Journal of neurosurgical anesthesiology
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Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) causes a stress response with increased concentrations of plasma catecholamines and serious cardiac arrhythmias. Increased QT dispersion has been shown to predispose to cardiac arrhythmias. In SAH patients, QT dispersion has not been studied previously. ⋯ There was a positive correlation with QT dispersion and the plasma concentration of DHPG, a metabolite of norepinephrine (P < .05). All patients had episodes of cardiac arrhythmia during the 18-hour recording period. In conclusion, increased QT dispersion is a common finding after SAH and may be a result of high plasma concentrations of catecholamines in these patients.
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J Neurosurg Anesthesiol · Jul 1999
Case ReportsAcute left ventricular dysfunction and subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction associated with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to cerebral aneurysm rupture. ⋯ Severe left ventricular dysfunction may occur in acute SAH and may necessitate delay of aneurysm surgery.
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J Neurosurg Anesthesiol · Jul 1999
Comparative StudyBlood loss and transfusion practice in the perioperative management of craniosynostosis repair.
During the past 5 years, the surgical repair for sagittal synostosis has been modified to a more complex and involved procedure. This led to a retrospective evaluation of the current transfusion practice in a large series of craniosynostosis repairs. The charts of 76 patients (81 surgical procedures) undergoing craniosynostosis repair from January 1990 to November 1996 were examined. ⋯ Packed red blood cell transfusion occurred in 96.3% of the patients and was appropriate for most procedures based on ABL. Thus, transfusion for craniosynostosis repair is almost inevitable, and the preventive preparation of blood on the order of the mean estimated blood loss (EBL) plus 2 SD is appropriate. With the increased complexity of sagittal repair and its performance in a younger population, the cosmetic benefit of surgical repair has major implications for management of blood and fluids.
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J Neurosurg Anesthesiol · Jul 1999
Internal jugular vein cannulation in neurosurgical patients: a new approach.
A new approach to internal jugular vein (IJV) cannulation with the head and neck placed in the neutral position is described. The junction of the medial two thirds and lateral one third between the angle of the mandible and symphysis menti is identified. ⋯ In 120 patients studied, the failure rate was 1.66%, and there were no complications. We propose this technique as a safe and reliable alternative in neurosurgical patients.
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J Neurosurg Anesthesiol · Jul 1999
Comparative StudyHeart rate variability and plasma catecholamines in patients during opioid detoxification.
It has been shown that rapid opioid detoxification is associated with increased sympathetic activity (SYMP) and plasma catecholamines. Heart rate (HR) variability may provide a noninvasive method of evaluating withdrawal and sympathetic activation caused by the reversal of opioid binding in patients who are opioid dependent. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between HR variability and plasma catecholamines during opioid detoxification. ⋯ Plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine as well as SYMP increased 300 to 400% (P < .05) during naltrexone treatment in opioid-dependent patients, and the time to peak increase in plasma norepinephrine correlated with the increase in SYMP (r = 0.89, P < .01). These results confirm that opioid detoxification increases plasma catecholamines and SYMP in a similar manner. HR rate variability may provide a low-cost real-time noninvasive method of evaluating the reversal of opioid binding in opioid-dependent patients.