Anesthesiology
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Risk factors for the occurrence of electroencephalogram abnormalities during induction of anesthesia with sevoflurane in nonepileptic patients.
The aim of this prospective study was to determine the risk factors of epileptiform discharge during induction with sevoflurane in healthy adult patients. ⋯ Induction with sevoflurane may result in epileptiform electroencephalographic activity. Only electroencephalographic monitoring allows the diagnosis. Risk factors are mainly female sex, short delay to onset of anesthesia, and high alveolar sevoflurane concentration. Induction with high sevoflurane concentration is controversial mainly in women.
-
Intraoperative awareness in patients undergoing general anesthesia is an infrequent but well-described adverse outcome. The reported incidence of this phenomenon is between 0.1% and 0.9%. ⋯ The incidence of intraoperative awareness in this large sample of patients from a regional medical center undergoing general anesthesia was 0.0068%, or 1 per 14,560 patients, substantially less than that reported in the recent literature.
-
Nerve stimulation for regional anesthesia can be modeled mathematically. The authors present a mathematical framework to model the underlying electrophysiology, the development of software to implement that framework, and examples of simulation results. ⋯ Mathematical modeling of nerve stimulation for regional anesthesia is possible and could be used to investigate new equipment or needle designs, test nerve localization protocols, enhance clinical and experimental data, and ultimately generate new hypotheses.
-
Despite high-dose heparin anticoagulation, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is still associated with marked hemostatic activation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a reduced dose of bivalirudin, added as an adjunct to heparin, would reduce thrombin generation and circulating markers of inflammatory system activation during CPB as effectively as full-dose bivalirudin, without adversely affecting postoperative hemostasis. ⋯ Bivalirudin attenuates hemostatic activation during experimental CPB with potential effects on markers of the inflammatory response. However, with this dosing regimen, the combination of heparin and bivalirudin does not seem to confer any measurable advantages over full-dose bivalirudin anticoagulation.
-
To establish guidelines for the preparation of the Primus anesthetic workstation (Dräger, Lübeck, Germany) for malignant hyperthermia-susceptible patients, the authors evaluated the effect of replacing the workstation's exchangeable internal components on the washout of isoflurane. ⋯ Washout of isoflurane increased 20-fold with the use of an autoclaved ventilator diaphragm and integrated breathing system. To prepare the Primus for malignant hyperthermia-susceptible patients, the authors recommend replacing the ventilator diaphragm and integrated breathing system with autoclaved components, flushing the workstation for 5 min at a fresh gas flow of 10 l/min, and maintaining this flow for the duration of anesthesia.