Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Dec 2013
High Thoracic Epidural Analgesia as an Adjunct to General Anesthesia is Associated with Better Outcome in Low-to-Moderate Risk Cardiac Surgery Patients.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the addition of high thoracic epidural analgesia (HTEA) to general anesthesia in cardiac surgery patients to enhance the fast-track and improvement in outcome. ⋯ This large, uniquely matched single-center cohort was generated, and, subject to the listed limitations the authors concluded that supplemental HTEA to general anesthesia had a better outcome in low-risk cardiac surgery patients, with a significantly lower 6-month mortality rate compared with the control group. However, regression analysis revealed that HTEA only had an independently positive effect on the frequency of postoperative dialysis.
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Dec 2013
Comparative StudySystematic Error of Cardiac Output Measured by Bolus Thermodilution With a Pulmonary Artery Catheter Compared With That Measured by an Aortic Flow Probe in a Pig Model.
The precision of thermodilution cardiac output measurement using a pulmonary artery catheter can be divided into random and systematic errors. This study determined the systematic component. ⋯ Thermodilution does trend cardiac output reliably in most cases. However, the systematic error is large and has a significant effect on the percentage error as cardiac output increases. The precision error of ± 20% currently used for thermodilution measurement may be set too low and is dependent on the clinical setting.