A comparative study of the antiemetic efficacy of dexamethasone, ondansetron, and metoclopramide in patients undergoing gynecological surgery.

Background: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) are some of the most-common and undesirable adverse effects after surgery performed under general anesthesia. We investigated the prophylactic value of dexamethasone as an alternate to ondansetron or metoclopramide to prevent PONV after gynecologic surgery.

Material/methods: One hundred sixty ASA I-II patients scheduled for elective gynecologic surgery were enrolled.

Postoperative effects of low-dose intrathecal morphine in coronary artery bypass surgery.

Background: Intrathecal morphine has been used in hopes of providing long-lasting postoperative analgesia in patients after cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of 7 micro/kg intrathecal morphine administration in coronary bypass surgery in the postoperative period.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, randomized, blinded, and controlled study.

Effects of levosimendan on myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury.

Background And Objective: Levosimendan has a cardioprotective action by inducing coronary vasodilatation and preconditioning by opening KATP channels. The aim of this study was to determine whether levosimendan enhances myocardial damage during hypothermic ischaemia and reperfusion in isolated rat hearts.

Methods: Twenty-one male Wistar rats were divided into three groups.

Could adding magnesium as adjuvant to ropivacaine in caudal anaesthesia improve postoperative pain control?

Recently, most studies reported magnesium as a N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist and its analgesic and perioperative anaesthetic effects have been discussed with central desensitization pathway. We investigated the effects of caudal ropivacaine plus magnesium and compared with ropivacaine alone on postoperative analgesia requirements. After hospital ethic committee's consent, 60 patients (ASA I-II, 2-10 years old) who had lower abdominal or penoscrotal surgery were enrolled in the study.

The comparison of the efficacy of scoring systems in organophosphate poisoning.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II and Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II scoring systems for organophosphate poisoning (OPP) in an intensive care unit (ICU). The following data were collected on all consecutive patients who were admitted to the ICU between June 1999 and December 2004. Demographic data, GCS, APACHE II and SAPS II scoring systems were recorded.

Liver and kidney toxicity in chronic use of opioids: an experimental long term treatment model.

In this study, histopathological and biochemical changes due to chronic usage of morphine or tramadol in liver and kidney were assessed in rats. Thirty male Wistar rats (180-220 g) were included and divided into three groups. Normal saline (1 ml) was given intraperitoneally as placebo in the control group (n = 10).

The effect of preventive use of alanyl-glutamine on diaphragm muscle function in cecal ligation and puncture-induced sepsis model.

Background: Low muscle glutamine levels during sepsis are associated with reduced protein synthesis and elevated protein breakdown, in particular myofibrillar protein breakdown. Thus, in a cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis model in the rat, we hypothesized that glutamine pretreatment would protect the diaphragm muscle function.

Methods: Eighty-four male Wistar rats weighing between 180 g and 200 g received standard amino acid solution 1.

Opioid neurotoxicity: comparison of morphine and tramadol in an experimental rat model.

Histopathologic changes in rat brain due to chronic use of morphine and/or tramadol in progressively increased doses were investigated in this study. Thirty male Wistar rats (180-220 g) were included and divided into three groups. Normal saline (1 ml/kg) was given intraperitoneally as placebo in the control group (n = 10).

N-acetylcysteine inhibits peroxynitrite-mediated damage in oleic acid-induced lung injury.

Since oleic acid (OA) induces morphologic and cellular changes similar to those observed in human acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome, it has become a widely used model to investigate the effects of several agents on pathogenesis of lung injury. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has been documented in many lung injury models. In this study, we evaluated the role of NAC in an OA-induced lung injury model by measuring myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) and 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) levels in lung tissue.

Periprostatic lidocaine infiltration and/or synthetic opioid (meperidine or tramadol) administration have no analgesic benefit during prostate biopsy. A prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study comparing different methods.

Objectives: To examine in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study the analgesic effect of periprostatic nerve block and/or intravenous synthetic opioid administration during a 12-core prostate biopsy.

Patients And Methods: Patients were prospectively randomized to receive unilateral periprostatic lidocaine administration and/or intravenous synthetic opioid (meperidine or tramadol) administration. Placebo groups received sterile normal saline.

N-acetylcysteine for preventing pump-induced oxidoinflammatory response during cardiopulmonary bypass.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of N-acetylcysteine on preventing pump-induced oxidoinflammatory response during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

Methods: Forty patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) were randomly divided into a study group (n = 20), given 50 mg kg(-1) N-acetylcysteine intravenously for 3 days, and a control group (n = 20) given saline. Serum samples were collected for measurement of myeloperoxidase (MPO), malondialdehyde (MDA), interleukin-6, Alpha1-acid glycoprotein (AAGP), and C-reactive protein (CRP) during surgery and postoperatively.

