Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Is the performance of acceleromyography improved with preload and normalization? A comparison with mechanomyography.
Many studies have indicated that acceleromyography and mechanomyography cannot be used interchangeably. To improve the agreement between the two methods, it has been suggested to use a preload and to refer all train-of-four (TOF) ratios to the control TOF (normalization) when using acceleromyography. The first purpose of this study was to test whether a preload applied to acceleromyography would increase the precision and the agreement with mechanomyography. The second purpose was to evaluate whether normalization would improve the agreement with mechanomyography. ⋯ Preload increases the precision of acceleromyography, and normalization of the TOF ratios decreases bias in relation to mechanomyography. When both acceleromyography and mechanomyography are normalized, there is no significant bias between the two methods.
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Over the past four decades, we have learned considerably more about the pathophysiology and treatment of drowning. This, coupled with increased emphasis in improvement in water safety and resuscitation, has produced a threefold decrease in the number of deaths, indexed to population, from drowning in the United States yearly. This review presents the current status of our knowledge of the epidemiology, the pathophysiology of drowning and its treatment, updates the definitions of drowning and the drowning process, and makes suggestions for further improvement in water safety.
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Electromanometric blood pressure measurements are routine in critically ill patients, and many interventions are based on correct measurements. We report a mini-epidemic of erroneous central venous pressure measurements due to faulty pressure transducer manufacturing resulting in wrong therapeutic decisions.
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Anesthetics depress both ventilatory and upper airway dilator muscle activity and thus put the upper airway at risk for collapse. However, these effects are agent-dependent and may involve upper airway and diaphragm muscles to varying degrees. The authors assessed the effects of pentobarbital on upper airway dilator and respiratory pump muscle function in rats and compared these results with the effects of normal sleep. ⋯ Pentobarbital in rats impairs respiratory genioglossus activity compared to the awake state, but the decrease is no greater than seen during natural sleep. During anesthesia, in the absence of pharyngeal airflow, phasic genioglossus activity is increased in a dose-dependent fashion.
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Development of coagulopathy is a serious complication arising from isolated traumatic brain injury, and it predicts poor outcome. The underlying mechanism has not yet been established, although coagulopathy arising from brain tissue injury and the release of tissue factor may represent the pathophysiology. The authors investigated dynamic whole-blood clot formation (ROTEM) in a recently developed porcine model of induced severe intracranial hypertension. ⋯ In a porcine model, induction of increased intracranial pressure causing severe intracranial hypertension was associated with a pronounced activation of the coagulation system. Taken together, the various results indicate that tissue factor probably represents the main trigger of hypercoagulopathy found in these pigs.