Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2011
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyIdentification of the correct cervical level by palpation of spinous processes.
The ability to identify the correct vertebral level through examination is an important skill for clinicians who are performing nerve blocks without fluoroscopy. The conventional palpation method, which identifies the most prominent cervical spinous process as the seventh cervical (C7) spinous process is unreliable in many cases. We compared the accuracy of 2 different palpation methods used for identifying C7. ⋯ The flexion-extension method is more accurate than the conventional method when identifying cervical vertebral level.
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Chronological age is a well-established risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases. The changes that accumulate in the vasculature with age, however, are highly variable. ⋯ In this review, we highlight some of the pathophysiological mechanisms that characterize the vascular aging phenotype. Furthermore, we provide an overview of the key outcome studies that address the value of these vascular health indices in general and discuss potential effects on perioperative cardiovascular outcomes.