Risk and protective factors for major complications after pneumonectomy for lung cancer.

Pneumonectomy carries a high-risk for postoperative complications. The aim of the study was to identify factors that may predispose to the development of major postoperative complications after pneumonectomy for lung cancer. All consecutive patients from January 2000 to December 2005 were retrospectively studied.

Limitations of computed tomographic angiography in the diagnosis of brain death.

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of cerebral computed tomographic angiography (CT-a) for the diagnosis of brain death (BD).

Design And Setting: Prospective observational study in intensive care units.

Patients: Twenty-one clinically BD patients enrolled over 12 months.

The effect of clonidine on the minimum local analgesic concentration of epidural ropivacaine during labor.

Unlabelled: On the basis of the determination of minimum local analgesic concentration (MLAC), ropivacaine has been demonstrated to be less potent than bupivacaine during the first stage of labor. In this study we assessed the effect of clonidine on the MLAC of ropivacaine. Seventy-seven parturients of mixed parity requesting epidural analgesia for labor (cervical dilation, 3-7 cm) were included in the study.