, or mixed type). Tissue punched from the ant L wall of the ascending aorta for vein anastomosis was examined for the presence of atheroma. At the ant L, the prevalence of atheroma was significantly higher in nonisoechoic walls than in isoechoic walls (P = 0.049). We divided patients into two groups according to echogenicity at the U segments. Group A (n = 213) consisted of patients whose echogenicities at both ant U and post U were isoechoic. Group B (n = 63) consisted of patients with nonisoechoic echogenicity at ant U and/or post U. The intimal thicknesses at all six locations in Group B patients were greater than those of Group A (P < 0.01). Deformities at the clamp site after cardiopulmonary bypass were observed significantly more often in Group B than in Group A (P < 0.01). Our data suggest that a nonisoechoic aortic wall indicates more advanced atheroma and a higher risk of deformities at the clamp site. Examination of the echogenicity of the ascending aorta may be one method to reduce perioperative neurological complications. ⋯ We performed epiaortic echocardiography during coronary artery bypass grafting and found that the presence of atheroma and deformities at the cross-clamping site were significantly more prevalent in nonisoechoic walls than isoechoic walls.