Electroencephalographic mapping during routine clinical practice: cortical arousal during tracheal intubation?

We used quantitative analysis of the electroencephalogram (EEG) in 42 patients to assess the effect of tracheal intubation after induction of anesthesia with etomidate and sufentanil using standard clinical practice. The EEG was recorded from eight bipolar electrode derivations and Z-transformed relative to age expected normative data for relative power in the delta, theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands. Tracheal intubation resulted in classical cortical arousal, as indicated by acceleration of the EEG frequencies. Significant effects were seen in all frequency bands, most pronounced in the alpha frequency band, with the largest increase bilaterally in the fronto-temporal regions (F-values: Delta - 9.592, P < 0.001; theta - 1.691, P < 0.001; alpha - 18.439, P < 0.001; beta - 4.504, P < 0.001). Changes in alpha and delta power during induction of anesthesia were correlated with the dose of etomidate (P < 0.05). Changes in alpha after tracheal intubation were correlated at the parietooccipital brain regions to the dose of sufentanil (P < 0.05). Individual titration of the dose of etomidate and sufentanil, as during routine clinical practice, is not sufficient to block the strong noxious stimulation of tracheal intubation and results in cortical arousal. The clinical impact of this cortical wake-up phenomenon is undetermined.     

Angiogenesis of Uterus during menstrual cycle

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How do bile duct injuries sustained during laparoscopic cholecystectomy differ from those during open cholecystectomy?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Bile duct injuries sustained during laparoscopic cholecystectomy differ from those of open cholecystectomy. The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of their experience with 124 major bile duct injuries to identify these differences. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Biliary injury in 83 patients (67%) was sustained during open cholecystectomy, while in 41 patients (33%), it occurred during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Intraoperative recognition was possible in 21 patients (25%) in the former group and in 14 patients (34%) in the latter (P < 0.05). RESULTS: The median time of presentation after laparoscopic cholecystectomy was 37 days v 240 days after open cholecystectomy (P < 0.001). Twenty-eight patients presented with external biliary fistulae in both groups. Spontaneous closure of these fistulae occurred in 21 patients (75%) in the open cholecystectomy group and in only 10 patients (36%) in the laparoscopic group (P < 0.01). Bismuth type III or IV injuries were the commonest type in the laparoscopic cholecystectomy group (N = 25; 61%) while Bismuth type I or II were the usual injuries in open cholecystectomy (N = 57; 69%) (P < 0.01). After hepaticojejunostomy, over a mean follow-up period of 3.4 years, stenosis of the hepaticojejunostomy was seen in two patients in both groups. CONCLUSION: Compared with open cholecystectomy, biliary injuries sustained during laparoscopic cholecystectomy are more likely to present earlier, are more often associated with persistent bile leaks, and are usually high injuries. However, the results of surgical repair do not appear to be different in these two groups.     

Does hypocapnia before and during carbon dioxide insufflation attenuate the hemodynamic changes during laparoscopic cholecystectomy?

Background  

Hypocapnia before and during carbon dioxide (CO₂) insufflation for laparoscopic cholecystectomy may reduce the adverse hemodynamic responses.     

Is hysterectomy indicated during prolapsus treatment?

Hysterectomy remains a usual procedure in vaginal reconstructive pelvic surgery. However, it may seem illogical, given our improved knowledge of the pathologic pelvic anatomy, to begin pelvic repair by a removal procedure. The question about uterine preservation during vaginal reconstructive surgery is crucial. Although some authors have proposed some arguments on this topic, we don't have, at present, any rigorous prospective and randomized studies able to prove the superiority of hysterectomy or uterine preservation, on long-term anatomic results. Nevertheless, in reconstructive surgery with synthetic mesh, hysterectomy exposes to an increased risk of mesh exposure. Consequently, it increases blood lost, surgical duration and hospitalisation stay. On the other hand, uterine preservation imposes constant gynaecologic follow-up. Subsequently, if a hysterectomy is needed for benign or malignant diseases, the surgery is often difficult because of prior uterine fixation. Subtotal hysterectomy which prevents endometrial cancer can be a possible alternative but, at the moment, no study was able to demonstrate that uterine cervix has a role in pelvic static. Functional results, influenced by biological individual characteristics and by the number of associated procedures, are even more difficult to analyse. Sexual life after hysterectomy has been the subject of numerous publications of unequal scientific quality. Among correctly evaluated and informed patients, hysterectomy do not seem to produce negative consequences on sexuality; it can even improve, in some circumstances, the sexual life. We can admit that cervical conservation in some women may have a role in terms of pleasure, more from sexual fantasies and ballistic reasons than in relation with organic and physiologic reasons. Since no rigorous and specifically oriented works on that topic have been published until now, it seems justified today to promote prospective and randomized studies, advice against systematic attitudes, favour uterine conservation in young women and when doing surgery with mesh, realize a complete gynaecologic work-up before all uterine conservation decisions, correctly inform the patient and respect her preference.     

