Analgesic effects of interpleural bupivacaine with fentanyl for post-thoracotomy pain

OBJECTIVE: The analgesic effect of bupivacaine/fentanyl with epinephrine given interpleurally after thoracotomy was investigated in a randomized placebo and intravenous controlled study. DESIGN: Prospective clinical study. SETTING: University teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status II and III patients scheduled for posterolateral thoracotomy with general anesthesia. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly divided into 4 groups to receive either 0.5% bupivacaine/1.5 microg/kg of fentanyl with 5 microg/mL of epinephrine (n = 15, group IPBF), 0.5 % bupivacaine with 5 microg/mL of epinephrine (n = 15, group IPB), or saline (n = 15, group IPS) in a total volume of 15 to 20 mL in 60 seconds by an interpleural catheter placed at the end of surgery by direct vision. The same volume of bupivacaine 0.25% and 1.5 microg/kg of fentanyl with 5 microg/mL of epinephrine to group IPBF, bupivacaine 0.25% with 5 microg/mL of epinephrine to group IPB or saline to group IPS was injected through the interpleural catheter every 6 hours for 48 hours postoperatively. Intravenous fentanyl (n = 15, group IVF) and interpleural saline groups received 1.5 microg/kg of fentanyl intravenously at the first complaint of pain. All patients also received patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with fentanyl for 48 hours postoperatively. Metamizol sodium was used as a rescue analgesic. MEASUREMENTS and MAIN RESULTS: Adequacy of pain relief was evaluated with the "Prince Henry Pain Scale" and visual analog pain scale. Fentanyl consumption via PCA and complications were evaluated for 48 hours. Visual analog scale scores were significantly higher in the interpleural saline group at 4 and 12 hours (6.6 +/- 1.2 and 5.0 +/- 2.1, respectively) postoperatively. Significantly more patients in the IPBF group had lower pain scores during coughing and deep breathing. Fentanyl consumption via PCA device was significantly higher in the intravenous fentanyl group (1,069 +/- 96.9 microg) than the interpleural groups (577.3 +/- 72.2 microg, 651.1 +/- 61.9 microg, and 601.0 +/- 22.6 microg in IPBF, IPB, and IPS groups, respectively). CONCLUSION: It is concluded that total fentanyl consumption via PCA decreased in all interpleural groups, but pain during coughing and deep breathing was significantly reduced in only the interpleural bupivacaine/fentanyl with epinephrine group.     

Age as a predictor of hyperphosphatemia after oral phosphosoda administration for colon preparation

BACKGROUND AND AIM: It has been reported that oral phosphosoda (OPS), commonly used in bowel cleansing, may cause complications such as hyperphosphatemia and hypocalcemia. This has been observed in patients with normal kidney function and in those with renal insufficiency. Few controlled studies have been performed with respect to age on healthy subjects after OPS administration. METHODS: Seventy patients (38 men and 32 women; mean age 47 +/- 12 years, range 25-80 years) were enrolled in the present study. Half of the 90 mL total volume of OPS was ingested 18 h before colonoscopy, and the other half 6 h before the procedure. Creatinine clearance rate (CCR) and serum levels of sodium, potassium, calcium and phosphate were measured before and after OPS administration. RESULTS: After OPS administration, serum calcium and potassium were significantly lower (P < 0.05), and serum phosphate and sodium were significantly higher than pretreatment levels (P < or = 0.01). The statistically significant changes in serum sodium, potassium and calcium were within normal laboratory ranges. The mean change in serum phosphate was positively correlated with age (Pearson's r = 0.705; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Administration of OPS causes a significant rise in serum phosphate, even in patients with normal CCR. The elevation is significantly greater in elderly patients. Administration of OPS can be considered safe for young and middle-aged patients with normal renal function; however, it should be used with caution in elderly patients, even in those with normal CCR and serum creatinine values.     

Electrical injury as a possible cause of sick sinus syndrome

Electrical injury is a serious public health problem. Heart is one of the most frequently affected organs. Electrical injury can cause life-threatening cardiac complications such as asystole, ventricular fibrillation, and myocardial rupture. In this case report, we present a 20-yr-old male patient with sick sinus syndrome that developed years after electrical injury.     

A case of Castleman's disease with "downhill" varices in the absence of superior vena cava obstruction

Downhill esophageal varices", classically defined as those that develop in the upper region of the esophagus, are less common than the "uphill" type, which is usually produced by portal hypertension. Various causes of downhill varices have been reported, but mediastinal tumor is the most common responsible lesion. Castleman's disease, or angiofollicular lymph node hyperplasia, is a rare pathological process of unknown etiology that usually develops in the mediastinum. We report the case of a 60-year-old woman whose large esophageal varices were detected incidentally. The cause was a mediastinal mass which was diagnosed as Castleman's disease on histopathological examination of a surgical specimen. This patient's varices most likely formed as a result of copious blood drainage from the tumor into the esophageal veins. Evidence for this was the lack of the classic downhill pattern, the absence of superior vena cava obstruction, and the fact that the varices resolved after the tumor was removed. It is our opinion that this type of varices should be renamed, and we suggest that "overflow varices" would be an appropriate term.     

