Dosing study of esmolol for reducing hemodynamic changes during lightwand intubation

Background@#Lightwand is a convenient tool that can be used instead of a laryngoscope for intubation. Tracheal intubation causes direct stimulation of the larynx, drastically increasing hemodynamic values including blood pressure and heart rate. This study aims to identify the effect of different doses of esmolol on hemodynamic changes during lightwand intubation. @*Methods@#The study subjects included 140 patients who underwent general anesthesia for elective surgery. The patients were randomly divided into four groups (35 patients in each group). The ‘C’ group only received 20 ml of normal saline, while the ‘E0.5’, ‘E1’, and ‘E2’ groups received 20 ml of normal saline containing esmolol—0.5 mg/kg, 1 mg/kg, and 2 mg/kg, respectively, injected 2 min prior to intubation. The patients’ blood pressure, heart rate, and rate-pressure product were measured six times, before and after the intubation. @*Results@#The degree of heart rate elevation was suppressed in the E1 and E2 groups compared to the C group, and RPP after intubation significantly decreased in the E2 group compared to the C group. @*Conclusions@#1–2 mg/kg of a single esmolol injection prior to lightwand intubation effectively blunts heart rate elevation, and 2 mg/kg of esmolol injection blunts rate-pressure product elevation.

Broken Metallic Intubation Stylet after Tracheal Intubation in Pediatric Patient

A 6-year-old male patient underwent general anesthesia for laparoscopic appendectomy. During induction of intubation, metallic intubation stylet was broken. Broken piece was confirmed by bronchoscopy and chest radiography and was rapidly removed using a surgical forceps. The patient was discharged on the fifth postoperative day without any adverse effects.

Epidemiological Study on the Incidence of Herpes Zoster in Nearby Cheonan

BACKGROUND: Herpes Zoster is a disease that occurs after the virus is reactivated due to infection of the varicella virus in childhood. Risk factors are advanced age, malignant neoplasm, organ transplantation, immunosuppressive agents taking are known. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the seasonal effect and other risk factors on the incidence of herpes zoster. METHODS: The medical records of 1,105 patients admitted to the outpatient diagnosed with herpes zoster were retrospectively examined. The patients' sex, age, dermatome, onset, underlying disease, residential areas were collected. RESULTS: The incidence of women outnumbered men and increased for those above the age of 50. The number of occurrences of herpes zoster patients was higher in the spring and summer than in winter. Unlike men, women had the most frequent outbreaks in March. The most common occurrence of dermatome is in the thoracic region. The number of occurrence was similar on the left as the right. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, herpes zoster occurs more often in women than in men and more frequently occurs in women in the spring and summer.