Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Does Equi-Minimum Alveolar Concentration Value Ensure Equivalent Analgesic or Hypnotic Potency?: A Comparison between Desflurane and Sevoflurane.
Minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) has traditionally been used to compare the potency of volatile anesthetics. However, as it reflects the spinal mechanism of immobility rather than the cerebral mechanism of analgesia and hypnosis, it is doubtful that equi-MAC connotes equivalent analgesic or hypnotic potency. The level of analgesia and hypnosis can be assessed using surgical pleth index and bispectral index (BIS) values, respectively. This study was designed to compare the surgical pleth index and BIS values produced by equi-MAC of desflurane and sevoflurane in patients undergoing single-agent volatile anesthesia. ⋯ An online visual overview is available for this article at http://links.lww.com/ALN/B726.
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The objective of this investigation was to determine the etiology of perioperative acute coronary syndrome with a particular emphasis on thrombosis versus demand ischemia. ⋯ The dominant mechanism of perioperative acute coronary syndrome in our cohort was demand ischemia. A subset of patients had no evidence of obstructive coronary artery disease, but findings were consistent with stress-induced cardiomyopathy.
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Neuroimaging research has demonstrated definitive involvement of the central nervous system in the development, maintenance, and experience of chronic pain. Structural and functional neuroimaging has helped elucidate central nervous system contributors to chronic pain in humans. Neuroimaging of pain has provided a tool for increasing our understanding of how pharmacologic and psychologic therapies improve chronic pain. ⋯ Future advances in neuroimaging-based therapeutics (e.g., transcranial magnetic stimulation, real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback) may provide additional benefits for clinical practice. In the future, with standardization and validation, brain imaging could provide objective biomarkers of chronic pain, and guide treatment for personalized pain management. Similarly, brain-based biomarkers may provide an additional predictor of perioperative prognoses.