European journal of anaesthesiology
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The onset of malignant hyperthermia in a patient during a prolonged anaesthetic for tumour resection is described. The onset was delayed with a gradual rise in heart rate and PETCO2 before becoming fulminant; muscle rigidity was not a feature. ⋯ A possible recrudescence occurred 18 h later. Malignant hyperthermia should be considered early in cases of unexplained tachycardia or rising PETCO2.
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Case Reports
Neurological complaints after unsuccessful spinal anaesthesia as a manifestation of incipient syringomyelia.
The medical literature sometimes reports neurological complications after spinal or epidural anaesthesia. In a few cases, the onset of symptoms can be a sign of a pre-existing disease without a primary connection with regional anaesthesia. In the following case report, the patient complained of paraesthesias in both legs after a failed spinal anaesthesia, even though the needle had been placed intrathecally. Only neurological examination and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging revealed the presence of syringomyelia.
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Case Reports
Intracranial meningioma with progesterone positive receptors presenting in late pregnancy.
A 36-year-old female presented with seizures and transient dysphasia in her 31 week of pregnancy. Neuroradiological investigations revealed a large falx meningioma. ⋯ There were no neonatal complications and she made an uneventful recovery. The final pathology report confirmed the diagnosis of meningioma with progesterone positive receptors.
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The molecular effects of droperidol (C22H22FN3O2) on single sodium channels from the human brain were investigated using the electrophysiological planar lipid-bilayer technique. Droperidol (0.05-0.8mM) induced a concentration dependent and voltage independent reduction in the time averaged single channel conductance by two mechanisms: a reduction in the fractional channel open time (major effect, approximately 90%) and a decrease in the channel amplitude (minor effect). ⋯ These blocking effects of droperidol on CNS sodium channels occurred at a concentration range comparable with other specific anaesthetic compounds but far beyond clinical serum levels (up to 0.002 mM). Therefore in contrast with animal preparations (frog peripheral nerve, sodium channel) the human brain sodium channel is not a major target site for droperidol during clinical anaesthesia.
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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of neostigmine as a final anaesthetic manoeuvre on colonic anastomoses. A colonic anastomosis was constructed in 40 Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals were divided into two groups: (1) rats receiving intravenous saline solution (placebo); and (2) rats receiving an intravenous injection of neostigmine. ⋯ No significant differences were found between anastomotic resistance (determined in terms of bursting pressure and bursting wall tension) in the two groups. The inclusion of neostigmine in an anaesthetic protocol under experimental setting did not reduce the resistance of colonic anastomoses and did not compromise normal healing. Moreover, obstruction caused by peristaltic weakness might be prevented by the expulsion of stool that is induced by the strong contraction of the colonic smooth muscle.