Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2012
Binding site and affinity prediction of general anesthetics to protein targets using docking.
The protein targets for general anesthetics remain unclear. A tool to predict anesthetic binding for potential binding targets is needed. In this study, we explored whether a computational method, AutoDock, could serve as such a tool. ⋯ We demonstrated that anesthetic binding sites and relative affinities can be predicted using docking calculations in an automatic docking server (AutoDock) for both water-soluble and membrane proteins. Correlation of predicted affinity and EC(50) for 6 frequently used general anesthetics was only observed in GLIC, a member of a protein family relevant to anesthetic mechanism.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2012
Medical intelligence article: assessing the impact on global climate from general anesthetic gases.
Although present in the atmosphere with a combined concentration approximately 100,000 times lower than carbon dioxide (i.e., the principal anthropogenic driver of climate change), halogenated organic compounds are responsible for a warming effect of approximately 10% to 15% of the total anthropogenic radiative forcing of climate, as measured relative to the start of the industrial era (approximately 1750). The family of anesthetic gases includes several halogenated organic compounds that are strong greenhouse gases. In this short report, we provide an overview of the state of knowledge regarding the impact of anesthetic gas release on the environment, with particular focus on its contribution to the radiative forcing of climate change.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2012
Accuracy of identification of the cricothyroid membrane in female subjects using palpation: an observational study.
The cricothyroid membrane (CTM) is the recommended site of access to the airway during cricothyroidotomy to provide emergency oxygenation. Despite the apparent simplicity of the technique, this rescue maneuver frequently fails to achieve its goals and complications are numerous. The reasons for this failure are unclear. We sought to determine the ability of physicians to correctly identify the CTM in female patients. ⋯ Misidentification of the CTM in female patients is common and its localization is less precise in those who are obese. This has implications for the likely success of invasive airway access via the CTM.
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Members of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA) perceive the 47% rain rate has burdened its national meetings more than would be expected. We compared weather conditions on the first day of each national SPA meeting since 1987 with historical data using the day, month, and location of each meeting. Using a generalized estimating equations model, the odds ratio of rain comparing meeting and nonmeeting days was 2.63 (P value 0.006, 95% confidence interval 1.32-5.22). These results confirm a significantly higher frequency of rain at national SPA meetings than would be anticipated.