Single dose of acetylsalicylic acid prevents thromboxane release after tourniquet ischemia.

Background: Ischemia, such as that caused by a tourniquet, stimulates thromboxane (Tx) A(2) synthesis. TxA(2) might sensitize the operated limb to various complications, such as compartment syndrome and thromboembolic events.

Methods: We studied the effect of pretreatment with a single dose of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) (25, 100, and 500 mg) given 3 hours before surgery on the formation of TxB(2), a stable metabolite of TxA(2), after tourniquet deflation in 32 knee or ankle surgery patients.

Biochemical indicators of myocardial ischaemia during coronary artery bypass grafting.

Metabolic indicators of myocardial ischaemia were measured in coronary sinus blood in six patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Five arterial and coronary sinus blood samples were taken in each case--one before cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), and three during and one after CPB. Moderate hypothermia with topical cardiac cooling and cold cardioplegia were used.

Plasma thromboxane B2 levels and thromboxane B2 production by platelets are increased in patients during spinal and epidural anesthesia.

Concentrations of thromboxane (Tx) B2 in plasma and its production by platelets were measured in 20 spinal and 10 epidural anesthesia patients scheduled for small operations in the lower extremities. The main metabolite of prostacyclin, 6-keto-PGF1 alpha and prostaglandin (PG) E2 in plasma were also determined. Plasma TxB2 and TxB2 production by platelets increased during both spinal and epidural anesthesia.

Effects of halothane and enflurane on prostanoid concentrations in operation patients.

Prostanoid formation may be stimulated by different events associated with anaesthesia and operation, such as positive pressure ventilation and tissue trauma. We investigated the effects of halothane and enflurane on plasma and serum prostanoid concentrations in 19 patients scheduled for minor operations. In 9 abdominal surgery patients, thromboxane B2 concentrations were followed up to the fifth postoperative day.

Predicting the prognosis with trauma indices in surgical patients treated in the intensive care unit.

Trauma indices, acute trauma, CHOP (Creatinine, Haematocrit, Osmolality, Pressure), respiratory and renal indices, based on routinely used biochemical and physiological data, are mathematical quantities which have been developed for predicting the outcome of critically ill patients. We evaluated the use of these indices in 212 surgical intensive care patients. By fitting the index value, the age and sex of the patient to a logistic model, the probability of death (PD) was obtained.