British journal of anaesthesia
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We studied previously patterns of organ donation in a teaching hospital. Eleven years later we repeated the study to investigate how patterns had changed. We also wanted to see whether non-heart beating donation was being practised in our intensive care units. ⋯ In this hospital the number of potential and actual organ donors has fallen in 11 yr. This is a combination of decreasing numbers of patients becoming brain dead and increased relative refusal rate. It has only been partially offset by a more liberal attitude of the coroner and non-heart beating donors.
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Motor evoked potentials can be affected by propofol anaesthesia. We studied how increasing target concentrations of propofol altered transcranial motor evoked potentials (tcMEP) during scoliosis surgery. ⋯ We found that, although propofol had a dose-dependent effect on tcMEP amplitude, anaesthesia could be maintained with remifentanil and propofol to allow recording and interpretation of tcMEP signals.
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Soluble pulmonary vasoconstrictors released in response to hypoxia have been reported in pig and rat preparations, but not in rabbit preparations. ⋯ In this closed system, a soluble factor contributes substantially to hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction.