Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyRelative analgesic potencies of levobupivacaine and ropivacaine for caudal anesthesia in children.
Comparing relative potency of new local anesthetics, such as levobupivacaine and ropivacaine, by the minimum local analgesic concentration model has not been described for caudal anesthesia. Therefore, we performed a prospective, randomized, double-blind study to determine the minimum local analgesic concentrations of a caudal single shot of ropivacaine and levobupivacaine in children and to describe the upper dose-response curve. ⋯ In children receiving one minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration of sevoflurane, there were no significant differences in the ED(50) for caudal levobupivacaine and ropivacaine. The potency ratio at ED(50) was 0.92 and 0.89 at ED(95), indicating that caudal levobupivacaine and ropivacaine have a similar potency.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 2009
ReviewNoninvasive cardiac output measurement in heart failure subjects on circulatory support.
Pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) thermodilution is commonly used in the perioperative cardiac surgical intensive care unit for measurement and management of central hemodynamics despite questions about effectiveness, difficulty of use, and safety. USCOM is a noninvasive continuous wave Doppler device for direct measurement of cardiac output (CO) and is an alternative to PAC. USCOM validation has predominantly been in the cardiac surgical intensive care unit against PAC, despite the recognized limitations in reliability of the method. We compared USCOM CO measurements with the CardioWest, an orthotopic total artificial heart (TAH), in heart failure (HF) subjects during controlled interventions. ⋯ USCOM is a feasible and accurate method for noninvasive measurement and monitoring of CO in TAH HF patients and may have a wider application in diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease.
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Patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) for labor was introduced into clinical practice 20 yr ago. The PCEA technique has been shown to have significant benefits when compared with continuous epidural infusion. We conducted a systematic review using MEDLINE and EMBASE (1988-April 1, 2008) of all randomized, controlled trials in parturients who received PCEA in labor in which one of the following comparisons were made: background infusion versus none; ropivacaine versus bupivacaine; high versus low concentrations of local anesthetics; and new strategies versus standard strategies. ⋯ Many strategies with PCEA can provide effective labor analgesia. High volume, dilute local anesthetic solutions with a continuous background infusion appear to be the most successful strategy. Research into new delivery strategies, such as mandatory programmed intermittent boluses and computerized feedback dosing, is ongoing.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 2009
Randomized Controlled TrialPrognostic value of troponin I levels for predicting adverse cardiovascular outcomes in postmenopausal women undergoing cardiac surgery.
Adverse cardiac events that follow cardiac surgery are an important source of perioperative morbidity and mortality for women. Troponin I provides a sensitive measure of cardiac injury, but the levels after cardiac surgery may vary between sexes. Our purpose in this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of troponin I levels for predicting cardiovascular complications in postmenopausal women undergoing cardiac surgery. ⋯ In postmenopausal women, elevated troponin I levels on postoperative day 1 are predictive of MACE. Monitoring of perioperative troponin I levels might provide a means for stratifying patients at risk for adverse cardiovascular events.