Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Aug 2011
Risk factors for gastrointestinal complications in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
To determine the risk factors for the development of gastrointestinal complications (GICs) after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. ⋯ A delayed diagnosis of complications is an important problem in the management of major surgical GICs. The present results suggest that surgeons and intensivists must be alert to patients older than 70 years, a cardiopulmonary bypass time longer than 60 minutes, reoperation for bleeding after CABG surgery, and postoperative creatinine level higher than 1.7 mg/dL.
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Aug 2011
Comparative StudyLevosimendan versus intra-aortic balloon pump in high-risk cardiac surgery patients.
Patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction receive inotropic and mechanical circulatory support with an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) during the perioperative phase of cardiac surgery. The authors performed the first comparison of levosimendan versus an IABP in patients with poor left ventricular function undergoing cardiac surgery. ⋯ Patients receiving levosimendan had a shorter duration of intensive care stay than peers who received a preoperative IABP. The findings of this pilot study should be investigated further in a large randomized controlled study.
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Aug 2011
Sedation and analgesia in the cardiac electrophysiology laboratory: a national survey of electrophysiologists investigating the who, how, and why?
To investigate sedation and anesthesia trends and practice patterns for procedures in the cardiac electrophysiology laboratory (EPL). ⋯ This survey suggested that sedation for EPL procedures was sometimes allowed to progress to deep sedation and general anesthesia and that selection of anesthesia provider frequently was made based on availability, operating room efficiency, and economic reasons before patient safety issues. The implications of the survey must be explored further in a larger-scale sample population before more definitive statements can be made, but results suggested that sedation in the EPL is an area that would benefit from updated guidelines specific to the current practice as well as attention from the anesthesia community to address the deficiency in provision of anesthesia care.