Time progression from the patient's operating room entrance to incision: factors affecting anesthetic setup and surgical preparation times.

Purpose: Owing to recent advances in surgical technology, substantial time is required for preparing surgical equipment before incision. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the time progression from a patient's operating room entrance to incision and to evaluate the duration of each anesthetic procedure and surgical preparation.

Methods: We marked the following seven points on the anesthetic chart: (1) entrance; (2) i.

Lactic acid increases aquaporin 4 expression on the cell membrane of cultured rat astrocytes.

The water channel protein aquaporin (AQP) may play roles in the homeostasis of water content in the brain and brain edema. One possible mechanism of brain edema is glial swelling due to lactic acidosis associated with ischemia. Here, we investigated the effect of lactic acid on the expression and cellular distribution of AQP 4 in cultured rat astrocytes.

Circulatory collapse caused by unnoticed hypermagnesemia in a hospitalized patient.

We report a case of hypermagnesemia in a hospitalized patient after prolonged laxative use; due to preexisting impaired consciousness and digestive problems, the hypermagnesemia was difficult to detect until it almost became fatal. A 64-year-old man who was a patient at another hospital for treatment of head injury and gastric ulcer had developed circulatory collapse and was transferred to our hospital. Hypermagnesemia (serum magnesium concentration 11.

Carvedilol, a nonselective beta-blocker, suppresses the production of tumor necrosis factor and tissue factor by inhibiting early growth response factor-1 expression in human monocytes in vitro.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and tissue factor (TF) produced by monocytes and macrophages have been shown to be among the aggravating factors for chronic heart failure (CHF), because they induce cardiac dysfunction and thrombotic complications, respectively. Carvedilol, a nonselective beta-adrenoceptor antagonist with alpha(1)- adrenoceptor blockade action, has been demonstrated to improve the outcome of patients with severe CHF, suggesting that carvedilol might inhibit the production of TNF and TF. In this study, this possibility is examined using isolated human monocytes stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vitro.

A new index of the autonomic nervous balance and its clinical usefulness; a power law 1/f like scale of a spectral analysis of the heart rate variability.

Objective: This study was undertaken to develop a new autonomic scoring scale distinct from the conventional sympathetic or parasympathetic parameters cardiac autonomic response.

Methods: The parameters were obtained from a log-log scale of frequency (f ) vs. power spectral (P) amplitude of heart rate variability (HRV).

Flexible, tapered-tip tube facilitates conventional orotracheal intubation by novice intubators.

Orotracheal intubation is the standard technique for airway management, but several untoward airway complications are possible with this method. To avoid airway trauma caused by the tube tip during intubation, the Parker Flex-Tip tube (PFT), which has a flexible, tapered tip, was developed. It has been reported that the PFT facilitates fiberoptic orotracheal intubation and introducer-guided tracheal intubation.

Inadvertent intrathecal cannulation in an infant, demonstrated by three-dimensional computed tomography: a rare complication of internal jugular vein catheterization.

We describe a case of inadvertent intrathecal cannulation with a central venous catheter in an infant, confirmed by three-dimensional computed tomography, which clearly demonstrated the track of the catheter. We believe that this complication could have been related to two major factors: depth of needle insertion and penetration of the vein by a straight-tip guidewire. To avoid this complication, the depth of needle insertion must be carefully checked, a "J"-tipped rather than a straight-tipped guidewire should be used, and puncture should be guided by ultrasound.

The changes in pulmonary capillary blood flow and anatomical dead space during pulmonary resection under one-lung ventilation.

Pulmonary capillary blood flow (PCBF), anatomical dead space (VDaw) and SpO2 were measured and recorded continuously using NICO (Novametrix Medical Systems Inc, USA) in 2 cases during pulmonary resection under one-lung ventilation (OLV). A pulmonary artery catheter was inserted and continuous CO (CCO) was also measured in case 2. In both cases PCBF decreased by half when one lung was blocked.

A case of complex regional pain syndrome type II after transradial coronary intervention.

The transradial approach for coronary catheterization is now a routine technique without serious complications at the puncture site. We report a case of complex regional pain syndrome type II (CRPS type II) in the hand after the transradial coronary intervention, which may alert medical personnel that the technique may cause serious regional pain with disability. A 61-year-old woman underwent coronary intervention via the right radial artery for the treatment of unstable angina.

Effect of mild hypothermia on the expression of aquaporin family in cultured rat astrocytes under hypoxic condition.

Aquaporins (AQPs) are a family of water-selective transporting proteins with homology to the major intrinsic protein (MIP) of lens, that increase plasma membrane water permeability in secretory and absorptive cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of mild hypothermia on the expression of AQP4, AQP5 and AQP9 in rat astrocytes cultured under hypoxic conditions. At 37 degrees C, a marked decrease in the expression of AQP4, AQP5 and AQP9 mRNAs was observed.