Anesthesiology and pain medicine
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Patency of the revascularization conduit is an essential predictor of long-standing survival after coronary artery bypass grafting. ⋯ In our patients, the RA grafts had an acceptable patency rate in 2 to 5 years' follow-up. Although the SV grafts had a relatively higher patency rate than RA grafts in our asymptomatic patients, the patency rates in RA and SV grafts were close to each other. The RA graft function was poor in the patients with a higher number of risk factors and in the females.
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Pain after laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery (LGBP) is a major problem. Gabapentin is an anticonvulsant drug that can be effective in postoperative pain control. ⋯ Administration of gabapentin before surgery can reduce pain after LGBP. Furthermore, it is not accompanied by significant short-term adverse effects.
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An unresolved question is the time required for the ability to return to complex tasks following anesthesia. ⋯ This study questioned the difference between volatile anesthetic agent's effects on patients completing a battery of neurocognitive tests attempting to answer if one agent has a more profound effect. Our study shows no statistically significant cognitive decline except for those in the Trail Making Part B in the Desflurane group. This conclusion is limited by the inherent limitations of the study, but does reinforce that the systemic inflammatory response from the surgery contributes cognitive impairment.
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Magnesium is a physiologic cation that blocks neuromuscular transmission and does not allow the nerve to be stimulated. ⋯ The addition of magnesium sulfate to lidocaine increased the duration of motor and sensory axillary block in the upper extremities during surgeries when compared to the use of lidocaine alone.
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Facet joint pain affects 5% to 15% of the population with low back pain and the prevalence increases with age due to progression of arthritis. While conservative treatments are often unsuccessful, the scientific evidence on minimally invasive therapies such as intra-articular steroid infiltration and continuous and pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) of the medial branches is contradictory. Since PRF has recently been reported to successfully treat joint pain, a new application of this method is proposed for facetogenic lumbar pain via an intra-articular subcapsular approach. Here we reported two cases with successful treatment. ⋯ A new approach to treat lumbar facet joint pain with PRF is simple to perform and without serious complications. In view of the good long-lasting results obtained with the two reported cases, randomized control trials are necessary to validate this new approach.