Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Apr 1993
Comparative StudyPercutaneous pericardiocentesis versus subxiphoid pericardiotomy in cardiac tamponade due to postoperative pericardial effusion.
In a retrospective study, 42 patients with acute cardiac tamponade due to pericardial effusion were evaluated following cardiac surgery, and the pericardial fluid was drained by one of two alternative methods: two-dimensional echocardiographic-guided pericardiocentesis (2D-echo) or subxiphoid surgical pericardiotomy. During the first period (from 1982 to 1986), one of the two methods was chosen by the treating physicians, whereas in the second period (from 1986 to 1991), 2D-echo-guided pericardiocentesis was the treatment of choice. Percutaneous pericardiocentesis was performed using local anesthesia in 29 patients. ⋯ Sixteen patients who underwent surgical pericardiotomy had complete evacuation of pericardial fluid without major complications (two of them suffered atrial arrhythmias during the procedure). The average amount of fluid drained, as well as the localization of the effusions, were the same for both groups. 2D-echo-guided pericardiocentesis was found to be a useful, safe, and simple technique. It can be used as an alternative treatment to subxiphoid pericardiotomy for cardiac tamponade due to postoperative pericardial effusions.
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Apr 1993
Intrathecal morphine during thoracotomy, Part II: Effect on postoperative meperidine requirements and pulmonary function tests.
The ability of intrathecal morphine (ITM) to reduce post-thoracotomy pain and meperidine requirements was investigated. Thirty adult patients scheduled for thoracic surgery were studied. Following induction with thiamylal sodium and succinylcholine, anesthesia was maintained with 100 micrograms of fentanyl, vecuronium, and enflurane. ⋯ The patients in the ITM group required significantly less meperidine compared to the control group (59 +/- 68 v 167 +/- 97 mg, respectively) and had lower pain scores (1.4 +/- 1.1 v 2.4 +/- 0.9 mg, respectively). There were no serious side effects attributable to ITM. It is concluded that ITM is an effective adjunctive treatment for control of post-thoracotomy pain.
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Apr 1993
The effect of a cardiac surgical recovery area on the timing of extubation.
The anesthetic and postoperative management of cardiac surgical patients was modified to achieve an early return to spontaneous ventilation. A total of 278 patients were studied to determine the effect of this change. Patients in group I (n = 198) were managed in a cardiac surgical recovery area according to the new policy. ⋯ The median duration of postoperative ventilation was reduced from 5 hours in group II to 1 hour in group I, and the time to extubation was reduced from 7 hours to 2 hours, respectively. There were no major postoperative complications resulting from this change. The factors that influence the duration of postoperative ventilation are discussed.
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Apr 1993
Transesophageal two-dimensional echocardiographic analysis of right ventricular systolic performance indices during coronary artery bypass grafting.
Sixteen patients (aged 59 +/- 14 years) undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery were evaluated to delineate the intraoperative course of transesophageal echocardiographic right ventricular (RV) systolic performance indices. Pre-induction data included thermodilution RV ejection fraction (RVEFTD), 0.43 +/- 0.13, RV end-diastolic volume index (EDVI), 110 +/- 33 mL/m2, cardiac index (CI), 3.4 +/- 1.0 L/min/m2, RV end-diastolic pressure (EDP), 7.1 +/- 4.2 mmHg, and mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), 21 +/- 6 mmHg. Eleven patients had significant right coronary artery (RCA) disease (> 70% occlusion). ⋯ Two patients received inotropic support (epinephrine, 0.2 to 0.3 microgram/kg/min). CPB was associated with significant decreases in max major axisLA and 2DLA (P < 0.05) as compared to measurements determined prior to CPB. Maximum major axisLA values pre-CPB were 0.35 +/- 0.06 and 0.33 +/- 0.08 versus post-CPB values of 0.24 +/- 0.08.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)