Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
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Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a disease affecting the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor of the post-synaptic membrane of the neuromuscular junction, causing muscle fatigue and weakness. The myasthenic patient can be a challenge to anesthesiologists, and the post-surgical risk of respiratory failure has always been a matter of concern. The incidence and prevalence of MG have been increasing for decades and the disease is underdiagnosed. ⋯ MG patients can easily be anesthetized without need for post-surgery mechanical ventilation whether it is general anesthesia or peripheral nerve block. Volatile anesthesia or the use of an epidural for the patient makes it possible to avoid the use of neuromuscular blocking agents, and when used, it should be in smaller doses and the patient should be carefully monitored. This review shows that with thorough pre-operative evaluation, continuing the daily pyridostigmine and careful monitoring the MG patient can be managed safely.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Jan 2012
Mortality in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients has decreased in the era of therapeutic hypothermia.
Mild therapeutic hypothermia (TH) improves survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). This treatment was implemented in most Finnish intensive care units (ICUs) in 2003. The aim of this study was to find out whether hospital mortality of ICU-treated OHCA patients has changed in the era of TH. ⋯ Concurrently with the implementation of TH, hospital mortality of OHCA patients treated in Finnish ICUs decreased.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialEarly and late parameters describing the offset of neuromuscular blockade are highly intercorrelated.
Neuromuscular blocking agents have always shown wide inter-individual variability when it comes to their duration of action. This prevents clinicians from anticipating the evolution of the neuromuscular block for any given patient. With this study, we aimed to assess the nature of the relationships existing between different time course parameters used to describe paralysis onset and offset. ⋯ We evidenced strong linear correlations between the four offset time course parameters of spontaneous recovery after a single neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) bolus. Such relationships open up new clinical perspectives concerning quantitative neuromuscular transmission monitoring: the scope of individual valuable anticipation of the patient's recovery.