BACKGROUND: Hypotension occurs frequently after epidural anesthesia. Intravenous fluid or vasopressors are among treatment methods to many suggested causes. This study was undertaken retrospectively to determine if the age, weight and height of parturients are related to the local anesthetic dosage in epidural anesthesia for the cesarean section, and if the dosage of local anesthetic influence the change of blood pressure and the requirement of fluid or epherine. METHODS: Sixty-nine parturients were studied by reviewing patients' anesthetic records. During lumbar epidural anesthesia to T4 sensory level, all patients were monitored with mean arterial blood pressure, and prevented from hypotension by administration of Ringer's lactated solution. But if hypotension has been sustained in spite of rapid fluid loading, intermittent ephedrine was injected. We studied the correlation of local anesthetic dosage, decrement of mean blood pressure and total required intravenous fluid volume, and difference of these variables between cases using ephedrine and not using. RESULTS: The volume of local anesthetic to achieve a T4 sensory level was 21.20 3.81ml, which did not correlate with age, weight and height, and did not influence the decrease of mean blood pressure and the volume of administered fluid. But the patients (n=30) who needed ephedrine were adminstered significantly larger dose of the local anesthetic and showed more decrease in the mean blood pressure than those (n=39) who did not. CONCLUSIONS: The dose requirement of local anesthetic during epidural anesthesia for the cesarean section is not determined by the age, weight and height of parturients. But when larger dose of local anesthetic is administered, the patients seem to be more hypotensive and need ephedrine as well as intravenous fluid administration.
Anesthesia, Epidural* ; Arterial Pressure ; Blood Pressure ; Cesarean Section* ; Ephedrine* ; Female ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Pregnancy ; Retrospective Studies

Background: Bupivacaine was introduced to be a long-acting spinal anesthetic agent. It has been argued about whether the addition of epinephrine prolongs the bupivacaine action or not. The aim of this present investigation was to find out the effect of additional epinephrine on spinal anesthesia with bupivacaine. Methods: 47 patients undergoing an operation on lower extremity were randomly allocated to 2 groups. All patients were anesthetized by subarachnoid block with 0.5% bupivacaine in 8% glucose, which was mixed with 0.2 ml of normal saline in group non-E (n=24) and 0.2 ml of 1:1,000 epinephrine in group E (n=23). We evaluated blood pressure and heart rate, the sensory and motor blockade and voiding time after spinal anesthesia. Results: The systolic blood pressure (SBP) at 8 and 10 min after anesthesia were lower in group non-E than in group E (p<0.05). The trend of decreasing diastolic blood pressure was similar in both groups. The heart rate(HR) at 2 min after anesthesia was lower in group non-E than in group E (p<0.05). The sensory block in T10 was produced faster in group non-E (7 min) than in group E (11 min)(p<0.05). And the maximal sensory block level and its reaching time was T7 and 14 min in group non-E, and T8 and 17 min in group E (p=0.12, p=0.11). Two segment regression time was 124 min in group non-E, and 184 min in group E (p=011). The onset time of motor block to Bromage scale 3 was 12 min in group non-E and 16 min in group E (p=0.06). The recovery time from complete motor block to Bromage scale 1 after maximal motor block was 263 min in group non-E, and 278 min in group E. The time at which patients voided after anesthesia was 469 min in group non-E, and 466 min in group E. Three patients urinated by using a urinary catheter in each group. Conclusions: The addition of epinephrine to bupivacaine for spinal anesthesia can slow the decrease in SBP and increase the HR at early stage of anesthesia, and slow the sensory block.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Spinal* ; Blood Pressure ; Bupivacaine* ; Epinephrine* ; Glucose ; Heart ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Urinary Catheters

PURPOSE: This study examined the characteristics of fatigue and the relationship between fatigue and its related factors in Korean patients on hemodialysis. METHODS: A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted with 104 patients on hemodialysis in Seoul, Korea. FINDING: Of a total of 104 subjects, eighty-one (77.9%) complained of fatigue. Fatigue severity was measured by the self-rating Visual Analogue Scale-Fatigue (VAS-F) with a mean score of 36.5 (SD=17.49, range 2 - 81). The mean duration of fatigue was 3.8 hours (SD=5.3, range 0 - 24). Depression was most significantly correlated with fatigue (beta=.43, p<.00), with interdialytic weight gain (beta=.25, p<.05) being the second most significant correlate. CONCLUSION: This study shows that nursing interventions for patients who experience fatigue while on hemodialysis should be focused on both psychological problems, such as depression, as well as on physiological problems, such as interdialytic weight gain.
Risk Factors ; Renal Dialysis/*adverse effects ; Regression Analysis ; Multivariate Analysis ; Male ; Korea ; Humans ; Female ; Fatigue/*etiology/physiopathology/psychology ; Depression/complications ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Adult

