British journal of anaesthesia
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Isoflurane is widely used for anaesthesia in humans. Isoflurane exposure of rodents prior to post-natal day 7 (PND7) leads to widespread neurodegeneration in laboratory animals. Previous data from our laboratory suggest an attenuation of apoptosis with the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) inhibitor TAT-Pep5. We hypothesized that isoflurane toxicity leads to behavioural and cognitive abnormalities and can be rescued with pre-anaesthesia administration of TAT-Pep5. ⋯ A single isoflurane exposure to early post-natal mice caused a hippocampal-dependent memory deficit that was not prevented by pre-administration of TAT-Pep5, although TAT-Pep5, an inhibitor of p75NTR, has been shown to reduce isoflurane-induced apoptosis. These findings suggest that neuronal apoptosis is not requisite for the development of cognitive deficits in the adults attendant with neonatal anaesthetic exposure.
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Observational Study
Assessment of standard laboratory tests and rotational thromboelastometry for the prediction of postoperative bleeding in liver transplantation.
Perioperative bleeding remains a major challenge in liver transplantation. We aimed to compare standard laboratory tests with thromboelastometry (ROTEM ® ) with regard to their ability to predict postoperative non-surgical bleeding. ⋯ Although both postoperative standard laboratory tests and ROTEM ® assays could identify patients at risk for postoperative bleeding, ROTEM ® assays demonstrated a greater predictive value for impaired fibrinogen polymerization-related coagulopathy.