Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 1999
Clinical TrialD-Dimer formation during cardiac and noncardiac thoracic surgery.
The ability to make therapeutic decisions regarding excessive fibrinolysis in the perioperative period is limited by the lack of availability of a near site monitor of fibrinolysis. We investigated the use of a latex agglutination D-dimer assay to detect perioperative fibrinolysis in patients undergoing thoracic surgery with and without extracorporeal circulation. We studied 27 patients who underwent thoracic surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB; coronary artery bypass grafting, n = 12; valvular surgery, n = 15) and a cohort of 20 patients who underwent noncardiac thoracic surgical procedures not requiring CPB. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the relationship among alterations in the latex agglutination D-dimer assay, use of extracorporeal circulation, type of cardiac surgical procedure, and mediastinal and/or chest tube drainage (cardiac surgery only) in patients undergoing thoracic surgery. Perioperative D-dimer levels, measured by latex agglutination, had significant (P < or = 0.05) intragroup changes among patients undergoing cardiac surgery (requiring CPB) and the cohort of patients who underwent noncardiac thoracic surgery without CPB. Although intraoperative D-dimer levels were not increased in patients undergoing noncardiac thoracic surgery, postoperative levels were significantly (P < 0.05) increased (compared with preinduction). In cardiac surgery patients requiring CPB, intraoperative D-dimer formation was significantly (P < or = 0.05) increased but did not demonstrate any intragroup (coronary artery bypass grafting versus valvular surgery) differences. Finally, D-dimer levels were not associated with postoperative mediastinal and/or chest tube accumulative drainage measured at intervals up to 48 h postoperatively in patients undergoing cardiac surgery requiring CPB. Our study indicates that the latex agglutination D-dimer assay can detect excessive fibrinolysis perioperatively, and that extracorporeal circulation can significantly influence the pattern of D-dimer formation in patients undergoing thoracic surgery. ⋯ We assessed the ability of a readily available D-dimer assay to detect excessive fibrinolysis in patients undergoing thoracic surgery with and without extracorporeal circulation. The findings demonstrate that the assay used in this investigation reflected variable amounts of fibrinolysis in patients undergoing both types of thoracic surgery.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 1999
The age-related effects of epidural lidocaine, with and without epinephrine, on spinal cord blood flow in anesthetized rabbits.
The effect of epidural or spinal epinephrine when added to local anesthetics on spinal cord blood flow (SCBF)are controversial. We evaluated the effects of epidural lidocaine, with or without epinephrine, on spinal cord blood flow in young and adult rabbits receiving 2% plain lidocaine, 2% lidocaine with epinephrine (1:200,000), or saline epidurally. Colored microspheres were injected through the left ventricle 10 min before and 7.5 and 30 min after epidural injection. The organs (brain, heart, kidneys, and the L6-7 segment of the spinal cord) were analyzed for regional blood flow determination. A significant decrease in mean arterial pressure was observed after the administration of lidocaine, with or without epinephrine, in both adult and young animals compared with saline. SCBF did not change over time in adult rabbits. Conversely, a significant decrease in SCBF was observed in the two groups of young rabbits receiving lidocaine. This decrease correlated with the decrease in mean arterial pressure but did not correlate with the use of epinephrine. We conclude that any reduction in blood pressure occurring in pediatric patients receiving a combined epidural-general anesthetic may result in decreased SCBF. ⋯ In young rabbits, any decrease in blood pressure was followed by a decrease in spinal cord blood flow, a decrease that did not correlate to the use of epinephrine and was not observed in adult animals. These data suggest that blood pressure should be monitored closely to promptly treat any decrease in blood pressure when combined epidural-general anesthesia is used in children.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 1999
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialThe effects of clonidine on sensitivity to phenylephrine and nitroprusside in patients with essential hypertension recovering from surgery.
Clonidine reduces postoperative circulatory instability in patients with essential hypertension. It also increases the sensitivity to vasopressors before and during anesthesia. We investigated blood pressure responses to phenylephrine and nitroprusside pre- vs postoperatively and the effect of clonidine on these responses in patients with essential hypertension. Twenty patients received clonidine 6 microg/kg orally 120 min before anesthesia and 3 microg/kg IV over the final hour of surgery or an identical placebo. During increasing bolus doses of phenylephrine and nitroprusside (30-300 microg), the maximal systolic pressure responses were recorded at baseline on the day before surgery, before the induction of anesthesia, and 1 and 3 h postoperatively. Sensitivity to phenylephrine and nitroprusside was interpolated from linear regression of the data. There was no difference between preoperative and postoperative sensitivity to phenylephrine or nitroprusside in either group. Clonidine increased sensitivity to phenylephrine versus placebo before and after surgery (response to dose of 1.5 microg/kg: 42+/-14 vs 27+/-8 mm Hg preinduction, 37+/-10 vs 26+/-8 mm Hg 3 h postoperatively; both P < 0.01), but not to nitroprusside (38+/-6 vs 37+/-10 mm Hg preinduction and 40+/-6 vs 39+/-8 mm Hg postoperatively). Clonidine increases the sensitivity to phenylephrine but not nitroprusside at baseline and postoperatively in hypertensive patients. ⋯ Clonidine increases the sensitivity to bolus injections of the vasoconstrictor phenylephrine, but not the vasodilator sodium nitroprusside, before and after surgery in patients with preexisting hypertension. The doses of vasopressors should be reduced accordingly in hypertensive patients receiving perioperative clonidine.