Anesthesiology
-
When a recovery room is fully occupied, patients frequently wait in the operating room after emerging from anesthesia. The frequency and duration of such delays depend on operating room case volume, average recovery time, and recovery room capacity. ⋯ A key managerial insight is that there is a sensitive relationship among caseload and number of recovery beds and the magnitude of recovery congestion. This is typical in highly utilized systems. The queueing approach is useful because it enables the investigation of future scenarios for which historical data are not directly applicable.
-
The use of fentanyl as a potent analgesic is contradicted by marked respiratory depression among a subpopulation of patients. The commonly used approach of reversing fentanyl-induced respiratory depression with mu-opiate receptor antagonists such as naloxone has the undesirable effect of blocking analgesia. Here, the authors report a clinically feasible pharmacological solution for countering fentanyl-induced respiratory depression via a mechanism that does not interfere with analgesia. Specifically, to determine if the ampakine CX717, which has been proven metabolically stable and safe for human use, can prevent and rescue from severe fentanyl-induced apnea. ⋯ CX717 is an agent that enhances the safety of using opiate drugs while preserving the analgesic effects. This advancement could significantly improve pain management in a variety of clinical settings.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Anesthetic-induced improvement of the inflammatory response to one-lung ventilation.
Although one-lung ventilation (OLV) has become an established procedure during thoracic surgery, sparse data exist about inflammatory alterations in the deflated, reventilated lung. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate the effect of OLV on the pulmonary inflammatory response and to assess possible immunomodulatory effects of the anesthetics propofol and sevoflurane. ⋯ This prospective, randomized clinical study suggests an immunomodulatory role for the volatile anesthetic sevoflurane in patients undergoing OLV for thoracic surgery with significant reduction of inflammatory mediators and a significantly better clinical outcome (defined by postoperative adverse events) during sevoflurane anesthesia.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Rifampin greatly reduces the plasma concentrations of intravenous and oral oxycodone.
Oxycodone is a mu-opioid receptor agonist that is metabolized mainly in the liver by cytochrome P450 3A and 2D6 enzymes. Rifampin is a strong inducer of several drug-metabolizing enzymes. The authors studied the interaction of rifampin with oxycodone. Their hypothesis was that rifampin enhances the CYP3A-mediated metabolism of oxycodone and attenuates its pharmacologic effect. ⋯ Induction of cytochrome P450 3A by rifampin reduced the area under the oxycodone concentration-time curve of intravenous and oral oxycodone. The pharmacologic effects of oxycodone were modestly attenuated. To maintain adequate analgesia, dose adjustment of oxycodone may be necessary, when used concomitantly with rifampin.
-
Comment Review Historical Article
Massive blood transfusions: the impact of Vietnam military data on modern civilian transfusion medicine.
To determine the coagulation defects associated with massive blood transfusions, coagulation studies were performed on 21 battle casualties admitted to the US Naval Support Activity Hospital, Da Nang, Vietnam. All but one patient who received less than 20 units of Acid-Citrate-Dextrose blood (7 patients) did not develop a coagulopathy. All patients who received more than 20 units (14 patients) developed a clinically significant coagulation defect. ⋯ The authors conclude that clinically important coagulopathies predictably occur after administration of 20-25 units of stored Acid-Citrate-Dextrose blood in acutely wounded, previously healthy soldiers. Fresh frozen plasma should not be a major therapeutic choice for coagulopathies in massive blood transfusions. Treatment of dilutional thrombocytopenia (50,000/mm(3)) is a primary component of treating coagulopathies associated with massive blood transfusions.