Efficacy of tramadol versus meperidine for pain relief and safe recovery after adenotonsillectomy.

Background And Objective: Adequate relief of pain after tonsillectomy is a common problem. We compared meperidine and tramadol when given at induction of anaesthesia with respect to their effects on postoperative pain relief and emergence characteristics after adenotonsillectomy in children.

Methods: Fifty children aged 4-7 yr undergoing tonsillectomy were randomly assigned to receive either tramadol 1 mg kg(-1) (n = 25) or meperidine 1 mg kg(-1) (n = 25) before commencement of the surgical procedure.

Effect of ornithine on the ileal histology, nitric oxide production and lipid peroxidation in LPS-induced endotoxemia.

Effect of ornithine which is known to inhibit L-arginine uptake via cationic amino acid transport system has been tested, and compared to aminoguanidine, an iNOS inhibitor in lypopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemia in rats. Serum nitrite/nitrate and malondialdehyde (MDA) level have been measured, and ileal histology has also been examined. Endotoxin increased serum nitrite/nitrate and MDA levels from 15.

Ischemic preconditioning reduces intestinal epithelial apoptosis in rats.

Recent experimental studies have described protective effect of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) on ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury of the intestine. We hypothesize that to reach a new point of view on the effect of IPC in intestinal barrier function, the relationship between I/R-induced mucosal injury and apoptosis must first be clarified. The present study was undertaken to investigate the role of IPC on intestinal apoptosis and probable contributions of bcl-2 expression to this process.

The protective effect of N-acetylcysteine on apoptotic lung injury in cecal ligation and puncture-induced sepsis model.

Apoptotic loss of parenchymal cells may lead to organ dysfunctions in critically ill patients with septic states. As an antioxidant, the protective effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) are documented in many experimental and clinical studies. In this experimental study, we investigated the role of chronically used NAC in septic lung injury on a cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model.

Intestinal ischemic preconditioning protects the intestine and reduces bacterial translocation.

Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) was first demonstrated in the heart, but this protective effect has been also recently described in the intestine. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of intestinal ischemic preconditioning on the morphology of intestine and bacterial translocation. Twenty-four male Wistar rats weighting 250 to 300 g were randomized into three groups.

Selenium pretreatment prevents bacterial translocation in rat intestinal ischemia/reperfusion model.

Protective role of selenium against free radical damage was first demonstrated in the heart and this effect was further questioned in other systems. In the present study, the effects of exogenously administered selenium on intestinal fine morphology, lipid peroxidation, and bacterial translocation (BT) in experimental intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) model were examined. Thirty-two male Wistar rats weighing 250-300 g were randomized into four groups.

The role of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase inhibition in preventing endotoxemia-induced intestinal epithelial apoptosis.

In this lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemia model, the effects of 3-aminobenzamide (3-AB), a poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase (PARS) inhibitor, on ileal apoptosis were evaluated by light microscopy and M30 cell death staining. Moreover, the relationship between Bcl-2, iNOS expression, and serum nitrate (NO(3)(-)) levels were investigated. Thirty-two male Wistar rats, weighing 180-220g were randomly divided into four groups.

Poly(Adp-ribose) synthetase inhibition prevents lipopolysaccharide-induced peroxynitrite mediated damage in diaphragm.

Although the precise mechanism by which sepsis causes impairment of respiratory muscle contractility has not been fully elucidated, oxygen-derived free radicals are thought to play an important role. In our experimental study, the effects of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase (PARS) inhibition on the diaphragmatic Ca(2+)-ATPase, malondialdehyde (MDA), and 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) levels and additionally histopathology of the diaphragm in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemia are investigated.Thirty-two male Wistar rats, weighing between 180-200 g were randomly divided into four groups.

Anti-apoptotic effect of succinyl gelatine in a liver ischaemia-reperfusion injury model (Bcl-2, Bax, Caspase 3)?

Apoptosis of tissues may contribute to ischaemia-reperfusion injury. The aim of the present study was to determine whether administration of a colloid solution would prevent apoptosis after liver ischaemia-reperfusion. New Zealand rabbits, weighing 1.

Inhibition of bacterial growth by lignocaine in propofol emulsion.

Contamination of propofol, in an emulsion formulation, has been associated with infective complications. Local anaesthetics,some of which are known to have antibacterial properties, are frequently added to the solution to reduce pain on injection. We examined the growth rates of E.