No abstract available.
Resuscitation*

BACKGROUND: Atracurium is a benzylisoquinolium nondepolarizing neuromuscular blocking drug. It releases histamine upon the rapid administration of more than 2 x ED95. Cisatracurium is about three to four times more potent than atracurium, less likely to release histamine, and has weaker cardiovascular or autonomic effects. Mivacurium releases histamine to about the same degree as atracurium at the same dose. This study was undertaken to reevaluate the experimental model for the evaluation of effects on the autonomic nervous system, and to determine the neuromuscular blocking profiles and the vagolytic effects of atracurium, cisatracurium and mivacurium in cats. METHODS: Cats, either sex, anesthetized with pentobarbital, were used. Neuromuscular blocking effects were assessed using the effects on the anterior tibialis muscle twitch evoked with supramaximal stimuli (0.2 ms-duration, 0.1 Hz). Inhibition of the parasympathetic nervous system was assessed in response to bradycardia to vagal nerve stimulation with ten-second trains of square-waves (0.5 ms-duration, 20 Hz). The dose-response curves for both neuromuscular blocking and vagolytic actions were determined for each animal. The dose-response curves were constructed in cumulative fashion. The response for vagal stimuli was measured two minute after each dosing. Vagal ID50 (The doses that produced 50% inhibition of the response to vagus nerve stimulation) were determined. RESULTS: NMB ED95 and NMB ED50, respectively, were 102.0 +/- 28.3 and 143.7 +/- 40.5 microgram/kg for atracurium, 81.4 +/- 13.3 and 110.7 +/- 18.8 microgram/kg for cisatracurium, and 56.8 +/- 17.4 and 74.2 +/- 25.0 microgram/kg for mivacurium. Vagal ID50 was 2,654 +/- 1,651 microgram/kg for atracurium, 655 +/- 389 microgram/kg for cisatracurium, and 606 +/- 182 microgram/kg for mivacurium. The vagal ID50/NMB ED95 and vagal ID50/NMB ED50 were 18.5 and 26.0 for atracurium, 5.9 and 8.1 for cisatracurium, and 8.2 and 10.7 for mivacurium. CONCLUSIONS: Atracurium has a wider margin of safety only for vagal stimulation as compared with cisatracurium and mivacurium. However, we couldn't exclude that either sympathetic stimulation or histamine release might contribute to heart rate.
Animals ; Atracurium* ; Autonomic Agents ; Autonomic Nervous System ; Bradycardia ; Cats* ; Heart Rate ; Histamine ; Histamine Release ; Models, Theoretical ; Neuromuscular Blockade* ; Parasympathetic Nervous System ; Pentobarbital ; Vagus Nerve ; Vagus Nerve Stimulation

BACKGROUND: The speed of injection of local anesthetic solutions into the subarachnoid space may influence the spread of these agents in the cerebrospinal fluid by the amount of turbulence generated, especially with large volume. To determine the proper injection speed of anesthetics in hypobaric spinal anesthesia on jack-knife position, the anesthetic level and duration were measured with the fast or slow injection speed. METHODS: Twenty patients for perianal surgery in jack-knife position under hypobaric spinal anesthesia were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Tetracaine (0.1%) in distilled water 5 ml was administered to all the patients. Group I patients received the drug with the speed of injection as 5 ml/20 sec (15 ml/min) and the others (Group II) as 5 ml/4 min (1.25 ml/min). The mean arterial pressures and heart rates at the preanesthetic period, and 5, 10, 15 and 20 min after the end of injection were measured. The anesthetic levels at 5, 10, 15 and 20 min after the injection and anesthesia duration were measured. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in mean arterial pressures, heart rates and anesthetic duration between two groups. The anesthetic level 20 min after the injection was higher in Group I than Group II, and not different at the other time sequences. CONCLUSION: At the injection speed within 1.25-15 ml/min in hypobaric spinal anesthesia on jack-knife position at 15o head-down, we acquired appropriate anesthetic level and duration for perianal surgery without any undesirable effects.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Spinal* ; Anesthetics ; Arterial Pressure ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Head-Down Tilt* ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Subarachnoid Space ; Tetracaine* ; Water