A myoclonic seizure during propofol-alfentanil anesthesia?]

Total intravenous anaesthesia with propofol and alfentanil is an established alternative to inhalation anaesthesia for intracranial neurosurgical procedures. Its usefulness has been somewhat overshadowed by reports of seizure-like movements, both during anaesthesia and in the recovery period. These can be related to the use of either anaesthetic agent, but true epileptogenic properties still remain to be demonstrated in man. Opioid-induced rigidity is a well known phenomenon and must not be mistaken for an epileptic seizure. Myoclonic motor activity can be observed even under physiological conditions, e.g. sleep. Almost all anaesthetic agents have been found to produce "epileptic" EEG changes (spikes, polyspikes, spike-wave complexes), but in man these have never been correlated to motor reactions. Propofol's pro- or anticonvulsive action is unclear. While some groups found shortened convulsing times in patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy with propofol instead of methohexitone, others have reported activation of epileptogenic foci in the EEGs of known epileptic patients. A synergistic effect of propofol and alfentanil in the generation of seizure-like movements cannot be excluded. Whether seizure-like movements indicate a true "epileptogenic potency" of the anaesthetic drugs or are related to other phenomena remains to be studied. Electro-encephalographic monitoring during anaesthesia as well as careful observation and documentation of motor reactions may contribute to elucidation of the problem. We report a case of seizure-like movements during propofol-alfentanil anaesthesia for an elective craniotomy. A 52-year-old patient presented with a history of headaches of increasing frequency. A CT brain scan demonstrated a tumor in the left occipital region.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Are patients who have had a tracheoesophageal fistula repair during infancy at risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma during adulthood?

The authors present a case of a 46-year-old woman who had esophageal adenocarcinoma after having had a tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) repair as an infant. A Medline search, which identified 2 other patients in the world literature who developed esophageal cancer (squamous cell carcinoma [J Pediatr Surg 36(4) (2001) 629-630] and adenocarcinoma [J Pediatr Surg 24(8) (1989) 741-744]) after TEF repair, was performed. As such patients reach middle age, it is possible that they are at increased risk for the development of esophageal cancer. Practitioners should be aware of the possibility of increased risk in this population and perhaps the need for a study to screen patients who have had a TEF repair to assess the incidence of cancer.     

One-lung or two-lung ventilation during transthoracic oesophagectomy?

The purpose of this study was to determine the safety of onelung ventilation (OLV) during transthoracic oesophagectomy. Changes in circulatory and respiratory variables during and after operation were compared in patients receiving OLV or conventional two-lung ventilation (TLV). Thirty patients undergoing transthoracic oesophagectomy were randomly divided into either the OLV or the TLV group. During thoracotomy,FiO₂ was kept to 1.0. The PaO₂ in the OLV group decreased from the prethoracotomy value of 467 ± 84 mmHg to 227 ± 162 mmHg during OLV. This decrease was greater than the decrease from 484 ± 79 mmHg to 380 ± 119 mmHg in the TLV group (P < 0.05). The shunt ratio increased in the OLV group from 20 ± 7% to 35 ± 13% during OLV which was greater than the increase in the TLV group (26 ± 7% from 17 ± 8%) (P < 0.05). Other variables and the incidence of the complications, however, were little different between the two groups during and after OLV and up to POD 3. It is concluded that OLV is as safe as TLV during oesophagectomy.