Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2013
Airway trauma in a high patient volume academic cardiac electrophysiology laboratory center.
Providing anesthesia and managing airways in the electrophysiology suite can be challenging because of its unique setting outside of the conventional operating room. We report our experience of several cases of reported airway trauma including tongue and pharyngeal hematoma and vocal cord paralysis in this setting. ⋯ The overall incidence of reported airway trauma was 0.7% in our study population. Tongue injury was the most common airway trauma. The cause seems to have been multifactorial; however, airway management without muscle relaxant emerged as a potential risk factor. Intubation with muscle relaxant is recommended, as is placing a soft bite block and ensuring no soft tissue is between the teeth before cardioversion.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2013
Repolarization abnormalities in patients with subarachnoid and intracerebral hemorrhage: predisposing factors and association with outcome.
Electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities are frequent in patients with intracranial insult. In this study, we evaluated the factors predisposing to the repolarization abnormalities, i.e., prolonged corrected QT (QTc) interval, ischemic-like ECG changes and morphologic end-repolarization abnormalities, and examined the prognostic value of these abnormalities in patients with subarachnoid and intracerebral hemorrhages requiring intensive care. ⋯ Each repolarization abnormality has characteristic predisposing factors. Ischemic-like ECG changes are common and are associated with a poorer 1-year functional outcome.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2013
First evidence of a polygenic susceptibility to pain in a pediatric cohort.
There is currently no evidence about the genetic bases of postoperative pain variability in children. ⋯ ABCB1 and OPRM genotypes are associated with clinically meaningful pain variability, whereas NTRK1 and COMT are linked to subclinical effects. This first but small cohort study provides clues to further explore the genetic foundations of pediatric pain.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2013
An observational study of the fresh frozen plasma: red blood cell ratio in postpartum hemorrhage.
Postpartum hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Recent data from trauma patients and patients with hemorrhagic shock have suggested that an increased fresh frozen plasma:red blood cell (FFP:RBC) ratio may be of benefit in massive bleeding. We addressed this issue in cases of severe postpartum hemorrhage. ⋯ In this retrospective study, a higher FFP:RBC ratio was associated with a lower requirement for advanced interventional procedures in the setting of postpartum hemorrhage. The benefits of transfusion using a higher FFP:RBC ratio should be confirmed by randomized-controlled trials.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2013
Early developmental exposure to volatile anesthetics causes behavioral defects in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Mounting evidence from animal studies shows that anesthetic exposure in early life leads to apoptosis in the developing nervous system. This loss of neurons has functional consequences in adulthood. Clinical retrospective reviews have suggested that multiple anesthetic exposures in early childhood are associated with learning disabilities later in life as well. Despite much concern about this phenomenon, little is known about the mechanism by which anesthetics initiate neuronal cell death. Caenorhabditis elegans, a powerful genetic animal model, with precisely characterized neural development and cell death pathways, affords an excellent opportunity to study anesthetic-induced neurotoxicity. We hypothesized that exposing the nematode to volatile anesthetics early in life would induce neuron cell death, producing a behavioral defect that would be manifested in adulthood. ⋯ These data indicate that anesthetics affect neurobehavior in nematodes, extending the range of phyla in which early exposure to volatile anesthetics has been shown to cause functional neurological deficits. This implies that anesthetic-induced neurotoxicity occurs via an ancient underlying mechanism. C elegans is a tractable model organism with which to survey an entire genome for molecules that mediate the toxic effects of volatile anesthetics on the developing nervous system.