[Management of Postoperative Prolonged Air Leak].

Prolonged air leak is one of the most common postoperative complications in thoracic surgery. For elective partial lung resections, postoperative air leak lasting longer than 5 - 7 days is arbitrarily defined as prolonged. There are several predictive factors for the development of prolonged air leak that can be subdivided as either preoperative, such as obstructive pulmonary disease, or intraoperative risk factors, such as pleural adhesions or fused fissures.

Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase II Activity Persists During Chronic β-Adrenoceptor Blockade in Experimental and Human Heart Failure.

Background: Considerable evidence suggests that calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) overactivity plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of heart failure (HF), a condition characterized by excessive β-adrenoceptor (β-AR) stimulation. Recent studies indicate a significant cross talk between β-AR signaling and CaMKII activation presenting CaMKII as a possible downstream mediator of detrimental β-AR signaling in HF. In this study, we investigated the effect of chronic β-AR blocker treatment on CaMKII activity in human and experimental HF.