Pulmonary artery rupture with a flow-directed balloon tipped pulmonary artery catheter (Swan-Ganz catheter)is a rare complication with high mortality. This report concerns a case of this complication with hemothorax leading to fatal exsanguination. Emphasis is placed on the safety guidelines to prevent this. Also, possible causes and managements are presented. A high index of suspicion is necessary whenever a patient with the catheter has hemoptysis or unexplained hemodynamic or respiratory changes.
Arteries* ; Catheters* ; Exsanguination ; Hemodynamics ; Hemoptysis ; Hemothorax ; Humans ; Mortality ; Pulmonary Artery ; Rupture*

Pulmonary artery rupture with a flow-directed balloon tipped pulmonary artery catheter (Swan-Ganz catheter)is a rare complication with high mortality. This report concerns a case of this complication with hemothorax leading to fatal exsanguination. Emphasis is placed on the safety guidelines to prevent this. Also, possible causes and managements are presented. A high index of suspicion is necessary whenever a patient with the catheter has hemoptysis or unexplained hemodynamic or respiratory changes.
Arteries* ; Catheters* ; Exsanguination ; Hemodynamics ; Hemoptysis ; Hemothorax ; Humans ; Mortality ; Pulmonary Artery ; Rupture*

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to identify factors influencing the willingness of healthcare consumers to use personal health records (PHR) and to investigate the requirements for PHR services. METHODS: A face-to-face interview was conducted with 400 healthcare consumers from the 3rd-18th of July 2008 using a structured questionnaire. To identity factors affecting the willingness to use PHR and to pay for PHR services, logistic regression analysis was performed. To investigate the requirements for PHR services according to the willingness of the consumers to use PHR and to pay for PHR services, t-test analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Of the 400 healthcare consumers, 239 (59.8%) were willing to use PHR and 111 (27.8%) were willing to pay for PHR services. The willingness to use PHR was higher in the elderly, those with a disease, and those with experience to use health information on the Internet, and the willingness to pay for PHR services was higher in those with a relatively high income (p<0.05). The willingness to use PHR was approximately 13.5 (95% CI=1.43-126.55) and 3 times (95% CI=1.18-8.74) higher in those with average monthly household incomes >6,000,000 won and 4,500,000-6,000,000 won, respectively, than in those earning <1,500,000 won, and approximately 1.96 times (95% CI=1.18-3.27) higher in those with experience using health information on the Internet than in those without experience. The willingness to pay for PHR services was approximately 5.9 times (95% CI=1.84-19.06) higher in those with an income of 4,500,000-6,000,000 won than in those with an income <1,500,000 won (p<0.05). Demands for test results, medication history, family history, problem list, genetic information, clinical trial information, and social history were significantly higher in those with a willingness to use PHR and those with a willingness to pay for PHR services than in those without willingness to use PHR and those without a willingness to pay for PHR services (p<0.05). Compared to those without a willingness to pay for PHR services, those with a willingness to pay for PHR services showed a significantly higher demand for all the functions (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that healthcare consumers potentially have a considerable demand for PHR services, and although it is not recognized and used widely yet, PHR is an essential service. In order to enhance people's awareness of PHR and to promote people to use PHR services, we need efforts and initiatives to execute campaigns and education for people to ease access to the service, and to reduce the gap in service utilization skills.
Aged ; Delivery of Health Care ; Electronic Health Records ; Family Characteristics ; Health Records, Personal ; Humans ; Internet ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Central hypoventilation syndrome (CHS) can be caused by any lesions to the medullary respiratory centers, cerebral cortex, corticospinal pathways, and their connections. We report 5 patients with central hypoventilation syndrome and analyzed 26 patients who experienced central hypoventilation syndrome during sleep and waking states. We compared initial clinical symptoms and signs, maximal neurologic deficits, brain MRI and pathologic findings, and associated autonomic dysfunctions. The patients with respiratory failure during waking states showed quadriplegia, a rapidly progressing respiratory failure. The patients who had automatic respiratory failure showed mild hemiparesis, bulbar dysfunction, dysautonomia, and subacute to chronic recurrent respiratory failures. These results support the concept of two separate respiratory systems: a voluntary system and an automatic system. The respiratory management of these patients with central hypoventilation syndrome should be considered critical to their survival.
Brain ; Cerebral Cortex ; Humans ; Hypoventilation* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Paresis ; Primary Dysautonomias ; Pyramidal Tracts ; Quadriplegia ; Respiratory Center ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Respiratory System

