Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for the anesthetic management of a patient with severe airway stenosis caused by thyroid carcinoma invasion.

The treatment of a thyroid carcinoma extending into the thoracic cavity with severe airway stenosis is difficult, since there is a risk of acute respiratory decompensation at every stage of anesthesia. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a life support technique for maintaining both the cardiac and respiratory functions. It is used for the management of acute, severe, reversible respiratory or cardiac failure refractory to conventional management.

Impact of preoperative dual antiplatelet therapy on bleeding complications in patients with acute coronary syndromes who undergo urgent coronary artery bypass grafting.

Background: A 5- to 7-day washout period before coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is recommended for patients who have recently received a thienopyridine derivative; however, data supporting this guideline recommendation are lacking in Japanese patients.

Methods: Urgent isolated CABG was performed in 130 consecutive patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) (101 men; mean age, 69 years). Urgent CABG was defined as operation performed within 5 days after coronary angiography.

Platelet reactivity in the early and late phases of acute coronary syndromes according to cytochrome P450 2C19 phenotypes.

Background: It remains unknown whether the time course of the antiplatelet effects of clopidogrel differs according to cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C19 phenotype in Japanese patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

Methods And Results: Platelet reactivity was serially assessed by VerifyNow-P2Y12 assay (Accumetrics, San Diego, CA, USA). Results were expressed as P2Y12-reaction-units (PRU) in 177 patients with ACS who underwent stent implantation and received aspirin plus a 300-mg loading dose of clopidogrel followed by 75 mg/day.

Differences in negative T waves between takotsubo cardiomyopathy and reperfused anterior acute myocardial infarction.

Background: In both takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) and reperfused anterior acute myocardial infarction (AMI), negative T waves commonly appear on the ECG in the subacute phase. This study aimed to clarify the ECG differences between these diseases.

Methods And Results: We compared the ECGs with the greatest amplitude of negative T wave from 34 patients with TC and 237 patients with a first reperfused anterior AMI who were admitted within 6 h of symptom onset and who had no abnormal Q-waves on discharge ECG.