Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Anesthesia and Increased Hypercarbic Drive Impair the Coordination between Breathing and Swallowing.
Coordination between breathing and swallowing helps prevent aspiration of foreign material into the respiratory tract. The authors examined the effects of anesthesia and hypercapnia on swallowing-breathing coordination. ⋯ Anesthesia impaired the coordination between swallowing and respiration. Mild hypercapnia increased the frequency of swallowing during anesthesia and the likelihood of pathological swallowing. During anesthesia, the risk for aspiration may be further increased when ventilatory drive is stimulated.
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Liver damage by ischemia and reperfusion injury is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality after liver surgery. Postoperative oxygen treatment is routinely applied in the postanesthesia and intensive care unit after liver surgery. The risks of aggravating the injury by increasing inspiratory oxygen from 21 to 60% in the postoperative period were investigated in mice. ⋯ Liver injury after ischemia was significantly aggravated by hyperoxia as a consequence of immune cell-mediated oxidative burst. Further studies are needed to elucidate whether routine delivery of high inspirational oxygen concentrations postoperatively should be limited.