Surgery
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Financial pressures drive efforts to optimize hospital resource use, but inefficiencies occur in systems as volume nears total capacity. We examined how operating room use impacts efficiency and costs of treating an urgent surgical condition. ⋯ A short delay in operating room availability for urgent cases is associated with significantly increased total hospital costs. Our data suggest this finding is attributable to inefficient care when the operating room volume nears total capacity.
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Cardiac surgery induces the release of inflammatory mediators that can prolong cardiac dysfunction after operative intervention. Interleukin-10 (IL-10), a potent inhibitor of myocardial inflammation, is a known factor in myocardial protection after ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. We hypothesized that IL-10 activity during initial reperfusion is mediated through the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway. ⋯ IL-10 improves myocardial function after acute global I/R and suppresses inflammation through the STAT3 pathway. The administration of anti-inflammatory agents may have potential therapeutic applications in cardiac surgery.
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Because inhaled hydrogen provides potent anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic effects against acute lung injury, we hypothesized that treatment of organ donors with inhaled hydrogen during mechanical ventilation would decrease graft injury after lung transplantation. ⋯ Preloaded hydrogen gas during ventilation prior to organ procurement protected lung grafts effectively from ischemia/reperfusion-induced injury in a rat lung transplantation model.