Journal of anesthesia
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Journal of anesthesia · Feb 2011
Case ReportsUpper airway obstruction associated with flexed cervical position after posterior occipitocervical fusion.
Upper airway obstruction resulting from overflexion fixation of the cervical spine is a rare but life-threatening complication after cervical spine surgery. There are few reports of dyspnea after a posterior cervical fusion. We present the case of a 63-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis who developed an upper airway obstruction immediately after an O-C4 fusion. ⋯ Revision surgery allowing the angle to return to the neutral position was performed to ameliorate the overflexion of the cervical spine fixation and the consequent upper airway obstruction. After revision surgery, the upper airway obstruction disappeared. Our experience suggests that intraoperative use of fluoroscopy and extubation with a tube exchanger are recommended to avoid this complication, especially in patients at high risk of upper airway obstruction.
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Journal of anesthesia · Feb 2011
Elevated postoperative inflammatory biomarkers are associated with short- and medium-term cognitive dysfunction after coronary artery surgery.
We tested the hypothesis that elevated postoperative interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations are associated with short- and medium-term impairment of cognitive functions in patients after coronary artery surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass. ⋯ The results suggest that elevated postoperative IL-6 and CRP concentrations are associated with the subsequent development of short- and medium-term impairment of cognitive functions after coronary artery surgery.
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Journal of anesthesia · Feb 2011
Preoperative depression is a risk factor for postoperative short-term and long-term cognitive dysfunction in patients with diabetes mellitus.
To identify whether the presence of preoperative depression in patients with diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for postoperative cognitive dysfunction after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. ⋯ We found that the presence of depression preoperatively is associated with short-term and long-term postoperative cognitive dysfunction in patients with diabetes mellitus.