Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2022
Observational StudyVarying Dosages of Subcutaneous Unfractionated Heparin and Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time in Hospitalized Antepartum Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis.
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States. Subcutanous unfractionated heparin (UFH) has been used for decades for VTE prophylaxis and under many obstetric quality of care initiatives, hospitalized antepartum patients now receive doses as high as 10,000 units every 12 hours. This practice increases the likelihood of UFH administration around the time that epidural labor analgesia is requested or neuraxial analgesia for cesarean delivery is needed. To clarify the effect of UFH on coagulation, we reviewed the care of hospitalized antepartum patients receiving VTE prophylaxis with UFH to determine the incidence of concurrent abnormal activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) values and associated risk factors. ⋯ Elevated aPTT values are likely with total daily doses of 15,000 or 20,000 units subcutaneous UFH in hospitalized antepartum patients.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2022
The Association Between Angiotensin II and Renin Kinetics in Patients After Cardiac Surgery.
Hyperreninemia after cardiac surgery is associated with cardiovascular instability. Angiotensin II (AT-II) could potentially attenuate hyperreninemia while maintaining target blood pressure. This study assesses the association between AT-II usage and renin levels in cardiac surgery patients with postoperative hyperreninemia and vasoplegia. ⋯ In cardiac surgery patients with hypotonia and postoperative high Δ-renin levels, AT-II was associated with reduced renin plasma levels for at 12 hours and significantly decreased norepinephrine use, while norepinephrine alone was associated with increased renin levels. Further studies of AT-II in cardiac surgery appear justified.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2022
Pressure-Regulated Ventilator Splitting for Disaster Relief: Design, Testing, and Clinical Experience.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has revealed that even the best-resourced hospitals may lack sufficient ventilators to support patients under surge conditions. During a pandemic or mass trauma, an affordable, low-maintenance, off-the-shelf device that would allow health care teams to rapidly expand their ventilator capacity could prove lifesaving, but only if it can be safely integrated into a complex and rapidly changing clinical environment. ⋯ This circuit was able to provide individualized and titratable ventilatory support with individualized positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) to 2 critically ill patients at the same time, while insulating each patient from changes in the other's condition. We share insights from our experience using this technology in the intensive care unit and outline recommendations for future clinical applications.