Pulmonary vein isolation by radiosurgery: implications for non-invasive treatment of atrial fibrillation.

Aims: Electrical isolation of the pulmonary veins (PVs) has been established in clinical routine as a curative treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF). While catheter ablation carries procedural risks, radiosurgery might be able to non-invasively induce lesions at the PV ostia to block veno-atrial electrical conduction. This porcine feasibility and dose escalation study determined the effect of radiosurgery on electrophysiologic properties of the left atrial-PV junction.

Dose-escalation study for cardiac radiosurgery in a porcine model.

Purpose: To perform a proof-of-principle dose-escalation study to radiosurgically induce scarring in cardiac muscle tissue to block veno-atrial electrical connections at the pulmonary vein antrum, similar to catheter ablation.

Methods And Materials: Nine mini-pigs underwent pretreatment magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation of heart function and electrophysiology assessment by catheter measurements in the right superior pulmonary vein (RSPV). Immediately after examination, radiosurgery with randomized single-fraction doses of 0 and 17.

Effect of PEEP on regional ventilation during laparoscopic surgery monitored by electrical impedance tomography.

Background: Anesthesia per se and pneumoperitoneum during laparoscopic surgery lead to atelectasis and impairment of oxygenation. We hypothesized that a ventilation with positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) during general anesthesia and laparoscopic surgery leads to a more homogeneous ventilation distribution as determined by electrical impedance tomography (EIT). Furthermore, we supposed that PEEP ventilation in lung-healthy patients would improve the parameters of oxygenation and respiratory compliance.

Propofol in bronchoalveolar lavage during anaesthesia.

Background: The lung protecting effect of propofol requires methods to measure the propofol concentration of the epithelial line fluid covering the alveolar surface. We hypothesized that (1) propofol can be determined in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. (2) Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) ventilation may have an effect on propofol concentration in BAL (cpB).

Time course of ethanol and propofol exhalation after bolus injection using ion molecule reaction-mass spectrometry.

The transit of ethanol from blood to breath gas is well characterised. It is used for intraoperative monitoring and in forensic investigations. A further substance, which can be measured in breath gas, is the phenol propofol.