Long-term effects of UV light on contractility of rat arteries in vivo.

Several studies have shown that UV irradiation may be effective for preventing vascular restenosis or vasopasm. However, the long-term effects of UV light on the physiological properties of vessels such as arterial tension have not been elucidated. We therefore studied the long-term effects of UV using rat carotid arteries treated with UV-B light (wavelength = 313 nm, total energy = 14 mJ/mm2).

The Brandt tube system attenuates the cuff deflationary phenomenon after anesthesia with nitrous oxide.

The Brandt tube system can limit excessive cuff pressure during nitrous oxide (N(2)O) anesthesia, but there is a lack of data assessing whether the Brandt tube system avoids cuff deflation after cessation of N(2)O administration. In this study, we recorded air-filled cuff pressures of the Mallinckrodt Brandt or Hi-Contour (control) tracheal tubes (Mallinckrodt, Athlone, Ireland) during 67% N(2)O anesthesia and the cuffs were aspirated if the cuff pressure exceeded 22 mm Hg; 180 min later, O(2) was substituted for N(2)O. The cuff pressure of both groups significantly decreased after N(2)O anesthesia but the time required for the cuff pressure to return to the initial pressure was longer in the Brandt group than in the control group (76.

Dopamine may preserve the myocardial oxygen balance better than dobutamine when administered with milrinone.

Purpose: To compare the hemodynamic effects of dopamine with those of dobutamine when administered with milrinone in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery.

Methods: In 14 patients undergoing major surgery during anesthesia with isoflurane, milrinone (50 microgram*kg(-1) followed by 0.25 microgram*kg(-1)*min(-1)) was administered.

Repeated deflation of a gas-barrier cuff to stabilize cuff pressure during nitrous oxide anesthesia.

Unlabelled: Although a nitrous oxide (N(2)O) gas-barrier cuff effectively limits the increase of cuff pressure during N(2)O anesthesia, there are few data assessing whether an N(2)O gas-barrier cuff is more beneficial for stabilizing intracuff pressure than standard endotracheal tubes when cuffs are repeatedly deflated to stabilize pressure during N(2)O anesthesia. In the present study, the pressure of air-filled standard-type cuffs (Trachelon; Terumo, Tokyo, Japan) and N(2)O gas-barrier type endotracheal tube cuffs (Profile Soft-Seal Cuff [PSSC]; Sims Portex, Kent, UK) was measured during 67% N(2)O anesthesia (n = 8 in each), during which the cuffs were repeatedly deflated every 30 min (Trachelon) or 60 min (PSSC) for the first 3 or 4 h. After aspirating the cuffs for 3 h, the cuff pressure exceeded 22 mm Hg in more than half of the patients in both groups.

Rapid deflation of the bronchial cuff of the double-lumen tube after decreasing the concentration of inspired nitrous oxide.

Unlabelled: Deflationary phenomena of the endotracheal tube cuff may occur after inspired nitrous oxide (N(2)O) concentrations are reduced, but deflationary phenomena of the double-lumen tube (DLT) cuff have not been investigated. In this study, tracheal and bronchial cuffs of left-sided Mallinckrodt (Athlone, Ireland) DLTs were inflated with air, 40% N(2)O, or 67% N(2)O (Air, N40, or N67 groups, respectively) in 24 patients undergoing thoracic surgery; 40 min later, O(2) was substituted for N(2)O in some of the patients in the N40 group (N40-c group). Intracuff gas volumes, N(2)O concentrations, and cuff compliance were also measured.