Articles: surgery.
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To assess the efficacy and complication rates of magnetic resonance imaging-guided stereotactic limbic leukotomy for the treatment of intractable major depressive disorder (MDD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). ⋯ For this cohort of 21 patients with chronic severe MDD or OCD, who had experienced failure with an exhaustive array of previous treatments, limbic leukotomy was associated with substantial benefit for 36 to 50%. This rate is comparable to those of previous studies of limbic system surgery and indicates that limbic leukotomy is a feasible treatment option for severe, treatment-refractory MDD or OCD. Adverse consequences associated with the procedure included affective, cognitive, and visceromotor sequelae, which were generally transient.
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Hypotensive epidural anaesthesia (HEA) combines a high epidural anaesthesia, performing a sympathetic blockade, with low-dose iv-infusion of epinephrine to stabilize circulation in the conscious patient. Mean artery blood pressure is reduced to 45-50 mmHg and hereby a reduced blood loss. In this study we have combined HEA with preoperative acute normovolaemic hemodilution (ANH) in attempt to further reduce the blood loss and need for blood transfusion in total knee arthroplasty surgery (TKR). ⋯ These data suggest no benefits in combining HEA and ANH in TKR surgery. Probably because of the reduced viscosity of the blood after ANH, there is an increased postoperative blood loss. The need for homologous blood transfusion was identical.
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Spinal cord stimulation is the most common mode of neuromodulation used in managing chronic low back pain. It is minimally invasive and reversible as opposed to nerve ablation. The basic scientific background of the initial spinal cord stimulation trials was based on the gate control theory of Melzack and Wall. ⋯ There is substantial scientific evidence on the efficacy of spinal cord stimulation for treatment of low back and lower extremity pain of neuropathic nature. Clinical studies revealed a success rate of from 50% to 70% with spinal cord stimulation, with decreased pain intensity scores, functional improvement and decreased medication usage. This review discusses multiple aspects of spinal cord stimulation, including pathophysiology and mechanism of action, rationale, indications, technique, clinical effectiveness, and controversial aspects.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Apr 2002
Failed extubation after cardiac surgery in young children: Prevalence, pathogenesis, and risk factors.
A total of 212 children =36 months of age underwent 230 congenital heart operations. Eleven children (5.2%) died perioperatively. After excluding patients who died, there were 219 surgeries among 202 patients; 25.9% (51 of 197), 51.8% (102 of 197), and 72.6% (143 of 197) of patients were successfully extubated by 12, 24, and 48 hrs, respectively. There were 22 cases in which an initial attempt at extubation failed at a median of 67.8 hrs (range, 2.4-335.5 hrs). Five patients failed a subsequent attempt at extubation at a median of 189.5 hrs (range, 115.8-602.5 hrs). The most common causes of initial FE were cardiac dysfunction (n = 6), lung disease (n = 6), and airway edema (n = 3). Risk factors for FE included pulmonary hypertension (EOR, 38.7; 95% CI, 2.9-25.8; p <.001), Down syndrome (EOR, 4.6; 95% CI, 1.8-11.8; p =.002), and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (EOR, 4.5; 95% CI, 1.3-17.5; p =.018). All were independent predictors of FE (area under the curve, 0.837). The strongest predictor was pulmonary hypertension, which when used alone to predict FE provided a sensitivity of 0.83 (95% CI, 0.59-0.94) and a specificity of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.68-0.80). ⋯ Extubation fails after approximately 10% of congenital heart surgery in young patients. Causes of FE are diverse. In our population, preoperative pulmonary hypertension, presence of a congenital syndrome, and intraoperative circulatory arrest are risk factors for FE. Prospective validation of our predictive model with larger numbers and at multiple institutions would improve its utility.