Later efficacy of nusinersen treatment in adult patients with spinal muscular atrophy: A retrospective case study with a median 4-year follow-up.

Background: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a hereditary neuromuscular disorder characterized by skeletal muscle atrophy and weakness. New treatments for SMA have been developed namely, the drugs nusinersen, onasemnogene abeparvovec, and risdiplam. However, there are limited reports on their effects on adult patients with SMA, particularly over long periods.

The importance of pleural integrity for effective and safe thoracic paravertebral block: a retrospective comparative study on postoperative pain control by paravertebral block.

Objectives: Recently, paravertebral block (PVB) has been reported to be an effective analgesic modality for post-thoracotomy pain, but there is no consensus on how thoracic PVB can be more effective. Our hypothesis that intact pleura has a significant impact on the analgesic effectiveness of thoracic PVB was evaluated.

Methods: Data of patients who underwent general thoracic surgery [thoracotomy or video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS)] and paravertebral catheterization at Nagara Medical Center between April 2010 and March 2013 were collected.

Paravertebral block for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: analgesic effectiveness and role in fast-track surgery.

Background: Appropriate postoperative analgesia is crucial in fast-track surgery, which is a multimodal therapeutic strategy that aims toward enhanced postoperative recovery and shortened hospital stay. Paravertebral block (PVB) has been reported to be as effective as thoracic epidural blockade (TEB), but PVB is not often employed for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for 2 reasons. First, TEB is still the gold standard for thoracic surgery, and second, thoracoscopic insertion of a PVB catheter is challenging.

[The use of "laryngospasm notch" in a patient who was unable to breathe during general anesthesia with a ProSeal laryngeal mask airway--the effect of Kino's approach].

We report a case where "laryngospasm notch" technique was used in a patient to initiate spontaneous respiration during general anesthesia. The patient was a 43-year-old woman who underwent conization. A Pro-Seal laryngeal mask airway was inserted after induction of general anesthesia.

[Awareness during general anesthesia for head and neck surgery--a case report].

We report a second case of awareness during general anesthesia with sevoflurane supplemented with fentanyl. A 58-year-old man, weighing 61 kg, underwent an 8.8-hour operation for a malignant tumor of the right mandible.

[Four case studies of perioperative treatment using traditional Chinese medicine].

We describe the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine in treating minor preoperative and postoperative complaints in four patients. The first was a 54-year-old woman with a preoperative complaint of chapped hands before phylebeurysm evulsion surgery. Hachimiziougan was prescribed, and symptoms were ameliorated by postoperative day two.

[The use of "laryngospasm notch" in two patients whose oxygen saturations dropped after tracheal extubation].

In 1998, Dr. Larson described the technique of applying pressure to the "laryngospasm notch" as the best treatment for laryngospasm. Yet, there are no case reports of using this technique in the literature.

[Awareness during anesthesia with sevoflurane: a case report].

We report a case of a patient who experienced awareness during general anesthesia with sevoflurane. A 71-year-old man, weighing 57 kg, was operated on for a malignant tumor of the parotid gland. He was given 2 mg diazepam orally as a premedication.

Erythemas caused by electrodes while monitoring neuromuscular blockade: three cases.

Skin erythemas formed in three patients during surgery at the sites where negative electrodes had been attached to stimulate the ulnar nerve for a neuromuscular transmission monitor (Relaxograph). The patients were all women, aged 52, 62, and 74 years, and general anesthesia lasted 8 h 20 min, 4 h 50 min, and 8 h 45 min, respectively. The electrodes used were disposable ECG electrodes in the first two patients and one designed for a neuromuscular monitor in the third; all were carbon-coated and then covered with gel.