Combined use of an epidural cooling catheter and systemic moderate hypothermia enhances spinal cord protection against ischemic injury in rabbits.

Background: Epidural placement of a cooling catheter can protect against ischemic spinal cord injury. With the use of rabbits, we investigated whether this epidural cooling technique, when combined with systemic moderate hypothermia, can protect the spinal cord against ischemic metabolic stress.

Methods: New Zealand white rabbits (n = 28) were assigned to 1 of 4 different groups.

Epidural cooling minimizes spinal cord injury after aortic cross-clamping through induction of nitric oxide synthase.

Background: By using a U-shaped lumen catheter, the authors examined the effects of epidural cooling on spinal cord injury after aortic cross-clamping (ACC), with a focus on changes of spinal cord blood flow and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase.

Methods: Sixteen pigs were randomized into two groups: Control group (n = 8) or Cooling group (n = 8). In the latter, epidural cooling started at 30 min (baseline) before 45 min of ACC and persisted for the next 30 min of reperfusion period.

Use of an epidural cooling catheter with a closed countercurrent lumen to protect against ischemic spinal cord injury in pigs.

Objective: We developed an epidural cooling catheter containing cold saline solution circulating in an isolated lumen. After placement by a minimally invasive approach, we evaluated protection effect against ischemic spinal cord injury in pigs.

Methods: Fourteen pigs underwent thoracic aortic double clamping for 45 minutes under systemic mild hypothermia (36 degrees C).

An epidural cooling catheter protects the spinal cord against ischemic injury in pigs.

Background: Using swine, we investigated whether epidural placement of a cooling catheter rather than infusing iced saline solution could protect the spinal cord from ischemia during aortic surgery.

Methods: We divided 14 domestic pigs into two groups of 7 each. Each underwent epidural catheter placement preceding 30 minutes of aortic cross-clamping distal to the origin of the left subclavian artery.

Cardioscopic guidance of linear lesion creation for radiofrequency ablation.

Background: The broad use of catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation is limited by the difficulty inherent in creating transmural linear lesions under fluoroscopy. Therefore, we evaluated cardioscopy as a more accurate method of guiding the catheter for the placement of linear lesions.

Methods: Nineteen swine underwent endocardial ablation to create linear conduction block lesions in the right atrium under cardioscopy (group I, n = 13) or fluoroscopy (group II, n = 6).