Effect of epidural anesthesia on colorectal anastomosis

PURPOSE: Epidural anesthesia is believed to benefit colorectal anastomotic blood flow because of the sympathetic blockade it produces. Our purpose is to measure with tonometry the effect of epidural anesthesia on colorectal anastomotic oxygenation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients operated on for rectal cancer (radical anterior resection) were monitored postoperatively using tonometers placed in the stomach (celiac trunk), transverse colon (superior mesenteric artery), and the anastomotic area during the operation. An epidural catheter was placed at L1-2, and on the first postoperative day, 8 ml of bupivacaine (0.25 percent) was administered. The anesthetic effect extended up to T-4. Intramucosal pH (pHi) at the three locations was measured before, during, and after the epidural blockade. RESULTS: Gastric and transverse colon pHi increased during the epidural blockade from 7.35±0.01 to 7.41±0.01 and from 7.34±0.02 to 7.40±0.02, respectively. The anastomotic pHi decreased from 7.3±0.02 to 7.24±0.03 under the epidural and increased up to 7.34±0.02 after withdrawal of the effect on the following day. All pHi variations were statistically significant (P<0.05, paired Student'st-test and Wilcoxon's test), because it was the comparison between gastric and transverse colon pHi with the anastomotic pHi during the epidural (P<0.05, one-way analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis tests). None of the patients developed anastomotic or other complications. CONCLUSIONS: Epidural anesthesia with bupivacaine causes a significant decrease in the oxygenation-perfusion state of colorectal anastomosis in comparison with the increase in other areas of the digestive tract. Further studies need to be done to see if other epidural anesthetic-analgesic protocols also worsen colorectal anastomotic blood flow.Supported in part by a grant from the Spanish Society of Digestive Diseases, Madrid, Spain. All tonometric catheters and drugs were donated by the Clinic University Hospital of Valencia, Spain.Read at the meeting of The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, Seattle, Washington, June 9 to 14, 1996.     

Inter-observer agreement in interpreting chest X-rays on children with acute lower respiratory tract infections and concurrent wheezing.

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Many children with acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRI) present to the emergency ward with concurrent wheezing. A chest x-ray is often requested to rule out pneumonia. We assessed inter-observer agreement in interpreting x-rays on such children. DESIGNS AND SETTING: Prospective consecutive case study at Instituto de Salud del Ni?o, Lima, Peru. METHODS: Chest x-rays were obtained from eligible children younger than two years old with ALRI and concurrent wheezing who were seen in the emergency ward of a nationwide pediatric referral hospital. The x-rays were read independently by three different pediatric residents who were aware only that the children had a respiratory infection. All the children had received inhaled beta-adrenergic agonists before undergoing chest x-rays. Lobar and complicated pneumonia cases were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Two hundred x-rays were read. The overall kappa index was 0.2. The highest individual kappa values for specific x-ray findings ranged from 0.26 to 0.34 for rib horizontalization and from 0.14 to 0.31 for alveolar infiltrate. Inter-observer variation was intermediate for alveolar infiltrate (kappa 0.14 to 0.21) and for air bronchogram (kappa 0.13 to 0.23). Reinforcement of the bronchovascular network (kappa 0.10 to 0.16) and air trapping (kappa 0.05 to 0.20) had the lowest agreement. CONCLUSIONS: There was poor inter-observer agreement for chest x-ray interpretation on children with ALRI and concurrent wheezing seen at the emergency ward. This may preclude reliable diagnosing of pneumonia in settings where residents make management decisions regarding sick children. The effects of training on inter-observer variation need further studies.     

Gabapentin-induced coma: A MR-spectrometry analysis

As for the majority of antiepileptic drugs, encephalopathy, manifested by transient somnolence, mood and motor disorders, is a possible side-effect. To our knowledge, there is little information about gabapentin-induced coma. We report a third case of gabapentin-induced coma where magnetic resonance-spectrometry was performed in diagnosis assessment.     

Deliberate hypotension in orthopedic surgery reduces blood loss and transfusion requirements: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

