[A case of upper airway obstruction associated with flexed cervical position after posterior occipito-cervical fusion--a retrospective radiographic analysis by the O-C2 angle].

A 71-year-old female developed upper airway obstruction due to flexed cervical position after posterior occipito-cervical fusion. After the operation, she was re-intubated with the air-Q intubating laryngeal airway. Revision surgery allowing the angle to return to the neutral position was performed to attenuate the overflexion of the cervical position.

Usefulness of olanzapine as an adjunct to opioid treatment and for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

Background: The use of opioids for pain management is often associated with nausea and vomiting. Although conventional antipsychotics are often used to counter emesis, they can be associated with extrapyramidal symptoms. However, chronic pain can induce sleep disturbance.

[Anesthesia for a patient with stiff-person syndrome].

Stiff-person syndrome is a rare disease characterized by muscle rigidity and painful spasms in the axial and limb muscles. The authors reported here a case of an axilally lymphadenectomy in a 46-year-old woman with stiff-person syndrome. With train of four ratio (TOFR) monitoring at the ulnar nerve, general anesthesia was induced and maintained with fentanyl, vecuronium and propofol with target controlled infusion.

Silencing of caspase-8 and caspase-3 by RNA interference prevents vascular endothelial cell injury in mice with endotoxic shock.

Objectives: Septic shock and sequential multiple organ failure remain the cause of death in septic patients. Vascular endothelial cell apoptosis may play a role in the pathogenesis of the septic syndrome. Caspase-8 is presumed to be the apex of the death receptor-mediated apoptosis pathway, whereas caspase-3 belongs to the "effector" protease in the apoptosis cascade.

[Efficacy of epidural analgesia in minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass surgery].

Minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass surgery (MIDCAB), coronary bypass grafting with small thoracotomy using no cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), became popular recently. To attenuate perioperative stress-response, we used epidural analgesia (EPI) with general anesthesia for MIDCAB operation. In this study, we compared retrospectively 11 cases of MIDCAB managed with EPI [ED (+)], and 14 cases of MIDCAB anesthetized without using EPI [ED (-)], concerning extubation time, ICU stay, hospital stay and perioperative complications.

Ketamine suppresses the production and release of endothelin 1 from cultured bovine endothelial cells.

Unlabelled: Endothelins play important roles in the regulation of vascular tone. We examined the effect of ketamine on the secretion of endothelin 1 (ET-1) and its precursor, "big" ET-1, from bovine carotid artery endothelial cells (BCAECs). After confluent BCAEC cultures were incubated for 24 h with various concentrations of ketamine, the antigen levels for both ET-1 and big ET-1 in the culture medium were determined by using sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

Differences in midazolam-induced breathing patterns in healthy volunteers.

Sex differences, and the influence of drug dosage and additional upper airway obstruction were studied in midazolam-induced breathing patterns and sedation in 30 healthy volunteers (8 males and 22 females). After administration of 0.1 mg.

The vasodilatory effects of ketamine on isolated rabbit portal veins.

The vasodilation mechanism induced by ketamine was investigated in isolated smooth muscle strips of rabbit portal veins. Ketamine inhibited both the phasic and tonic components of K(+)-induced contraction at concentrations greater than 500 microM and 100 microM, respectively. This effect was reversible and concentration-dependent with concentration-dependent with concentrations up to 1 mM.

[Flumazenil antagonism of midazolam-induced respiratory depression].

Flumazenil, a benzodiazepine antagonist, reliably reverses midazolam-induced sedation, but its effect on respiratory depression has not been clarified completely. Ten healthy male volunteers received midazolam 0.1 mg.

[Pneumothorax during laparoscopy].

A 28-year-old female was scheduled for laparoscopy under general anesthesia. Her history and physical examination were unremarkable. Trachea was intubated uneventfully following intravenous administration of thiopental 200 mg and vecuronium 8 mg.