The seroprevalence of varicella zoster antibodies in Behçet's and other skin diseases

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of the varicella zoster virus (VZV) IgG, and IgM antibodies with Behçet's and other skin diseases (group 1: recurrent aphthos stomatitis, fungal infections, psoriasis; group 2: vitiligo, lichen planus). Twenty eight patients with Behçet's disease (BD), and 117 patients with dermatological disorders other than BD were evaluated for specific VZV IgG and IgM antibodies by using a third generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The Mantel Heizshel ² method was used to adjust the confounding of age and sex of the patients. The serological positivity for VZV IgG and IgM antibodies in BD was not statistically different from other skin diseases. When we considered the age of the patients, ² = 2.64, CI (0.27–1.65), odds ratio (1, 1.25, 2.21) (p = 0.10) and when we considered the sex of the patients, ² = 0.31, CI (0.81–1.28), odds ratio (1, 1.45, 1.41), (p = 0.57).     

Invasive staging of superior mediastinum in non-small cell lung cancer patients with specific indications

This prospective study was done between February 2001 and December 2002 on 84 non-small cell lung cancer patients who were apparently operable. We selectively performed mediastinoscopy to 46 patients (54.76%, group 1) with the following indications: clinical T4 tumor, high operative risk, radiologically enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes, clinical T3 tumors with central location, radiologically identified mediastinal lymph nodes of any size with adeno or large cell carcinoma histology. Other 38 patients (45.23%, group 2) underwent thoracotomy without mediastinoscopy. Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and positive predictive value of the indications were calculated. Cost analysis was done in the 84 patients and the results were compared with alternative mediastinal staging strategies (vs. routine, and vs. selectively to patients with radiologically positive mediastinal lymph nodes) if they had been applied to our population. Group 1 had higher selectivity to differentiate N2 patients (p=0.02). Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and positive predictive value of indications were calculated as: 0.85, 0.54, 0.92 and 0.36, respectively. Our approach was most economical in terms of total cost per patient and money spent unnecessarily per patient. Mediastinal evaluation in operable lung cancer patients should decrease the number of surgical procedures, N2 disease found at thoracotomy and cost.     

Single coronary artery with anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left anterior descending artery with a unique proximal course

A 62-year-old man with hypertension and hypercholesterolemia was referred to our unit for evaluation of chest pain. A very rare variant of single coronary artery, in which the anomalous right coronary artery originated as a separate branch from the left anterior descending artery, was incidentally found on his coronary angiography. The anomalous right coronary artery in our case appears to be unique in that it courses intraseptally rather than rightwards proximally and has obstructive atherosclerotic lesions resulting in inferior ischemia. Moreover, the acute angle made by the anomalous right coronary artery to turn toward the atrioventricular groove may have reduced the flow velocity and contributed to the development of inferior ischemia.     

Sialoblastoma of the parotid gland

A 3 year-old girl presented with a 6- months history of facial swelling in the region of cheek. Physical examination revealed a firm, non-tender, non- erythematous, mobile, 3 × 3 cm mass in the right cheek. Fine needle aspiration biopsy of the mass demonstrated significiant mitotic activity, slight pleomorfism and atypical cells. A transoral incisional biopsy was also done for accurate diagnosis and the tumor was diagnosed as sialoblastoma. After performing superficial parotidectomy, the tumor was excised with large margins. No adjuvant treatment was given and no recurrence has been noted after 6 months. Despite the rareness of the disease, pathologists and otolaryngologists should always consider the possibility of sialoblastoma of salivary glands in childhood and it can be best described as locally agressive with malignant potential.     

Is there any relationship between proinflammatory mediator levels in disc material and myelopathy with cervical disc herniation and spondylosis? A non-randomized,prospective clinical study

The proinflammatory mediator (PIM) levels were assessed in surgically removed samples of herniated cervical intervertebral discs. The objective of this study was to investigate if there is a correlation between the levels of PIMs in disc material and myelopathy associated with cervical intervertebral disc herniation and spondylosis. The role of proinflammatory mediators in the degeneration of intervertebral disc and the inflammatory effects of disc herniations on radicular pain has been previously published. However, the possible relationship between PIMs and myelopathy related to cervical disc herniation and spondylosis has not been investigated before. Thirty-two patients undergoing surgery for cervical disc herniation and spondylosis were investigated. Surgically obtained disc materials, stored at 70 degrees C, were classified into two groups: cervical disc herniation alone or with myelopathy. Biochemical preparation and solid phase enzyme amplified sensitivity immunoassay (ELISIA) analysis of the samples were performed to assess the concentration of mediators in the samples. Very similar values of interleukin-6 were found in both groups whereas the concentrations of mediators were significantly higher in myelopathy group. This study has demonstrated that PIMs are involved in cervical intervertebral disc degeneration with higher concentrations in the samples associated with myelopathy.     

Angiographic restenosis after myocardial bridge stenting

Data on restenosis after stent implantation in myocardial bridges (MB) are very limited. Six-month angiographic results for 12 symptomatic patients who underwent stent implantation for myocardial bridges were compared retrospectively with those of 39 patients who underwent direct stent implantation for de novo atherosclerotic lesions in the left anterior descending artery. Diameter stenosis decreased from 69 +/- 8% to 4 +/- 5% in the MB group and from 79 +/- 8% to 7 +/- 6% in the control group after stent deployment. Systolic narrowing was abolished in all patients with MB. In follow-up, quantitative angiography revealed late loss of 1.8 +/- 1.3 mm in the MB group and 0.9 +/- 0.9 mm in the control group (P = 0.025). The in-stent restenosis rate was also higher in the MB group compared to the control group (67% versus 28%; P = 0.037). Despite favorable immediate results, stent implantation in MBs may not be promising because of the higher in-stent restenosis rate compared to stenting in de novo atherosclerotic lesions.