PURPOSE: To determine if deliberate hypotension decreases blood loss and transfusion requirements in patients undergoing orthopedic surgery, a systematic review of all randomized trials addressing this issue was undertaken. METHODS: Electronic databases, citations lists and review articles were searched for potential articles. Relevant articles met the following inclusion criteria: English language, humans undergoing orthopedic surgery, deliberate hypotension used by any method, intraoperative blood loss measured as an outcome, and the trial methodology being randomized and controlled. Four outcomes were analyzed, including estimated blood loss, blood transfused, surgery duration, and quality of the surgical field. For all analyses, the random-effects model was used. RESULTS: Seventeen articles met the inclusion criteria. The surgeries studied included total hip arthroplasty (seven), orthognathic surgery (eight), total knee arthroplasty (one) and spinal fusion (one). A total of 636 patients were randomized across all studies. For blood loss, the overall weighted mean difference favoured treatment, with a savings of about 287 mL of blood [95% confidence interval (CI): -447, -127]. The mean differences also showed a statistically significant benefit for deliberate hypotension in reducing transfusion requirements (-667 mL of blood transfused; 95% CI: -963, -370). Deliberate hypotension was not shown to reduce the duration of surgery (-1.9 min of surgery; 95% CI: -7.2, 3.5) or improve surgical conditions (surgical field quality rating -0.5; 95% CI: -1.1, 0.2). CONCLUSION: This review provides some support for the use of deliberate hypotension in reducing blood loss and transfusion requirements in orthopedic surgery, but these results are tempered by the small sample sizes and poor methodological quality of published studies.     

Psychosocial factors associated with poor diabetes self-care management in a specialized Center in Mexico City

To examine the relationship between demographic, clinical and psychosocial variables and diabetes self-care management in Mexican type 2 diabetic patients. Cross-sectional study of 176 consecutive patients with type 2 diabetes aged 30-75 years, attending a tertiary health-care center in Mexico City. A brief medical history and previously validated questionnaires were completed. The study group consisted of 64 males/112 females, aged 55 +/- 11 years, mean diabetes duration of 12 +/- 8 years and HbA1c of 9.0 +/- 2.0%, 78.4% reported following the correct dose of diabetes pills or insulin, 58% ate the recommended food portions, and 44.3% did exercise three or more times per week. A good adherence to these three recommendations was observed in only 26.1% of the patients. These patients considered as a group were characterized by a greater knowledge about the disease (P < 0.00001), regular home blood glucose monitoring (P < 0.01), an inner perception of better diabetes control (P = 0.007), good health (P = 0.004) and better communication with their physician (P < 0.02). A poor adherence to two or the three main diabetes care recommendations was associated with a depressive state (OR 2.38, 95% CI 1.1-4.9, P < 0.01) and a history of excessive alcohol intake (OR 4.03, 95% CI 1.1-21.0, P = 0.03). Poor adherence to standard diabetes care recommendations is frequently observed in patients with type 2 diabetes attending a specialized health care center in Mexico City. Depression must be identified and treated effectively.     

Stress cardiomyopathy in thromboembolic arterial disease.

Apical ballooning is a novel clinical entity reported in different contexts of physical and psychological stress, which is more common in middle-aged women. Of unknown etiology, the syndrome is characterized by a sudden and transient dilatation of the left ventricular apex in the absence of obstructive atherosclerotic coronary disease or evidence of myocardial necrosis, with total late recovery of ventricular function. The authors report the case of a 53-year-old woman who was admitted to the emergency room with left arm ischemia and low cardiac output, requiring ventilatory support. Left catheterization showed typical medial and apical myocardial dysfunction, with normal coronary arteries. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed a thrombus attached to the lower face of the aortic arch, which probably explained the thromboembolism of the arm but was unlikely to be the cause of the left ventricular dysfunction since there were no enzymatic or electrocardiographic signs of myocardial necrosis and normal wall motion was fully recovered.     

INFLUENCE OF IODOFORM ON ANTIMICROBIAL POTENTIAL OF CALCIUM HYDROXIDE

The purpose of this research was to verify the influence of Iodoform on antimicrobial potential of calcium hydroxide. S. aureus, E. faecalis, P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis, C. albicans were the biological indicators. The substances tested were: calcium hydroxide + saline; calcium hydroxide + Iodoform + saline; Iodoform + saline. For the agar diffusion test, 18 Petri plates with 20 ml of BHI agar were inoculated with the microbial suspensions. Fifty-four cavities were made and filled with the substances tested. The diameters of microbial inhibition were then measured. In direct exposure test, 162 #50 sterile absorbent paper points were immersed in the experimental suspensions for 5 min, and covered with the pastes. At intervals of 24, 48 and 72 hours, the paper points were immersed in 10 ml of Letheen Broth, followed by incubation at 37°°C for 48h. Microbial growth was evaluated by turbidity of the culture medium. A 0.1 ml inoculum obtained from the Letheen Broth was transferred to 7 ml of BHI, and incubated at 37°°C for 48h. Bacterial growth was again evaluated by turbidity of the culture medium. The calcium hydroxide associated with the saline or the iodoform plus saline showed antimicrobial effectiveness in both experimental methods. The iodoform paste presented antimicrobial ineffectiveness for the agar diffusion test on all biological microorganisms and for the direct exposure test on B. subtilis and on the mixture.