Malignant Hyperthermia during Thoracoscopic Pulmorrhaphy in a 70-Year-Old Man.

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a rare but potentially fatal complication that may develop under general anesthesia (GA) and is rarely reported in elderly patients. We encountered a case of mild-onset MH in a 70-year-old patient who was receiving an elective thoracoscopic pulmorrhaphy and had a history of several GA procedures. Anesthesia was induced with propofol, fentanyl, and rocuronium and maintained with sevoflurane and remifentanil.

Assessment of psychological tension after premedication by measurement of salivary chromogranin A.

Study Objective: Although some sedatives or analgesics are commonly used for premedication to reduce psychological tension before surgery or anesthesia, it remains unclear which drug is more suitable. Because salivary chromogranin A is a reliable index for estimating psychological tension, this variable was measured during the perioperative period after premedication.

Design: Prospective, randomized control study.

Combined spinal-propofol anesthesia with noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation.

Twenty-three adult patients undergoing repair of inguinal hernia under spinal anesthesia received propofol infusion for sedation with the assist of noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NPPV). Circulatory and respiratory parameters, such as percutaneous oxygen saturation, transcutaneous carbon dioxide tension, respiratory rate, tidal volume, blood pressure, and heart rate, were maintained within physiological ranges during the anesthesia. There were no adverse effects.

Mechanism of injection pain with long and long-medium chain triglyceride emulsive propofol.

Purpose: t has been suggested that long-medium chain triglyceride (LCT/MCT) emulsive propofol causes less injection pain than long chain triglyceride (LCT) emulsive propofol because of the decreased propofol concentration in the aqueous phase. Alternatively, LCT propofol generates bradykinin causing the injection pain and activates complement, but these effects when using LCT/MCT propofol have not been examined. To identify the mechanism for reduced pain with LCT/MCT propofol, injection pain, bradykinin generation and complement activation with use of both propofol products were compared.

Prestorage leukocyte reduction prevents the formation of microaggregates that occlude artificial capillary vessels.

Purpose: The passage behavior of stored blood through an artificial microchannel system, as a model of capillary vessels, was examined.

Materials And Methods: Using blood obtained from a total of 17 healthy volunteers, untreated and prestorage leukocyte reduced blood, or untreated and prestorage microfiltered (35 microm-pore size) blood were stored, and then the passage behavior through the microchannels was evaluated. Also, using blood from 16 patients stored for about 2 weeks, the effect of a leukocyte reduction filter, microfilter or mesh filter (175-210 microm-pore size) on the passage through the microchannels was examined.

Changes in femoral vein blood flow velocity by intermittent pneumatic compression: calf compression device versus plantar-calf sequential compression device.

Intermittent pneumatic compression has become widely used to prevent deep venous thrombosis potentially causing fatal pulmonary embolism. Although uniform compression has been commonly applied, a new method of sequential compression from plantar to calf has recently been developed. In this report, changes in maximum blood flow velocity in the femoral vein were compared with compression of only the calf uniformly and compression from plantar to calf sequentially in 10 healthy adult volunteers.

Combined local-propofol anesthesia with noninvasive positive pressure ventilation in a vasectomy patient with sleep apnea syndrome.

A vasectomy patient with sleep apnea syndrome, who requested general anesthesia and day surgery, was given sole propofol infusion with airway maintenance by noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation. Surgery was performed with additional local anesthesia. Because this patient was treated successfully, this anesthetic technique may also be applicable to other normal patients.

A survey of combined epidural-propofol anesthesia with noninvasive positive pressure ventilation as a minimally invasive anesthetic protocol.

Background: Combined epidural-propofol anesthesia with use of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) via the nose has been used routinely in our operating theaters. The purpose of this report was to present a survey of this anesthesia.

Material/methods: 265 adult patients undergoing lower extremity or lower abdominal gynecological surgery during 1999 were examined.

Skin rubdown with a dry towel activates natural killer cells in bedridden old patients.

Background: Skin rubdown using a dry towel to scrub the whole body is a traditional procedure. Because massage therapy is effective in improving cellular immunity, skin rubdown may also have the similar effects.

Material/methods: Sixteen bedridden old patients, who had suffered a cerebral stroke, were studied.

Inspired superoxide anions attenuate blood lactate concentrations in postoperative patients.

Objective: Low concentrations of superoxide (O(2)(-)) constitute a portion of atmosphere negative ions in the form of O(2)-(H(2)O)(n), which has been reported to have a stimulatory effect on superoxide dismutase activity. If superoxide dismutase is activated by inspired negative ions containing O(2)(-), aerobic metabolism could be improved. To test this hypothesis, we examined blood lactate concentrations in postoperative patients with or without inhalation of air from a home humidifier that generates O(2)-(H(2)O)(n).

Colonic adenocarcinoma metastatic to the thyroid: report of a case.

We report herein the case of a 67-year-old man who was admitted to our hospital with a 3-month history of hoarseness, a cervical mass, and weak muscles of the extremities 6 years after undergoing a right colectomy for carcinoma. Physical and imaging examinations disclosed a nodule in the thyroid with swollen cervical lymph nodes, multiple pulmonary lesions with pleural effusion, and a cerebral mass. Fine-needle aspiration cytology of the thyroid nodule and brush cytology of the lung mass revealed adenocarcinoma, which was consistent with a diagnosis of metastases from the primary colon adenocarcinoma to the thyroid, brain, and lung.

[The effect of acupuncture or electro-acupuncture on circulatory parameters].

We examined the effect of acupuncture or electro-acupuncture on circulatory parameters by use of a non-invasive procedure in 10 healthy male adult volunteers. Circulatory parameters measured were systolic blood pressure, pulse rate, total peripheral resistance and cardiac output. Acupuncture and electro-acupuncture significantly increased total peripheral resistance, and electro-acupuncture increased systolic blood pressure further.

Application of nasal bi-level positive airway pressure to respiratory support during combined epidural-propofol anesthesia.

Study Objective: To examine whether nasal bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) can be used as an airway during combined epidural-propofol anesthesia.

Design: Prospective, consecutive case series study.

Setting: Operating room at a general hospital.

Malignancy: Subsequential Alterations of Telomeric DNA Length Correlate with Cytogenetic Response in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Treated with Interferon alpha.

Telomeres consist of simple tandem hexametric (TTAGGG) repeats and progressively shorten with cell replication. To determine a relationship between telomeric erosion and response to treatment, we measured telomere length following treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in the chronic phase. We used 70 samples of bone marrow mononuclear cells obtained from 26 patients with CML in the chronic phase subsequently.

Cervical sympathectomy affects gonadotropin-releasing hormone, luteinizing hormone and testosterone in male rats.

To examine the effects of bilateral cervical sympathectomy on the secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone (TS), 24 male rats were divided into four groups: control (C), light (L), sympathectomy (S), and light-sympathectomy (LS) groups. The C and S groups were kept under a 12-h light-dark cycle and the L and LS groups were kept under continuous light for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, blood was collected and the rats were perfused with a fixative.