Diaphragmatic pacing stimulation in spinal cord injury: anesthetic and perioperative management.

Objective: The standard therapy for patients with high-level spinal cord injury is long-term mechanical ventilation through a tracheostomy. However, in some cases, this approach results in death or disability. The aim of this study is to highlight the anesthetics and perioperative aspects of patients undergoing insertion of a diaphragmatic pacemaker.

Comparison of histologic spinal cord and neurologic changes in guinea pigs after subarachnoid block with large volumes of racemic bupivacaine, 50% enantiomeric excess bupivacaine (S75-R25), and levobupivacaine.

Background And Objectives: Levobupivacaine has less central nervous system side effects than racemic bupivacaine, but its anesthetic effect is not as intense. The objective of this experimental study was to compare the adverse effects of large volumes of bupivacaine, S75-R25 bupivacaine, and levobupivacaine injected in the subarachnoid space of guinea pigs.

Methods: Forty guinea pigs were divided in four groups.

[Peculiarities of post-cardiac surgery care in elderly patients.].

Background And Objectives: Elderly patients have their own physiologic characteristics, and sometimes may have organic deficits or severe diseases, which by themselves may complicate the postoperative period. This article is aimed at reviewing post-cardiac surgery procedures in the elderly, describing their most frequent problems.

Contents: Elderly patients intraoperative approaches should be decided taking into account lower postoperative morbidity.

Incidence of cardiac surgery in octogenarian patients: retrospective study.

Background And Objectives: Increased life expectancy makes increasingly older patients to be submitted to cardiac surgeries. This study aimed at evaluating the incidence of octogenarian patients submitted to cardiac surgeries in the Heart Institute, Hospital das Clínicas, FMUSP, in the last 16 years.

Methods: The number of myocardial revascularization (MR) and valvar surgeries (VS) was analyzed for the period 1986 to 2001 and, within each group, the number of surgeries in octogenarian patients.