BACKGROUND: In emergency rooms or intensive care units, we have shown delivery of higher fractions of oxygen promptly for respiratory or cardiac arrest patients by using resuscitating instruments, especially the resuscitator bag. Previously we studied the variables affecting the fraction of delivered oxygen (FDO2) under varying ventilating techniques and conditions. In this paper, using corrugated tubes as substitute for reservoir bag, we measured FDO2 and compared two. METHODS: We designed a special wooden box, which held the Laerdal resuscitator bag. We measured the FDO2 with or without reservoir bags and corrugated tubes at various tidal volumes, respiration rates and oxygen flows. RESULTS: With a 500 ml corrugated tube, FDO2 were higher than with a 250 ml corrugted tube but lower than with a reservoir bag. CONCLUSIONS: Corrugated tube is less effective to deliver high fractions of oxygen than the reservior bag, but it is acceptable to use corrugated tube as a substitute for a reservior bag than not to use it at all.
Emergency Service, Hospital ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Oxygen* ; Respiratory Rate ; Tidal Volume

Myasthenia gravis is relatively common in young women and therefore sometimes associated with pregnancy. Since pregnancy influences the course of the myasthenia gravis, and the drugs used for its treatment may influence gestation, the obstetrical management of myas-thenic patient merits special consideration. In myasthenia gravis, it is generally thought that the anesthesia of chice is regional anesthesia during vaginal delivery and general anesthesia during Cesarian section. But in Cesarina section for a pregnant myasthenic with pulmonary disease, epidural or subarachnoid block may be preferable to avoid postoperative hazards. We performed epidural anesthesia with lidocaine in a 39-year-old elderly primigravida myasthenic with COPD and obtained good intra and postoperative results.
Adult ; Aged ; Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Conduction ; Anesthesia, Epidural ; Anesthesia, General ; Female ; Humans ; Lidocaine ; Lung Diseases ; Myasthenia Gravis ; Pregnancy ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Life-threatening hypotension during percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) is devastating for the patient and is associated with fatal adverse outcomes. The aim of our study was to assess the usefulness of intracoronary epinephrine in severe hypotension unresponsive to other measures during PCI. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We analyzed the Pusan National University Yangsan hospital cardiac catheterization laboratory database to identify patients who underwent PCI from December 2008 to July 2012. The outcomes were changes of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) before and after intracoronary epinephrine and in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: A total of 30 patients who were initially stable and received intracoronary epinephrine for severe hypotension during PCI were included. Following administration of intracoronary epinephrine (dose 181+/-24.8 microgram), systolic and diastolic BP (from 53.8+/-13.0 mm Hg up to 112.8+/-21.2 mm Hg, from 35+/-7.6 mm Hg up to 70.6+/-12.7 mm Hg, respectively) and HR (from 39.4+/-5.1 beats/min up to 96.8+/-29.3 beats/min) were increased. Additionally, 21 patients (70%) showed hemodynamically acceptable responses to intracoronary epinephrine without the intraaortic balloon pump and temporary pacemaker during the PCI. In-hospital mortality was 17% (n=5). CONCLUSION: Although our study was small, intracoronary epinephrine was found to be well tolerated and resulted in prompt and successful recovery from severe hypotension in most patients when other measures were ineffective. Intracoronary epinephrine could be a safe and useful measure in patients developing severe hypotension during PCI.
Blood Pressure ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Coronary Vessels ; Epinephrine* ; Heart Rate ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Hypotension* ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention*

Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is a common clinical condition related to significant mortality. Furthermore, patients with PTE presenting with right heart thrombus show higher mortality due to rapid hemodynamic deterioration. But the optimal treatment of massive PTE is controversial although various methods have been developed and improved. Here, we presented a case of 56-yr-old woman with massive PTE showing hemodynamic collapse, who was successfully treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) adjunct to thrombolytic therapy even without thrombectomy. ECMO was useful for resuscitation and stabilization of the cardiopulmonary function. In conclusion, thrombolytic therapy complemented by ECMO may be an effective treatment option for acute massive PTE with hemodynamic instability.
*Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ; Female ; Heart/physiopathology ; Heparin/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Myocardium/pathology ; Pulmonary Artery/*physiopathology ; Pulmonary Embolism/*therapy ; *Thrombolytic Therapy ; Tissue Plasminogen Activator/therapeutic use ; Venous Thrombosis/*physiopathology ; Warfarin/therapeutic use

