Masui. The Japanese journal of anesthesiology
-
Case Reports
[Usefulness of epidural administration of ketamine for relief of postherpetic neuralgia].
Four patients with postherpetic neuralgia had their pain alleviated by epidural administration of ketamine. No oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and anti-depressant drugs were effective in all cases. ⋯ When these patients stated that they did not feel pain reduced, they received epidural infusion of ketamine at doses from 5 mg to 20 mg with lidocaine or bupivacaine and their postherpetic neuralgia was controlled. Therefore with these cases, we suspect that epidural administration of ketamine, an antagonist for N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor, could be an effective and useful alternative treatment in a patient with refractory postherpetic neuralgia.
-
Case Reports
[A case of awareness during propofol anesthesia using bispectral index as an indicator of hypnotic effect].
A 77-year old, woman weighing 44 kg with mild liver dysfunction underwent lower abdominal surgery. Anesthesia was induced with propofol 60 mg and fentanyl 0.1 mg. Tracheal intubation was facilitated with vecuronium 8 mg, and the lungs were ventilated with 33% oxygen in air. ⋯ On discharge from the operating room the patient declared that she had been awake. She had heard voices and felt the surgeon working, but had suffered no pain. The BIS is a useful indicator for hypnotic effect, but this case demonstrates that awareness might occur even when BIS value indicates adequate hypnotic state.
-
We report two cases of anesthetic management with monitoring by near-infrared spectroscopy in patients with renal cell carcinoma and with adrenal cortical carcinoma, who had tumor thrombus invading into the inferior vena cava. In inferior vena caval reconstruction, extracorporeal circulation such as veno-veno bypass or cardiopulmonary bypass is frequently required. The hemodynamic unstability under extracorporeal circulation may lead to severe cerebral damage, especially in elderly patients. ⋯ However, these decreased oxygenated hemoglobin was restored rapidly at the end of extracorporeal circulation. Both patients showed no post-operative neurological complication. We concluded that near-infrared spectroscopy, which is continuous and non-invasive monitoring of cerebral oxygenation status, is one of the useful monitors during extracorporeal circulation.
-
Case Reports
[Two patients treated with intra-aortic balloon pump counterpulsation after subarachnoid hemorrhage].
Intra-aortic balloon pump counterpulsation (IABP) was used to treat two patients with symptomatic vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage. One could not tolerate triple H therapy (hypertensive hypervolemic hemodilution) because of poor cardiac function and another suffered acute myocardial infarction after aneurysm surgery followed by cardiac failure. IABP increased cerebral blood flow and prevented cerebral infarction in the former case but this could not reverse cerebral ischemia in the latter. IABP may be one choice for patients with vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage.
-
Clinical Trial
[A clinical evaluation of blind orotracheal intubation using Trachlight in 511 patients].
We used Trachlight for blind orotracheal intubation (ordinary tracheal tube or Portex Blueline in 305 cases, and reinforced tube or Mallinckrodt Safety-Flex in 206 cases) for general anesthetic procedures, and evaluated its technical features along with related complications. With ordinary tubes, 93% of the patients could be intubated successfully at the first attempt. Unsuccessful intubation even at the third attempt occurred in 3 patients (1%). ⋯ One patient developed minor tracheal bleeding probably due to injury of the mucosa. The elevation of the blood pressure at intubation with this device was not as high as that by direct laryngoscopy. We conclude that Trachlight leads to intubation with a high success rate, and that care should be taken not to damage the tracheal mucosa by blind insertion.