Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Propofol alters the pharmacokinetics of alfentanil in healthy male volunteers.
The influence of propofol on the pharmacokinetics of alfentanil is poorly understood. The authors therefore studied the effect of a pseudo-steady state concentration of propofol on the pharmacokinetics of alfentanil. ⋯ Propofol alters the pharmacokinetics of alfentanil. Hemodynamic changes induced by propofol may have an important influence on the pharmacokinetics of alfentanil.
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Potent inhaled anesthetics degrade in the presence of the strong bases (sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide) in carbon dioxide (CO2) absorbents. A new absorbent, Amsorb (Armstrong Medical Ltd., Coleraine, Northern Ireland), does not employ these strong bases. This study compared the scavenging efficacy and compound A production of two commercially available absorbents (soda lime and barium hydroxide lime) with Amsorb in humans undergoing general anesthesia. ⋯ This new CO2 absorbent effectively scavenged CO2 and was not associated with compound A production.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
The effect of sevoflurane and desflurane on upper airway reactivity.
Although bronchial reactivity can be assessed by changes in airway resistance, there is no well-accepted measure of upper airway reactivity during anesthesia. The authors used the stimulus of endotracheal tube cuff inflation and deflation to assess changes in airway reactivity in patients anesthetized with sevoflurane and desflurane. ⋯ The assessment of the cough response to tracheal stimulation by endotracheal tube cuff inflation is a reliable and clinically meaningful measure of upper airway reactivity. At 1.0 MAC, sevoflurane is superior to desflurane for suppressing moderate and severe responses to this stimulus.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Decreased endotoxin immunity is associated with greater mortality and/or prolonged hospitalization after surgery.
Patients undergoing noncardiac surgery often develop postoperative morbidity, potentially attributable to endotoxemia and the systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Endogenous antibodies to endotoxin may confer protection from endotoxin-mediated toxicity. The authors sought to determine the association of preoperative antiendotoxin immunity and death or prolonged hospitalization in a broad population of general surgical patients undergoing major surgery. ⋯ Adverse outcome after routine noncardiac surgery is common and is predicted in part by low concentrations of EndoCAb. The authors' findings suggest that endotoxemia may be a cause of postoperative morbidity after routine noncardiac surgery.
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The perioperative period is characterized by a state of immunosuppression, which was shown in animal studies to underlie the promotion of tumor metastasis by surgery. As this immunosuppression is partly ascribed to the neuroendocrine stress response, the authors hypothesized that spinal blockade, known to attenuate this response, may reduce the tumor-promoting effect of surgery. ⋯ The addition of spinal blockade to general halothane anesthesia markedly attenuates the promotion of metastasis by surgery.