Parturients with vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome are at particular risk of hemorrhage, and there is little evidence to guide prevention or management of hemorrhage in these patients. We present the case of a patient with vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome who had a cesarean delivery complicated by an intraoperative hemorrhage. Administration of desmopressin and tranexamic acid appeared to be of marked benefit in achieving hemostasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare services worldwide, with a consequent impact on the delivery of medical education and training in all acute care specialties. Anaesthesia training has been challenged by a combination of reduced elective theatre activity, redeployment of trainees to critical care units, and changes in standard anaesthetic practices.
Methods: The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of COVID-19 on specialist anaesthesia training at a tertiary level teaching hospital in Ireland via a retrospective analysis of data captured by electronic anaesthesia records.
Background: Rigid bronchoscopy may be used to relieve acute airway obstruction following induction of anaesthesia and is a recommended option for management of the difficult airway. The ability of anaesthetists to perform rigid bronchoscopy has not been reported. We sought to explore the acquisition of procedural skill in rigid bronchoscopy by anaesthesiologists in a manikin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPain is regulated endogenously through both opioid and non-opioid mechanisms. We hypothesized that two novel pain modulation tasks, one drawing on context/expectations and one using voluntary reappraisal, would show differing levels of opioid dependence. Specifically, we expected that naloxone would block context-related analgesia, whereas mental imagery-based pain reappraisal would be opioid-independent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKetamine is a N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) antagonist that has been associated with temporary clinical improvement in patients with depression. Studies using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) have shown that major depression is associated with decreased levels of glutamate and glutamine (Glx) in the anterior cingulate cortex, which normalize with clinical recovery. The present study aimed to test whether a ketamine infusion would increase cortical Glx levels in healthy volunteers.
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