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the effects of thoracic epidural anesthesia, with or without bilateral vagotomy, epinephrine-induced arrhythmias were studied in 31 rabbits anesthetized with 1 MAC enflurane. METHODS: Logdose protocol was used for the infusion of epinephrine; its arrhythmic dose being defined as the smallest infusion rate produced four or more continuous or intermittent arrhythmias within 15 seconds. RESULTS: The values (geometric mean) of arrhythmic doses and the plasma concentration of epinephrine during arrhythmia were as follows: 10.21 g.kg 1.min 1 and 83.16 ng/ml in epidural control group; 118.90 g.kg 1.min 1 and 677.76 ng/ml in epidural lidocaine group (p<0.05); 6.34 g.kg-1.min 1 and 96.42 ng/ml in intravenous lidocaine group; 8.65 g.kg 1.min-1 and 44.64 ng/ml in vagotomized-epidural control group; and 12.03 g.kg 1.min 1 and 95.35 ng/ml in vagotomized- epidural lidocaine group. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that thoracic epidural anesthesia raises the threshold for enflurane- epinephrine arrhythmias in rabbits and that this effect is eliminated by bilateral vagotomy.
Anesthesia, Epidural* ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac* ; Enflurane ; Epinephrine ; Lidocaine ; Plasma ; Rabbits* ; Vagotomy*

BACKGROUND: This study was proposed to examine the effects of butorphanol on propofol dose requirements and hemodynamic responses during propofol-N2O-O2 anesthesia. In addition, the effects of butorphanol on the recovery time, sedation score and postoperative first analgesic request time were assessed. METHODS: Forty patients were allocated to 2 groups. Twenty patients received butorphanol (20 microgram/kg, group (B) and the others received an equal volume of placebo (group P) 3 minutes before induction with propofol. After induction, anesthesia was maintained with propofol (6 - 10 mg/kg, iv)-N2O (70%)-O2 (30%). Propofol doses for induction and maintenance and hemodynamic responses (blood pressure, heart rate) were checked. After surgery, sedation score, recovery profiles, and postoperative first analgesic request time were assessed. RESULTS: The induction doses of propofol were lower in group B than in group P. Diastolic pressure and heart rate decreased in group B compared to group P after endotracheal intubation and before skin incision. After skin incision, decreased diastolic pressure and heart rate returned to preanesthetic levels in group P, but the decreased level was sustained in group B. There were group differences in sedation score at 5 and 10 minutes after extubation. In group B, recovery was delayed and more time elapsed before the first analgesic request. CONCLUSIONS: Butorphanol co-administered with propofol reduces the induction dose of propofol and delays the first analgesic request time, but there are significant fluctuations in blood pressure and heart rate during endotracheal intubation and skin incision.
Anesthesia* ; Blood Pressure ; Butorphanol* ; Heart ; Heart Rate ; Hemodynamics* ; Humans ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Propofol* ; Skin

We present two patients with clinical features suggestive of a hyperkinetic form of encephalitis lethargica described by von Economo. While undergoing treatment for viral meningoencephalitis, they both developed comatose mentality, oromandibular dyskinesia, chorea, myoclonic jerk, oculogyric crisis, opistotonus, respiratory failure, and autonomic dysfunction. One patient died of autonomic failure while the other improved several months later. In both patients, cerebrospinal fluid exmamination revealed only pleocytosis. A brain MRI and EEG showed no specific findings. In order to control severe hyperkinetism and autonomic failure, medical treatments including L-dopa, clonazepam, and steroid pulse therapy were administereed in both cases while electroconvulsive therapy was tried in one of the cases. However, they all failed. These cases and previous reports informed us of the presence of sporadic form of encephalis.
Brain ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Chorea ; Clonazepam ; Coma ; Dyskinesias ; Electroconvulsive Therapy ; Electroencephalography ; Encephalitis* ; Encephalitis, Viral ; Humans ; Leukocytosis ; Levodopa ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Meningoencephalitis ; Myoclonus ; Respiratory Insufficiency