Successful use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for sudden aggravation of acute respiratory distress syndrome: A case report

The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in patients with severe hypoxemia refractory to conventional ventilation has recently gained attention due to recent reports that highlighted its potential benefit. This report presents a case of acute onset acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with severe hypoxemia in the operating room that showed significant improvement after applying ECMO in the intensive care unit. Although the oxygen saturation decreased to as low as 50% before the application of ECMO, at no time did the patient show hypotension or decreased cardiac output. The patient improved within 48 hours of ECMO and recovered with no major complications or neurologic sequelae. Our case shows that ECMO is a valuable and viable option in ARDS with severe refractory hypoxemia.

Radiologists' Performance for Detecting Lesions and the Interobserver Variability of Automated Whole Breast Ultrasound

OBJECTIVE: To compare the detection performance of the automated whole breast ultrasound (AWUS) with that of the hand-held breast ultrasound (HHUS) and to evaluate the interobserver variability in the interpretation of the AWUS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: AWUS was performed in 38 breast cancer patients. A total of 66 lesions were included: 38 breast cancers, 12 additional malignancies and 16 benign lesions. Three breast radiologists independently reviewed the AWUS data and analyzed the breast lesions according to the BI-RADS classification. RESULTS: The detection rate of malignancies was 98.0% for HHUS and 90.0%, 88.0% and 96.0% for the three readers of the AWUS. The sensitivity and the specificity were 98.0% and 62.5% in HHUS, 90.0% and 87.5% for reader 1, 88.0% and 81.3% for reader 2, and 96.0% and 93.8% for reader 3, in AWUS. There was no significant difference in the radiologists' detection performance, sensitivity and specificity (p > 0.05) between the two modalities. The interobserver agreement was fair to good for the ultrasonographic features, categorization, size, and the location of breast masses. CONCLUSION: AWUS is thought to be useful for detecting breast lesions. In comparison with HHUS, AWUS shows no significant difference in the detection rate, sensitivity and the specificity, with high degrees of interobserver agreement.

Anesthetic management for cesarean delivery in a Guillain-Barre syndrome patient: A case report / 대한마취과학회지

Guillain-Barre syndrome is an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculopathy characterized by progressive motor weakness, areflexia, and ascending paralysis. Guillain-Barre syndrome is extremely rare in pregnant patients, and there are no established guidelines for delivery or safest anesthetic methods. We report a Cesarean delivery in the case of a 32-year old woman who was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome 18 weeks into gestation. Tracheostomy was performed due to progressive respiratory muscle weakness and respiratory failure, and ventilator support was required in the intensive care unit. The respiratory difficulty was exacerbated by the growth of the fetus, necessitating emergency Cesarean delivery. The delivery was successfully performed under general anesthesia, and the patient recovered without neurological sequelae.