Epidural analgesia and postoperative orthostatic haemodynamic changes: observational study.

Context: In thoracic and abdominal surgery, epidural analgesia provides excellent pain relief, but associated postural hypotension can delay mobilisation.

Objectives: To assess postoperative orthostatic haemodynamic changes in patients receiving epidural analgesia after major surgery.

Design: Prospective observational study.

A multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii outbreak in intensive care unit: antimicrobial and organizational strategies.

Purpose: Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MRAB) is an emerging cause of intensive care unit (ICU) outbreaks. Patients are the main reservoirs, inducing cross transmission. We describe an MRAB outbreak that occurred in the Prato Hospital ICU in June to August 2009.

Neuroprotective effects of propofol in models of cerebral ischemia: inhibition of mitochondrial swelling as a possible mechanism.

Background: Propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol) has been shown to attenuate neuronal injury in a number of experimental conditions, but studies in models of cerebral ischemia have yielded conflicting results. Moreover, the mechanisms involved in its neuroprotective effects are yet unclear.

Methods: The authors evaluated the neuroprotective effects of propofol in rat organotypic hippocampal slices exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation, an in vitro model of cerebral ischemia.

Erythropoietin attenuates post-traumatic injury in organotypic hippocampal slices.

Recent experimental evidence indicates that erythropoietin (Epo), in addition to its hormonal role in regulating red cell production, operates as a neuroprotective agent. So far, the neuroprotective effect of human recombinant Epo (rhEpo) has been mainly demonstrated in models of cerebral ischemia/hypoxia and in selected in vivo studies of traumatic neuronal injury. To further investigate the potential role of this multifunctional trophic factor in post-traumatic cell death, we examined the protective effects of rhEpo in a newly developed model of mechanical trauma in organotypic hippocampal slices.