Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Impact of shorter-acting neuromuscular blocking agents on fast-track recovery of the cardiac surgical patient.
Residual paralysis associated with the use of long-acting muscle relaxants can delay recovery from anesthesia and surgery. The authors tested the hypothesis that use of shorter-acting neuromuscular blocking agents is associated with reductions in tracheal extubation times and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. ⋯ The use of shorter-acting neuromuscular blocking agents in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass is associated with reductions in tracheal extubation times and symptoms of residual paresis.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Implicit memory for words played during isoflurane- or propofol-based anesthesia: the lexical decision task.
Unconscious processing of words during general anesthesia has been suggested after surgery with several tests of implicit memory. Patients can neither recall those words nor do they have explicit memories of other intraoperative events. It is unclear to what degree information is processed during general anesthesia and which tests are best suited to detect implicit memory. In the current study, a lexical decision paradigm not previously used to demonstrate implicit memory during anesthesia was used. ⋯ Balanced anesthesia techniques with isoflurane or propofol lead to only a minimal, statistically borderline implicit memory effect in the lexical decision paradigm.
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Clinical Trial
Inability to consistently elicit a motor response following sensory paresthesia during interscalene block administration.
Two methods of nerve block based on eliciting neural feedback with the block needle currently exist. The paresthesia technique uses sensory feedback to ascertain that the needle tip is close to the nerve. By contrast, a peripheral nerve stimulator makes use of motor responses to electrical stimulation. The relation of motor responses to an electrical peripheral nerve stimulator and sensory nerve contact (paresthesia) had not been studied. ⋯ Elicitation of paresthesia does not translate to an ability to elicit a motor response to a peripheral nerve stimulator in the majority of patients.
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General anesthetics can modulate the 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 (5-HT3) receptor, which may be involved in processes mediating nausea and vomiting, and peripheral nociception. The effects of the new volatile anesthetic sevoflurane and the gaseous anesthetics nitrous oxide (N2O) and xenon (Xe) on the 5-HT3 receptor have not been well-characterized. ⋯ Inhalational general anesthetics produce diverse effects on the 5-HT3 receptor. Both halothane and isoflurane enhanced 5-HT3 receptor function in a concentration-dependent manner, which is consistent with previous studies. Sevoflurane inhibited the 5-HT3 receptor noncompetitively, whereas N2O and Xe inhibited the 5-HT3 receptor competitively, suggesting the inhibitory mechanism of sevoflurane might be different from those of N2O and Xe.