Deep neuromuscular blockade during spinal surgery reduces intra-operative blood loss: A randomised clinical trial.

Background: Spinal surgery is usually performed in the prone position using a posterior approach. However, the prone position may cause venous engorgement in the back and thus increase surgical bleeding with interruption of surgery. The prone position also affects cardiac output since large vessels are compressed decreasing venous return to the heart.

Radiation safety: a focus on lead aprons and thyroid shields in interventional pain management.

C-arm fluoroscopy is useful equipment in interventional pain management because it helps to guide correct needle targeting for the accurate injection and drug delivery. However, due to increased use of C-arm fluoroscopy in various pain procedures, the risk of radiation exposure is a significant concern for pain physicians. The harmful biological effects of ionizing radiation on the human body are well known.

Preoperative FIBTEM Predicts Postoperative Hemorrhage in Total Knee Arthroplasty.

FIBTEM parameters might predict the amount of postoperative hemorrhage following total knee arthroplasty (TKA), because fibrin polymerization and fibrinolysis have a central role in postoperative hemorrhage following TKA. This study retrospectively evaluated 54 patients who had undergone unilateral primary TKA. Laboratory coagulation parameters, including FIBTEM, were recorded before anesthesia induction and after admission to the postanesthetic care unit.

Impact of remote ischaemic preconditioning on cerebral oxygenation during total knee arthroplasty.

: Ischaemic reperfusion injury (IRI) after tourniquet release during total knee arthroplasty (TKR) is related to postoperative cerebral complications. Remote ischaemic preconditioning (RIPC) is known to minimise IRI in previous studies. Thus, we evaluated the effect of RIPC on regional cerebral oxygenation after tourniquet release during TKR.

Assessment of thrombosis in right internal jugular vein after percutaneous superior vena cava catheter insertion during cardiovascular surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Objective: We evaluated the incidence of percutaneous superior vena cava catheter-related thrombosis and identified risk factors for developing the condition in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Methods: A total of 121 patients were evaluated. A percutaneous superior vena cava catheter was inserted into the right internal jugular vein during cardiovascular surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Effect of Mechanical Ventilation Mode Type on Intra- and Postoperative Blood Loss in Patients Undergoing Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The aim of study was to evaluate the effect of mechanical ventilation mode type, pressure-controlled ventilation (PCV), or volume-controlled ventilation (VCV) on intra- and postoperative surgical bleeding in patients undergoing posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) surgery.

Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, single-blinded, and parallel study that included 56 patients undergoing PLIF and who were mechanically ventilated using PCV or VCV. A permuted block randomization was used with a computer-generated list.

Postoperative Delirium in Elderly Patients Undergoing Hip Fracture Surgery in the Sugammadex Era: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Residual neuromuscular block (NMB) after general anesthesia has been associated with pulmonary dysfunction and hypoxia, which are both associated with postoperative delirium (POD). We evaluated the effects of sugammadex on POD in elderly patients who underwent hip fracture surgery.

Methods: Medical records of 174 consecutive patients who underwent hip fracture surgery with general anesthesia were reviewed retrospectively to compare the perioperative incidence of POD, pulmonary complications, time to extubation, incidence of hypoxia, and laboratory findings between patients treated with sugammadex and those treated with a conventional cholinesterase inhibitor.

The Relationship Between Plasma Inflammatory Cytokines and Labor Pain.

Background: Proinflammatory cytokines are increased in maternal blood at term pregnancy and are associated with cervical ripening and the initiation of labor. We hypothesize that maternal plasma cytokines also affect the sensitivity to labor pain.

Methods: By using a previously validated model describing labor pain, we used a deidentified database derived from healthy nulliparous parturients who delivered singleton pregnancies at term.

Corrigendum: Effect of muscle relaxation on the oxygenation of human skeletal muscle: a prospective in-vivo experiment using an isolated forearm technique.

[This corrects the article on p. 13 in vol. 68, PMID: 25664149.

Effect of muscle relaxation on the oxygenation of human skeletal muscle: a prospective in-vivo experiment using an isolated forearm technique.

Background: Total oxygen consumption has been found to be reduced under deep neuromuscular blockade due to a lower rate of metabolism of skeletal muscles. However, the magnitude of this effect in individual muscles has not been investigated. Thus the aim of this study was to compare the oxygenation of paralyzed versus non-paralyzed forearm muscle under tourniquet-provoked ischemia.

Maternal inflammatory markers and term labor performance.

Objective: We sought to examine the relationship between maternal markers of inflammation and labor performance.

Study Design: A nested cohort study was performed utilizing an established cohort of term nulliparous patients. Maternal blood was collected at the onset of regular, painful contractions in patients undergoing labor induction or at admission in patients with spontaneous labor.