Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2009
Ultrasound imaging of the lumbar spine in the transverse plane: the correlation between estimated and actual depth to the epidural space in obese parturients.
Prepuncture lumbar ultrasound scanning is a reliable tool to facilitate labor epidural needle placement in nonobese parturients. In this study, we assessed prepuncture lumbar ultrasound scanning as a tool for estimating the depth to the epidural space and determining the optimal insertion point in obese parturients. ⋯ We found a strong correlation between the ultrasound-estimated distance to the epidural space and the actual measured needle distance in obese parturients. We suggest that prepuncture lumbar ultrasound may be a useful guide to facilitate the placement of epidural needles in obese parturients.
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A 56-yr-old woman with chronic hepatitis B and decompensated hepatic cirrhosis was treated with liver transplantation. At the beginning of the neohepatic phase, her arterial blood pressure remained at 60/40 mm Hg for approximately 40 min and did not respond to vasoconstrictive drugs. ⋯ This patient was diagnosed with vasoplegic syndrome and was treated with i.v. infusion of methylene blue (0.5 mg/kg) and norepinephrine. This report has potential significance to treatment in patients who undergo orthotopic liver transplantation.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2009
Influence of the operating room schedule on tardiness from scheduled start times.
Tardiness from scheduled start times in a surgical suite is a common source of frustration for both operating room personnel and patients. ⋯ Factors associated with the largest numbers of cases had the biggest influence on tardiness. Greater understanding of these factors aided in the development of several mathematical interventions to reduce tardiness in the two surgical suites. These interventions and their applicability for reducing tardiness are described in a companion article. At two surgical suites, tardiness from scheduled start times did not depend on average case duration or prolonged turnovers. Tardiness did depend on the total duration of preceding cases, expected under-utilized or over-utilized time at the end of the day, and case duration bias.