The GlideScope videolaryngoscope (GVL) incorporates a high-resolution digital camera located in the laryngoscope blade allowing the glottis to be visualized on a dedicated LCD monitor. Although the GVL2 is not specifically indicated in the management of the unstable cervical spine, it is possible that cervical spine motion may be minimized, since a direct line-of-sight is [...]
Exposure of the grafting site during off-pump coronary bypass surgery (OPCAB) requires displacement of the heart, resulting in a decreased cardiac index (CI) and mixed venous oxygen saturation 1 2 Although these haemodynamic consequences are usually transient and well tolerated,3 4 haemodynamic collapse unresponsive to corrective measures does occur, requiring emergent cardiopulmonary bypass that is [...]
The B-type natriuretic peptides; B-type natriuretic peptide and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, are increasing being used as biomarkers for the diagnosis, management and prognostication of cardiac failure, but their application in the peri-operative period is unclear. This review examines the current understanding of the role of B-type natriuretic peptides in both the operative and non-operative [...]
Clonidine is an α2 adrenoreceptor and imidazoline receptor agonist which has analgesic, sedative, and minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration-sparing effects. It has been used orally, IV, and epidurally. In spinal surgery, there is a reluctance to use local anesthetic-based epidural analgesia postoperatively because of fears of masking important signs of nerve root or spinal cord injury. [...]
The term “awareness” during anesthesia, as used in the anesthesia literature, implies that during a period of intended general anesthesia, the brain is aroused by stimuli that are stored in memory for future explicit recall. Patients who experience awareness will recall such experiences during a state of inadequate anesthesia. Awareness is an uncommon phenomenon, occurring [...]
Opioids have been used for medicinal and analgesic purposes for millennia, and today remain a critical part of the medical armamentarium against pain, diarrhea, cough, and other symptoms. Unfortunately, although barely discussed in the modern medical lexicon, opioids have negative effects on the endocrine system, which have been observed for at least a century. These [...]
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With the recent proliferation of ultrasound (US)-guided techniques for performing regional anaesthetic procedures such as peripheral nerve blocks, there has been much debate on the relative merits of US technology in comparison with the earlier methods of nerve localization. The use of a peripheral nerve stimulator (PNS) has been the ‘gold standard’ for performing peripheral [...]
Le donne che soffrono di emicrania possono essere esposte ad un aumento del rischio di ictus ed altre patologie vascolari in gravidanza. Le patologie associate alle emicranie attive o in peggioramento durante la gravidanza sono scarsamente comprese. E’ stato riconosciuto di recente che l’emicrania possa essere associata alla preeclampsia, una delle patologie ipertensive della gravidanza, [...]
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In tema di responsabilità civile nell’attività medico-chirurgica, ove sia dedotta una responsabilità contrattuale della struttura sanitaria e/o del medico per l’inesatto adempimento della prestazione sanitaria, il danneggiato deve fornire la prova del contratto (o del “contatto”) e dell’aggravamento della situazione patologica (o dell’insorgenza di nuove patologie per effetto dell’intervento) e del relativo nesso di causalità [...]
