A Pilot Study of Urine Oxytocin as an Objective Biomarker for Chronic Pain.

Measuring pain objectively or quantitatively is difficult. Since urine oxytocin (OXT) concentration has been reported to be potentially associated with chronic pain. We conducted a pilot study to evaluate the relationship between changes in numerical rating scale (NRS) score following nerve block and urine OXT concentration in patients with chronic pain.

06CC2 Enhanced the Expression of Intestinal Uric Acid Excretion Transporter in Mice.

ATP-binding cassette transporter subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2) is responsible for the excretion of foreign substances, such as uric acid (UA) and indoxyl sulfate (IS), from the body. Given the importance of increased ABCG2 expression in UA excretion, we investigated the enhancement of intestinal ABCG2 expression using 06CC2 (LP06CC2). Mice were reared on a potassium oxonate-induced high-purine model at doses of 0.

Effect of Recipient Age on Perioperative Complications after Pediatric Liver Transplantation: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.

It has not been clear how recipient age affects the incidence of serious complications after pediatric living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). We investigated the records of 42 pediatric patients receiving LDLT, dividing our sample into two groups: the infant group (aged < 1 year) and the non-infant group (aged ≥ 1 year and ≤15 years). The primary outcome was postoperative complications assessed using the Clavien-Dindo classification.

Impact of Albumin Infusion Compared With Crystalloid Infusion on Organ Function After Liver Transplantation in Adult Patients.

Objectives: To compare the clinical benefit of using albumin versus crystalloids for volume resuscitation on organ function in adult patients after liver transplantation.

Design: A retrospective cohort study SETTING: Data from a tertiary care facility electronic medical records on liver transplantation patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Patients: Adults admitted to the ICU after liver transplantation.

Epidural versus patient-controlled intravenous analgesia on pain relief and recovery after laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer: randomized clinical trial.

Background: Epidural analgesia (EDA) is a main modality for postoperative pain relief in major open abdominal surgery within the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery protocol. However, it remains unclear whether EDA is an imperative modality in laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG). This study examined non-inferiority of patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) to EDA in terms of postoperative pain and recovery in patients who underwent LG.

06CC2 upregulates intestinal ZO-1 protein and bile acid metabolism in Balb/c mice fed high-fat diet.

The effects of 06CC2 (LP06CC2), which was isolated from a Mongolian dairy product, on lipid metabolism and intestinal tight junction-related proteins in Balb/c mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) were evaluated. The mice were fed the HFD for eight weeks, and the plasma and hepatic lipid parameters, as well as the intestinal tight junction-related factors, were evaluated. LP06CC2 slightly reduced the adipose tissue mass.

Intraoperative Hypothermia Is Not Associated with Surgical Site Infections after Total Hip or Knee Arthroplasty.

Maintaining perioperative normothermia decreases the post-surgery surgical site infection (SSI) rate. We investigated whether SSI is associated with intraoperative hypothermia in total hip (THA) and total knee (TKA) arthroplasties by retrospectively analyzing 297 THA and TKA cases. The patients' intraoperative core body temperature (BT) was measured by bladder catheter or forehead sensor.

Association between the Remifentanil Dose during Anesthesia and Postoperative pain.

Remifentanil is an ultra-short-acting opioid that sometimes causes opioid-induced hyperalgesia, which has led to controversy regarding the association between intraoperative remifentanil administration and postoperative pain. This study aimed to assess the effects of the intraoperative remifentanil dose on postoperative pain. Patients undergoing esophageal, gastric/hepatobiliary, or intestinal/colon surgery and using postoperative patient-controlled epidural analgesia were analyzed.

Transversus Abdominis Plane Block Reduced Early Postoperative Pain after Robot-assisted Prostatectomy: a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Analgesic effect of transversus abdominis plane block (TAP block) in lower major abdominal laparoscopic surgery with about 5 cm of maximum surgical scar has been controversial. We hypothesized that TAP block has benefits, so the analgesic effect of TAP block after robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) was evaluated. One hundred patients were enrolled in this prospective, double-blinded, randomized study.

Pediatric Living Donor Liver Transplantation for Congenital Absence of the Portal Vein With Pulmonary Hypertension: A Case Report.

Few reports of liver transplantation exist in patients with congenital absence of the portal vein and pulmonary hypertension. Living donor liver transplantation is usually performed before exacerbation of pulmonary hypertension. A 7-year-old girl (height: 131.

Postoperative Course of Serum Albumin Levels and Organ Dysfunction After Liver Transplantation.

Background And Aims: Postoperative hypoalbuminemia, especially following liver transplantation, can lead to adverse multisystem effects and even death. We investigated the relationship between postoperative albumin levels and organ failure (assessed using Sequential Organ Failure Assessment [SOFA] scores).

Methods: Sixty liver transplant recipients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) from 2012 to 2015 were retrospectively divided into 2 groups: lower albumin (LA) (n=28) and higher albumin (HA) (n=32), using whether serum albumin level fell below 3.

Radio contrast imaging for continuous epidural infusion in humans: a report of three cases.

There are no reports of human research on continuous epidural contrast injection, and there are no definite methods to investigate the spread of drugs injected continuously into the epidural space. We investigated the feasibility of continuous epidural contrast injection in patients undergoing computed tomography (CT)-guided therapy. In this study, a combination of a contrast agent mixed with 0.

Crystallographic study of dioxygen chemistry in a copper-containing nitrite reductase from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans.