Background: /Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way of traditional conference and meeting. Since social distancing rule was important issue, many conferences across the world were cancelled or postponed indefinitely. In 2020, International Conference of the Korean Pancreatobiliary Association (IC-KPBA) was held as a hybrid online and offline conference. Here, we report the result of a national survey about online and offline medical conference in Korea. Methods: The survey was performed for both online and offline participants after IC-KPBA. The contents of survey included their way to access the hybrid online-offline conference and satisfaction with the conference format. Results: Total of 78 participants answered the survey and there was no technical problem. Most offline participants were satisfied the prevention measures at conference hall as follows; very satisfied-56%; satisfied-34%. The quality of video and audio were generally satisfactory in both conference hall and virtual conference. ‘Live online lectures’ is the most preferred method of lecture delivery and personal computer with LAN network is preferred to access online conference. Eighty seven percent of offline participants and 91% of online participants answered satisfied and very satisfied, respectively. Conclusions Participants of IC-KPBA 2020 with hybrid online-offline conference showed a high level of satisfaction.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We investigated the effects of commonly used contrast media (CM) on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in isolated rat hearts. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Isolated rat hearts were subjected to 30 minutes of regional ischemia and 2 hours of reperfusion. The following CM (1 mL/1 L Krebs-Henseleit buffer) were randomly perfused for 15 minutes beginning 5 minutes before reperfusion and ending 10 minutes after reperfusion: iohexol (n=8), iopromide (n=8), ioversol (n=8), iomeprol (n=8), iopamidol (n=7), ioxaglate (n=8), and iodixanol (n=7). The effects of a direct bolus injection of undiluted iohexol, iopromide, or ioxaglate (each n=6) via the aortic root immediately prior to reperfusion were also evaluated. The area of necrosis, expressed as the percentage of the area at risk (AN/AR), and cardiodynamic variables were measured. RESULTS: The AN/AR of the control and experimental groups in the order described in methods was 33.7+/-6.4%, 30.3+/-7.4%, 34.7+/-12.6%, 29.2+/-10.2%, 20.9+/-7.6%, 22.6+/-8.7%, 18.8+/-7.9%, and 19.9+/-11.4%, respectively. Groups that received iomeprol and ioxaglate exhibited significantly decreased AN/AR values compared to those of control hearts (p=0.042 and p=0.013). No significant differences in the AN/AR were observed between control hearts and the groups injected with a single bolus of CM. No significant hemodynamic changes were noted after reperfusion among the groups. CONCLUSION: The overall effects of the CM on coronary reperfusion were not deleterious, and better effects were noted in two CM groups. However, it is unclear whether this result was attributed to a specific physiochemical property of the CM.
Animals ; Contrast Media* ; Heart* ; Hemodynamics ; Iohexol ; Iopamidol ; Ioxaglic Acid ; Ischemia ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardial Reperfusion ; Necrosis ; Rats* ; Reperfusion ; Reperfusion Injury*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Coronary angiography (CAG) is the gold standard for diagnosing coronary artery disease. However, exposure to ionizing radiation delivered during CAG has various negative biological effects on humans. In this study, there was an evaluation of whether fluorography resulted in decreased radiation exposure, as compared with cineangiography. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifty-five patients were prospectively enrolled and divided into two CAG groups, in accordance with the operator's professional discretion: a conventional cineangiography group versus a fluorography group. Fluorography refers to the photography of fluoroscopic images that are retrospectively stored, e.g., using the "Store fluoro" function of the Siemens cardiac angiography system. The primary outcomes included the air kinetic energy released per unit mass {air kerma (AK) mGy} and the dose (kerma)-area product (DAP; microGy . m2), both measured using built-in software in the Siemens system. The secondary outcomes included the total procedure time and amount of contrast agent used with each CAG method. RESULTS: The total AK and DAP were significantly lower in the fluorography group (159.3+/-64.9 mGy and 1337.9+/-629.6 microGy . m2, respectively) than in the cineangiography group (326.9+/-107.5 mGy and 2341.1+/-849.9 microGy . m2, respectively; p=0.000 for both). The total procedure time (cineangiography vs. fluorography, 12.8+/-4.7 vs. 12.5+/-2.9 min; p=0.779) and contrast agent amount (136.1+/-28.3 vs. 126.3+/-25.7, p=0.214) were comparable between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Fluorography is a useful method to decrease the radiation exposure in selected patients requiring CAG.
Angiography ; Cineangiography* ; Coronary Angiography* ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Fluoroscopy ; Humans ; Photography ; Prospective Studies ; Radiation, Ionizing ; Retrospective Studies

Coronary stent dislodgement is a rare and serious complication of percutaneous coronary intervention and is associated with major adverse cardiac events. Successful retrieval of the stent is recommended in this situation because it is important for the prognosis. Recently, a patient was referred to our hospital with a dislodged coronary stent. When attempting to percutaneously extract the dislodged stent, a challenging situation was encountered, as the stent was entrapped and tightly entangled with another fully deployed coronary stent. Extraction of a fully deployed stent is generally prohibited as it may result in severe complications. Nevertheless, we extracted both the dislodged stent and the fully deployed stent, as a last resort. Herein, we report about this case. Our case highlights if the operator had a thorough understanding of the surrounding circumstances regarding the fully deployed coronary stent, successful extraction of the fully deployed coronary stent without any complications could be possible.
Health Resorts ; Humans ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Prognosis ; Stents*