BMC anesthesiology
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Observational Study
Therapeutic plasma exchange as rescue therapy in severe sepsis and septic shock: retrospective observational single-centre study of 23 patients.
Several case series and small randomized controlled trials suggest that therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) improves coagulation, hemodynamics and possibly survival in severe sepsis. However, the exact role of TPE in modern sepsis therapy remains unclear. ⋯ Our data suggest that some patients with severe sepsis and septic shock may experience hemodynamic stabilisation by early TPE therapy.
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The sympathetic nervous system is considered to modulate the endotoxin-induced activation of immune cells. Here we investigate whether thoracic epidural anesthesia with its regional symapathetic blocking effect alters endotoxin-induced leukocyte-endothelium activation and interaction with subsequent endothelial injury. ⋯ Thoracic epidural anesthesia attenuated the endotoxin-induced increase of IL-1β concentration, adhesion molecule expression and leukocyte-adhesion with subsequent endothelial injury. A potential mechanism is the reduction in the plasma concentration of epinephrine.
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Robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) gained much popularity during the last decade. Although the influence of intraoperative fluid management on patients' outcome has been largely discussed in general, its impact on perioperative complications and length of hospitalization in patients undergoing RALP has not been examined so far. We hypothesized that a more restrictive fluid management might lead to a shortened length of hospitalization and a decreased rate of complications in our patients. ⋯ In accordance to the findings of our study, we suggest that a standardized, more restrictive fluid management might be beneficial in patients undergoing RALP. In older patients this measure would be able to shorten the length of hospitalization and to decrease the incidence of anastomosis leakage as a major complication.
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Comparative Study
A comparison of three techniques (local anesthetic deposited circumferential to vs. above vs. below the nerve) for ultrasound guided femoral nerve block.
Fractured neck of femur generally requires operative fixation and is a common cause of admission to hospital. The combination of femoral nerve block and spinal anesthesia is a common anesthetic technique used to facilitate the surgical procedure. The optimal disposition of local anesthetic (LA) relative the femoral nerve (FN) has not been defined. Our hypothesis was: that the deposition of LA relative to the FN influences the quality of analgesia for positioning of the patient for performance of spinal anesthesia. The primary outcome was verbal rating (VRS) pain scores 0-10 assessed immediately after positioning the patient to perform spinal anesthesia. ⋯ We conclude that there is no clinical advantage to attempting to deposit LA circumferential to the femoral nerve (relative to depositing LA either above or below the nerve), during femoral nerve block in this setting.
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Reported perioperative pulmonary aspiration (POPA) rates have substantial variation. Perioperative hypoxemia (POH), a manifestation of POPA, has been infrequently studied beyond the PACU, for patients undergoing a diverse array of surgical procedures. ⋯ Adult surgical patients undergoing general anesthesia with horizontal recumbency have substantial POH and POPA rates. Hospital mortality was greater with POPA and post-operative stay was increased for POH and POPA. POH rates were noteworthy for virtually all categories of operative procedures and POH and POPA were independent predictors of post-operative length of stay. A study is needed to determine if modest reverse-Trendelenburg positioning during general anesthesia has a relationship with reduced POH and POPA rates.