Anesthesiology
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Comparative Study
In vivo imaging of nitrous oxide-induced changes in cerebral activation during noxious heat stimuli.
Although previous studies have provided some insight into the pharmacologic aspects of nitrous oxide analgesia, the neural circuits mediating its antinociceptive effect remain relatively unexplored. Position emission tomography was used in nine volunteers to identify the loci of nitrous oxide-modulated cerebral responses to a peripheral noxious stimulus. ⋯ Nitrous oxide, at 20% concentration, appears to modulate pain processing in the brain's medial pain system, and also activates the infralimbic and orbitofrontal cortices. The potential contribution of the affected brain areas to nitrous oxide analgesia is discussed.
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Children with spina bifida are at greater risk for latex and ethylene oxide sensitization. The authors' aim in this study was to evaluate the role of previous surgical procedures in the development of sensitization to latex and ethylene oxide. ⋯ Results suggest that it is the number of surgical procedures rather than spina bifida per se that is related to sensitization to latex.
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The authors report on the appearance of misleading square wave "phantom" capnograph tracings for approximately 3 min after disconnection from the Siemens Servo 900c ventilator. A series of experiments are described to examine the mechanism of this phenomenon. ⋯ After accidental disconnection of the patient from the breathing system, or after accidental extubation of the trachea, the "phantom" capnograph is likely to confuse even an experienced anesthesiologist into the mistaken belief that his rapidly deteriorating patient is being ventilated adequately. Several potential mechanisms to eliminate this phenomenon are outlined, including the avoidance of zero positive end-expiratory pressure. "Phantom" capnography provides an illustration of the dangers of using monitoring techniques, however reliable, as a substitute for vigilant clinical observation.
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The influence of anesthetic agents on the infarction process in the ischemic myocardium is unclear. This study evaluated the effects of three intravenous and three inhalational anesthetic agents on myocardial infarction within a quantified ischemic risk zone in rabbit hearts subjected to a standardized regional ischemia-reperfusion insult. ⋯ The volatile anesthetics tested protected the ischemic rabbit heart from infarction, in contrast to the three intravenous agents tested. Protection was independent of the hypotensive effect of the inhalational agents because halothane also protected isolated hearts, in which changing vascular tone is not an issue and coronary perfusion pressure is constant. Cardioprotection by volatile anesthetics depended on both adenosine receptors and protein kinase C, and thus is similar to the mechanism of protection seen with ischemic preconditioning.
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Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a potentially fatal, often autosomal dominant, disorder of skeletal muscle and is triggered in susceptible people by all commonly used inhalational anesthetics. In this article, the authors describe a malignant hyperthermia susceptible (MHS) kindred in which both parents of the proband are MHS and are first-degree cousins. Haplotype analysis in this kindred with chromosome 19 linked markers revealed that the proband and another sibling were homozygous for the affected RYR1 allele. ⋯ The proband in this kindred is the first reported homozygote to have presented with an MH episode. The homozygotes in this pedigree do not have an overt myopathy. The sensitivity of muscle samples to caffeine clearly distinguished the two homozygotes from other heterozygous-susceptible individuals. No clear differentiation was observed with the halothane contracture results.