Intraoperative assessment of pulmonary artery pressure using transesophageal echocardiography in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

We performed a retrospective chart review to investigate a potential relation between pulmonary artery (PA) diameter as measured by intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography and PA pressures measured by PA catheter with the aim of determining whether main PA diameter can aid clinicians in the diagnosis of PA hypertension. A total of 82 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery were included in our study. Main PA diameter showed a moderate correlation with systolic and diastolic pressures,  = 0.

Operative Intercostal Nerve Blocks With Long-Acting Bupivacaine Liposome for Pain Control After Thoracotomy.

Background: Postthoracotomy pain is quite intense. Epidural analgesia (EPI) has long been the gold standard but is often associated with hypotension and urinary retention. The recent availability of liposomal bupivacaine formulation (Exparel) stimulated us to use it for multilevel intercostal nerve blocks (IB) injected during open thoracotomy.