With an increase in the elderly population and an increase in the prevalence of age-related cardiovascular disease, anesthesiologists are increasingly being faced with elderly patients with known or suspected ischemic heart disease in the perioperative period. Although early reperfusion remains the best strategy to reduce ischemic injury, reperfusion may damage the myocardium. Adjuvant therapy to revascularization is therefore necessary. To develop better strategies to prevent ischemia-reperfusion injury in older patients, we need to understand the aged myocardium, which has undergone structural and functional changes relative to the normal myocardium, resulting in reduced functional capacity and vulnerability to ischemia-reperfusion injury. In addition, innate or acquired cardioprotection deteriorates with aging. These changes in the aged myocardium might explain why there is poor translation of basic research findings from young animals to older patients. In this review, I discuss changes in intracellular signaling associated with myocardial ageing that have an effect on ischemia-reperfusion injury, and I discuss the efficacy of cardioprotection afforded by ischemic and pharmacologic pre-and post-conditioning in the aged myocardium. Finally, I outline strategies to restore protection in the aged myocardium.
Aged ; Aging ; Animals ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Diet ; Humans ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Myocardium ; Perioperative Period ; Prevalence ; Reperfusion ; Reperfusion Injury

It is important to consider the fetal, uteroplacental, and maternal issues when choosing anesthetic technique for fetal surgery. The twin reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP) sequence, or the acardiac anomaly, occurs in 1:100 monozygous multiple pregnancies and in 1:35,000 births. The TRAP sequence is characterized by placental vascular arterio-arterial anastomosis between twin fetuses, one an acardiac/acephalic twin that receives its blood flow from the normal pumping twin, thereby endangering the normal twin by high output cardiac failure. The acardiac twin is nonviable, and perinatal mortality in the pump cotwin exceeds 50% because of cardiac failure and prematurity. This can be managed by fetal surgery. We report on a patient with a 26-wk gestation complicated by an acardiac/acephalic fetus anesthetized for surgical umbilical cord ligation.
Anesthesia* ; Female ; Fetus ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Ligation ; Parturition ; Perfusion* ; Perinatal Mortality ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Multiple ; Umbilical Cord

BACKGROUND: Lidocaine's sedative effect has not been known well. The purpose of this study was to evaluate its sedative and cardiovascular effects during induction of anesthesia. METHODS: Twenty patients were randomly allocated to group I or II, with or without lidocaine 1.5 mg/kg intravenously (IV) before induction, respectively. The BIS, blood pressure and heart rate were measured at before and 2 minutes after lidocaine IV injection, preintubation, and 1, 2, 3 and 5 minutes after tracheal intubation. The enflurane concentrations were continuously maintained at 2 volume%. RESULTS: The BIS of group I was more decreased at 1 and 2 minutes after intubation than those of group II. The systolic blood pressures of group I were less increased at 1 and 2 minutes after intubation than those of group II. The diastolic blood pressures and heart rates of group I were not different from those of group II at each stage of the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Lidocaine reduced BIS and blunted the intubation-induced systolic hypertensive response. In addition it is thought that it has a sedative effect and is effective to maintain cardiovascular stability after tracheal intubation.
Anesthesia ; Blood Pressure ; Enflurane ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypnotics and Sedatives* ; Intubation ; Intubation, Intratracheal* ; Lidocaine*

Mishaps related to valve malfunction in a self-inflating bag-valve unit can lead to fatal complications. We report a case of severe hypotension that resulted from the locking of the Laerdal valve in the inspiratory position during transport in the operating room. A 36 year old man had undergone an off-pump coronary artery bypass graft. Immediately before leaving the operating room, severe hypotension developed abruptly. But an EKG showed only a reduction of heart rate. We started closed cardiac massage with an intravenous bolus injection of epinephrine 0.5 microgram and reconnected the anesthesia breathing circuit. The patient was manually ventilated using the anesthesia reservoir bag. Vital signs immediately recovered. At that time, the patient's abdomen was distended and we suspected an expiratory abnormality. The self-inflating bag-valve unit was tested with an anesthesia reservoir bag as a test lung. Expiration did not occur. Another self-inflating bag-valve unit was substituted and normal ventilation was restored. It is essential that before use, a self-inflating bag-valve unit should be tested for proper function during both expiration and inspiration using a test lung such as, an anesthesia reservoir bag.
Abdomen ; Adult ; Anesthesia ; Coronary Artery Bypass, Off-Pump ; Electrocardiography ; Epinephrine ; Heart Massage ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypotension* ; Lung ; Operating Rooms ; Respiration ; Resuscitation ; Transplants ; Ventilation ; Vital Signs

