Articles: function.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2018
Differential Effects of Anesthetics and Opioid Receptor Activation on Cardioprotection Elicited by Reactive Oxygen Species-Mediated Postconditioning in Sprague-Dawley Rat Hearts.
Despite an array of cardioprotective interventions identified in preclinical models of ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury, successful clinical translation has not been achieved. This study investigated whether drugs routinely used in clinical anesthesia influence cardioprotective effectiveness by reducing effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS), upstream triggers of cardioprotective signaling. Effects of propofol, sevoflurane, or remifentanil were compared on postischemic functional recovery induced by ROS-mediated postconditioning with Intralipid. ⋯ These divergent effects of routinely used drugs in clinical anesthesia may influence the translatability of cardioprotective therapies such as Intralipid postconditioning.
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Critical care medicine · May 2018
Review Case ReportsNonejecting Hearts on Femoral Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Aortic Root Blood Stasis and Thrombus Formation-A Case Series and Review of the Literature.
Cardiogenic shock constitutes the final common pathway of cardiac dysfunction associated with tissue hypoperfusion and organ failure. Besides treatment of the underlying cause, temporary mechanical circulatory support serves as a supportive measure. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation can effectively prevent hypoxemia and end-organ dysfunction, but knowledge about patient selection, risks, and complications remains sparse. ⋯ Patients in cardiogenic shock who require femoral veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support are at risk of developing a state of nonejecting heart with thrombus formation in the aortic root. Echocardiography is the cornerstone of diagnosis and documentation of treatment effects. Depending on the likelihood of the presence of clinically relevant thrombotic material in the aortic root, we propose a treatment algorithm for this group of high-risk patients.
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Critical care medicine · May 2018
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Pragmatic Clinical TrialPrognostic Value of Secretoneurin in Patients With Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock: Data From the Albumin Italian Outcome Sepsis Study.
Secretoneurin directly influences cardiomyocyte calcium handling, and circulating secretoneurin levels seem to improve risk prediction in patients with myocardial dysfunction by integrating information on systemic stress, myocardial function, and renal function. Accordingly, in this study, we hypothesized that secretoneurin would improve risk prediction in patients with sepsis and especially in patients with septic shock as these patients are more hemodynamically unstable. ⋯ Secretoneurin provides early and potent prognostic information in septic patients with cardiovascular instability.
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Sterile and infectious critical illnesses often result in vasoplegic shock and a robust systemic inflammatory response that are similar in presentation. The innate immune system is at the center of the response to both infectious and traumatic insults. Damage-associated molecular patterns are small molecules that are released from stressed or dying cells. Damage-associated molecular patterns activate pattern recognition receptors and coordinate the leading edge of the innate immune response. This review introduces the concept of damage-associated molecular patterns and how they activate a systemic inflammatory response, specifically in trauma, neurologic injury, and infection. It also explores how, when carried to extremes, damage-associated molecular patterns may even perpetuate multisystem organ failure. ⋯ Damage-associated molecular pattern activation and release is an important research for intensive care practitioners. It will add to our understanding of the phase and state of the innate immune response to an insult. Early work is encouraging. However, only with improved understanding of damage-associated molecular pattern activation and function, we can perhaps hope to target damage-associated molecular patterns as diagnostic and/or therapeutic modalities in the future.
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Minerva anestesiologica · May 2018
ReviewCommitted to be fit. The value of preoperative care in the perioperative medicine era.
In the era of perioperative medicine, important advances have been made in the perioperative care of patients, usually within those known as enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols. These have led to a decrease in postoperative complications and the duration of hospital stays; however, there is still a lack of preoperative care, which could make perioperative medicine more prominent. Elderly patients, malnourished, anemic and ones with a low physical function before surgery are likely to have sub-optimal recovery from surgery. ⋯ Prehabilitation consists of exercise training and nutritional and psychological support, which increases the physiological reserve before surgical stress. The integration of exercise, adequate nutrition, anemia correction and psycho-social components, with multi-modal optimization in the preoperative period leads to an improvement in the functional capacity of the patients undergoing surgery, with the consequent improvement in terms of outcomes. The present article discusses specific aspects of preoperative care which are not well defined in the ERAS protocols and which represent fundamental shifts in surgical practice, including preoperative nutrition, management of preoperative anemia and prehabilitation.