Factors Associated With Failure of Spinal Anesthetic: An 8-Year Retrospective Analysis of Patients Undergoing Elective Hip and Knee Joint Arthroplasty.

The primary outcome of this 8-year retrospective review was the failure of spinal anesthetic (SA) in elective hip and knee joint arthroplasty surgery. Of 3542 SAs, a total of 135 failures were identified (3.8%).

Obstructive sleep apnea: effects of continuous positive airway pressure on cardiac remodeling as assessed by cardiac biomarkers, echocardiography, and cardiac MRI.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Although previous echocardiographic studies have demonstrated short-term improvement in cardiovascular remodeling in patients with OSA receiving continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, a long-term study incorporating cardiac biomarkers, echocardiography, and cardiac MRI (CMR) has not been performed to date.

Methods: A prospective study of 47 patients with OSA was performed between 2007 and 2010.

The role of three-dimensional echocardiography in the assessment of right ventricular dysfunction after a half marathon: comparison with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Although marathon running is associated with transient right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction as detected by two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography, quantitative assessment of the right ventricle is difficult because of its complex geometry. Little is known about the use of real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE) in the detection of cardiac dysfunction after a half marathon. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of RV dysfunction after the completion of a half marathon using cardiac biomarkers, RT3DE, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR).