Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Aversive and reinforcing opioid effects: a pharmacogenomic twin study.
The clinical utility of opioids is limited by adverse drug effects including respiratory depression, sedation, nausea, and pruritus. In addition, abuse of prescription opioids is problematic. Gaining a better understanding of the genetic and environmental mechanisms contributing to an individual's susceptibility to adverse opioid effects is essential to identify patients at risk. ⋯ This study demonstrates that large-scale efforts to collect quantitative and well-defined opioid response data are not only feasible but also produce data that are suitable for genetic analysis. Genetic, environmental, and demographic factors work together to control adverse and reinforcing opioid responses, but contribute differently to specific responses.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Transfusion of stored autologous blood does not alter reactive hyperemia index in healthy volunteers.
Transfusion of human blood stored for more than 2 weeks is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. During storage, packed erythrocytes progressively release hemoglobin, which avidly binds nitric oxide. We hypothesized that the nitric oxide mediated hyperemic response after ischemia would be reduced after transfusion of packed erythrocytes stored for 40 days. ⋯ Transfusion of autologous packed erythrocytes stored for 40 days is associated with increased hemolysis, an unchanged reactive hyperemia index, and increased concentrations of plasma nitrite.
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Bariatric surgery patients are at risk of perioperative airway collapse. Neuromuscular blockade should be fully reversed before tracheal extubation. The optimal dosage of the reversal agent sugammadex in the morbidly obese is still unknown. This study explored the sugammadex dose adjusted according to train-of-four ratio (TOFR). ⋯ A sugammadex dose calculated according to IBW is insufficient for reversing both deep and moderate blockades in morbidly obese patients.
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Biography Historical Article
An appraisal of William Thomas Green Morton's life as a narcissistic personality.
The troubled life and death of William Thomas Green Morton has been described in several texts. His first public demonstration of ether anesthesia was the highpoint of a life that was less than successful in many of his endeavors. Close examination of this life reveals a pattern of behavior that progresses from narcissistic traits to narcissistic personality pathology. ⋯ Biographies about Morton were used to explore details of his life. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders classification of narcissistic personality disorder was used to analyze his life. We conclude that Morton progressed from displaying narcissistic personality trait to disorder over his lifetime.