Copper-containing nitrite reductases (CuNIRs) are multifunctional enzymes that catalyse the one-electron reduction of nitrite (NO) to nitric oxide (NO) and the two-electron reduction of dioxygen (O) to hydrogen peroxide (HO). In contrast to the mechanism of nitrite reduction, that of dioxygen reduction is poorly understood. Here, results from anaerobic synchrotron-radiation crystallography (SRX) and aerobic in-house radiation crystallography (iHRX) with a CuNIR from the thermophile Geobacillus thermodenitrificans (GtNIR) support the hypothesis that the dioxygen present in an aerobically manipulated crystal can bind to the catalytic type 2 copper (T2Cu) site of GtNIR during SRX experiments.

A subclinical high tricuspid regurgitation pressure gradient independent of the mean pulmonary artery pressure is a risk factor for the survival after living donor liver transplantation.

Background: Portopulmonary hypertension (POPH) is characterized by pulmonary vasoconstriction, while hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is characterized by vasodilation. Definite POPH is a risk factor for the survival after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), as the congestive pressure affects the grafted liver, while subclinical pulmonary hypertension (PH) has been acknowledged as a non-risk factor for deceased donor OLT. Given that PH measurement requires cardiac catheterization, the tricuspid regurgitation pressure gradient (TRPG) measured by echocardiography is used to screen for PH and congestive pressure to the liver.

Randomized Controlled Trial of Epidural versus Patient-controlled Intravenous Analgesia for Postoperative Pain Control after Laparoscopic Gastrectomy.

Although epidural analgesia (EDA) is considered standard postoperative analgesia for open gastrectomy, it has been unclear whether EDA has benefits in laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) because postoperative pain after a laparoscopic procedure is significantly reduced. We are conducting a two-arm, single-center, prospective randomized non-inferiority trial to evaluate the postoperative pain relief of patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) compared to EDA. A total of 132 patients undergoing LG will be randomized to EDA and PCIA groups (n=64 each) for postoperative pain control.

Effect of an enhanced recovery after surgery protocol in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy: A randomized controlled trial.

Background & Aims: Evidence of the advantages of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols following pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is limited. The aim of this study was to examine the efficiency of ERAS protocols in patients following PD.

Methods: Between June 2014 and October 2016, patients undergoing PD were randomly assigned to receive ERAS protocols or standard care.

Observational Study to Assess and Predict Serious Adverse Events after Major Surgery.

Many patients suffer from postoperative serious adverse events (SAEs). Here we sought to determine the incidence of SAEs, assess the accuracy of currently used scoring systems in predicting postoperative SAEs, and determine whether a combination of scoring systems would better predict postoperative SAEs. We prospectively evaluated patients who underwent major surgery.

Augmentation of T helper type 1 immune response through intestinal immunity in murine cutaneous herpes simplex virus type 1 infection by probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum strain 06CC2.

We previously found that Lactobacillus plantarum strain 06CC2 showed probiotic potential, and its oral administration effectively induced Th1 cytokine production and activated the Th1 immune response associated with intestinal immunity in mice. In this study, to evaluate its potential as a versatile oral adjuvant for treatment of viral infection, we assessed the immunomodulatory activity of 06CC2 on murine cutaneous herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection, in which a major immune defense system is a delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction based on activation of the Th1 immune response, in relation to its oral efficacy for alleviation of herpetic symptoms. In the HSV-1 infection model, oral administration of 06CC2 (20mg/mouse) twice daily for seven days starting two days before infection was significantly effective in delaying the development of skin lesions in the early phase of infection and reducing virus yields in the brain on day 4 after infection.

Intraoperative Oxygen Consumption During Liver Transplantation.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in oxygen consumption during liver transplantation and to examine the relationship between intraoperatively elevated systemic oxygen consumption and postoperative liver function.

Methods: This study was performed in 33 adult patients undergoing liver transplantation between September 2011 and March 2014. We measured intraoperative oxygen consumption through the use of indirect calorimetry, preoperative and intraoperative data, liver function tests, and postoperative complications and outcomes.

Induction of hepatic Bach1 mRNA expression by carbon tetrachloride-induced acute liver injury in rats.

Hepatic oxidative stress is a major contributor to the pathogenesis of several acute liver diseases. Diagnostic markers of hepatic oxidative stress may facilitate early detection and intervention. Bach1 is an oxidative stress-responsive transcription factor that represses heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), the rate-limiting enzyme in the catabolism of heme, a potent pro-oxidant.

Complications related to invasive hemodynamic monitors during adult liver transplantation.

The rate of complications directly related to invasive monitors during liver transplantation (LT) was reviewed in 1206 consecutive adult LTs performed over 8.6 yr (1/1/2004-7/31/2012). The designated anesthesiologists placed intra-operative monitors, including two arterial catheters (via the radial and the right femoral arteries), central venous catheters (a 9 Fr.

Cardiac arrest during adult liver transplantation: a single institution's experience with 1238 deceased donor transplants.

Liver transplantation (LT) is one of the highest risk noncardiac surgeries. We reviewed the incidence, etiologies, and outcomes of intraoperative cardiac arrest (ICA) during LT. Adult cadaveric LT recipients from January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2009 were reviewed.

Central venous thrombosis and perioperative vascular access in adult intestinal transplantation.

Background: Venous access is crucial in intestinal transplantation, but a thrombosed venous system may prevent the use of central veins of the upper body. The incidence of venous thrombosis and the necessity to perform alternative vascular access (AVA) in intestinal transplant recipients have not been fully investigated.

Methods: Records of adult patients who underwent intestinal transplantation between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2009, were reviewed.