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.

Severe Anaphylaxis without Key Signs Such as Urticaria and Bronchospasm Suspected to Be Induced by Rocuronium

Perioperative hypersensitivity reaction have been reported to have a variable degree of the incidence from differ countries and to be 1/353–18,600 approximately and its mortality has been reported to be 4%–4.76% in the United States and Japan, respectively. A 65-year-old male patient with hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, and history of amoxicillin allergy was scheduled for laparoscopic radical prostatectomy due to prostate cancer. Lidocaine, propofol, and rocuronium were administered sequentially to induce general anesthesia. Twenty minutes after the rocuronium administration, severe hypotension and tachycardia developed. But key signs of hypersensitivity such as urticaria and bronchospasm were not appeared. The operation was canceled and we evaluated the cause of severe hypotension and could confirm hypersensitivity for rocuronium with intradermal test after 4 weeks.