BACKGROUND: Corrected QT (QTc) interval can be modulated by sympathetic and parasympathetic balance. Tracheal intubation causes significant prolongation of the QTc interval due to sympathetic stimulation. This study was designed to elucidate the relationship between baseline autonomic nervous system activity and QTc prolongation after endotracheal intubation using heart rate variability (HRV). METHODS: Sixty-six healthy patients were included and the baseline HRV data were recorded for 5 min before anesthesia. Power spectrum densities were calculated for low frequencies (LF, 0.04-0.15 Hz) and high frequencies (HF, 0.15-0.4 Hz), defined as either LF's or HF's relative part of the total power. Anesthesia was induced with sevoflurane and vecuronium was given. The QTc interval, heart rate (HR) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were measured before induction (baseline), before laryngoscopy (pre-intubation) and immediately after the intubation (post-intubation). RESULTS: The QTc interval change at post-intubation from baseline (DeltaQTc) showed a significant negative correlation with the HF (r = 0.34, P = 0.006) and positive correlation with LF/HF ratio (r = 0.37, P = 0.005). Patients were retrospectively divided into low-HF/LF (<2.5, n = 44) and high-HF/LF group (>2.5, n = 22). The DeltaQTc was statistically higher in the high-LF/HF group compared to that in the low-LF/HF group (P = 0.048). The HR and MAP at baseline, pre-intubation and post-intubation were not different between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The QTc interval prolongation after endotracheal intubation is influenced by baseline autonomic conditions and can be exaggerated in patients with activated sympathetic activity or depressed parasympathetic activity.
Anesthesia ; Arterial Pressure ; Autonomic Nervous System ; Heart ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Intubation ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Laryngoscopy ; Methyl Ethers ; Retrospective Studies ; Vecuronium Bromide

BACKGROUND: Hyperglycemia is common in critically ill patients, even in those without diabetes, and it is known to increase mortality in patients with or without diabetes in the settings of acute myocardial infarction or acute stroke. However, the clinical effects of admission hyperglycemia are uncertain, and no data is available that compares the prognosis in a heterogenous group of critically ill patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of hyperglycemia on prognosis in a heterogenous group of critically ill patients with or without diabetes. METHODS: The medical records of 858 consecutive adult patients admitted to a general intensive care unit (ICU) at a University Hospital over 21 months were reviewed. Patients with no records of blood glucose measurements and patients with normoglycemia during the first 3 days were excluded. The remaining 349 patients with hyperglycemia were divided into two groups according to a previous history of diabetes. Hyperglycemia was defined as a fasting blood glucose level of 140 mg/dl or more, or a random blood glucose level of 200 mg/dl or more on 2 or more determinations. The primary end-point of the study was ICU and in-hospital mortality, and its secondary end-point included length of stay in the ICU and hospital. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in ICU mortality (17.6/19.0%), in-hospital mortality (24.5/24.3%), ICU length of stay (6.6 +/- 11.9/6.6 +/- 10.4 days), and hospital length of stay (11.4 +/- 29.0/12.8 +/- 24.3 days) between diabetics and nondiabetics. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the effects of hyperglycemia on the prognosis of critically ill patients do not differ diabetics from nondiabetics.
Adult ; Blood Glucose ; Critical Care ; Critical Illness* ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia* ; Intensive Care Units ; Length of Stay ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Myocardial Infarction ; Prognosis* ; Stroke

Cold agglutinins are autoantibodies activated at low temperature to produce red blood cell agglutination and hemolysis. Systemic hypothermia and cold cardioplegia which are employed commonly in modern cardiac operations are a potential danger to patients with the cold agglutinin disease. We report a successful use of a continuous warm retrograde delivery of cardioplegia with systemic hypothemia in a patient with cold agglutinin disease detected incidentally. Hemagglutination was found in the cold (4oC) blood cardioplegic circuit before the delivery of the cardioplegic solution. Hemagglutination was not detected in the mixture of blood and the warm cardioplegic solution (36.5oC). Therefore, cold agglutinin disease was suspected. The patient was only mildly cooled systemically. The coronary system was perfused with a normothemic cardioplegic solution. With this technique, the patient underwent an uneventful mitral valve replacement operation.
Agglutination ; Agglutinins ; Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune* ; Anesthesia* ; Autoantibodies ; Cardioplegic Solutions ; Erythrocytes ; Heart Arrest, Induced ; Hemagglutination ; Hemolysis ; Humans ; Hypothermia ; Mitral Valve ; Thoracic Surgery*