Journal of anesthesia
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Journal of anesthesia · Mar 1994
Statistical analysis of visual prognosis following stellate ganglion block treatment on patients with retinal vessel obstruction.
The visual outcome in 308 patients treated for retinal vessel obstruction was examined retrospectively and the effectiveness of each treatment was evaluated using stepwise multiple linear regression analysis and the chi-square test. Visual acuity was used as the parameter for assessing treatment effectiveness and the variables investigated included treatment factors [stellate ganglion block (SGB), urokinase administration, and prostaglandin administration] and patient factors (age, duration of visual impairment before treatment, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus). SGB treatment, the duration of visual impairment, and the presence of diabetes mellitus were significantly correlated with the visual prognosis following treatment. These results support the current hypothesis that SGB is a viable treatment for patients with obstructive disease of the retinal vessels.
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Journal of anesthesia · Mar 1994
Evaluation of twitch responses obtained from abductor hallucis muscle as a monitor of neuromuscular blockade: Comparison with the results from adductor pollicis muscle.
The twitch responses evoked from the abductor hallucis muscle (AHM) and the adductor pollicis muscle (APM) were examined simultaneously in 20 anesthetized patients following a single bolus intravenous administration of 0.04 mg·kg-1 of vecuronium bromide. The mean onset time of vecuronium-induced depression of AHM twitch responses was significantly slower than that of APM twitch responses (4.9±1.5 minvs 3.7±1.2 min, mean±SD,P<0.001), and when the clinical duration times of vecuronium were compared, AHM twitch responses recovered more quickly than APM twitch responses (15.3±4.1 minvs 19.6±6.7 min,P<0.01), although there was no statistically significant difference in the spontaneous recovery time between AHM and APM (9.8±2.9 minvs 10.0±3.6 min). It is concluded that the twitch responses of AHM may be a useful monitor of neuromuscular blockade in anesthetized patients in whom setting the blockade monitor on the patient's arms is difficult, although monitoring of twitch response of AHM is less sensitive than that of APM in case of vecuronium administration.
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Journal of anesthesia · Mar 1994
Does intraoperative analgesia modify the immune response in surgical patients?
The effect of epidural analgesia combined with inhalational anesthesia on the perioperative immune response was measured by using two-color analysis for the classification of functional lymphocyte subpopulations. Twenty-eight patients undergoing upper abdominal surgery were divided into four groups: group 1, isoflurane and with N2O group 2, sevoflurane with N2O; group 3, epidural analgesia plus isoflurane with N2O; and group 4, epidural analgesia and sevoflurane with N2O. Peripheral lymphocyte subpopulations were measured before, during, and after the operation by using anti-CD4 and anti-CD8 monoclonal antibodies. ⋯ Additionally, stress hormones such as epinephrine (EP), norepinephrine (NE), and cortisol (CO) were measured. EP was increased during and after the operation in groups 1 and 2, and after the operation in group 4, but the level was maintained throughout the study in group 3. In conclusion, prevention of noxious stimuli originating from operative fields by epidural block could prevent the increase in EP and the reduction of helper-inducer T cells in patients undergoing upper abdominal surgery.
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Journal of anesthesia · Mar 1994
Relief of intractable perineal pain by coccygeal nerve block in anterior sacrococcygeal ligament after surgery for rectal cancer.
Intractable perineal pain often appears in the anal region following abdominoperineal resection for the treatment of rectal cancer. In such cases, a subarachnoid block or transsacral block is generally used to control pain. However, these procedures sometimes cause complications such as dysuria or sensory paralysis of the pudendum. ⋯ Absolute alcohol was injected into this space. It is essential that the neurolytic agent remain localized in this space to avoid complications and to successfully block perineal pain. In all patients, we found that this method was extremely effective in blocking localized perineal pain without any complications.