International journal of clinical and experimental medicine
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Levosimendan (LS) is a new inotropic drug which belongs to the group of drugs known as calcium sensitizers. It is different from other inotropic agents by its inotropic and vasodilatory actions without an increase in myocardial oxygen consumption and considered as a good choice in high-risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery. We aimed to investigate the proper time of the administration and the effect of prophylactic usage of LS in patients with low left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). ⋯ Our study shows that the elective preoperative initiation of LS especially 12 hours before the operation onset is associated with better improvement on cardiac functions as well as with lower mortality and complication rates, lower use of additional inotropic and vasopressor drugs, less need for intra-aortic balloon pump support and shorter length of stay in the ICU in patients with high perioperative risk or compromised left ventricular function. As a result, patients who received an infusion of LS 12 hours before surgery showed an evidence of less myocardial damage which suggested the preconditioning effect of the drug.
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Case Reports
Surgical treatment and radiotherapy of epidermoid cyst with malignant transformation in cerebellopontine angle.
We report surgical treatment and radiotherapy of an extremely rare case of malignant epidermoid cyst located in cerebellopontine angle. MRI and CT demonstrated the lesion with partial enhancement and calcification. During operation, we found the tumor attached tightly to surrounding tissue. ⋯ With adjuvant radiotherapy, the patient underwent excellent recovery, and follow-up MRI demonstrated no obvious residue or recurrence of the tumor. Malignant epidermoid cyst can be diagnosed radiologically in combination with clinical presentation. Maximal removal plus adjuvant radiotherapy is the treatment of choice, although the general prognosis of it is poor.
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A 64-yr-old man was admitted because of repeated pneumonia. Both fiberoptic bronchoscopy and esophagoscopy revealed a large tracheoesophageal fistula (15 mm) in the right posterior trachea 1 cm beyond the carina. ⋯ We took advantage of laryngeal mask airway to insert the fiberoptic bronchoscope to guide the stent placement. Our method of sealing a large tracheoesophageal fistula with LMA under total intravenous anesthesia was successful.
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Ketamine is currently the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor channel blocker in clinical use. Morphine in pain management is usually limited by adverse effect such as nausea and vomiting. Adjuvant treatment with ketamine may be value in giving better analgesia with fewer adverse effects. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the differences when patients received morphine with adjuvant ketamine (MK) compared with higher dose of morphine (MO) for acute pain. ⋯ The use of ketamine plus 1/4~2/3 the dose of morphine is better than higher dose of morphine alone in reducing pain scores, and rescuing analgesic requirement. It also improved PONV and wakefulness.
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Many scholars are seeking for an anesthesia induction regimen to meet the requirements of both intubation and instant recovery of spontaneous breathing in case of "cannot intubate, cannot ventilate" to prevent severe consequences. This study aims to investigate whether the combination use of remifentanil 1 μg/kg and small dose of succinylcholine (0.6 mg/kg) is superior to single use of remifentanil 1.5 μg/kg in improving intubation conditions and shortening apnea time under anesthesia induction with propofol. ⋯ Compared with single use of remifentanil 1.5 μg/kg, the combination use of remifentanil 1 μg/kg and succinylcholine 0.6 mg/kg may offer better intubation conditions and may not prolong apnea time under anesthesia induction with propofol 2 mg/kg.