[Ropivacaine-induced late-onset systemic toxicity after transversus abdominis plane block under general anesthesia: successful reversal with 20% lipid emulsion].

We report a case of late-onset systemic toxicity due to ropivacaine over dose, and its successful reversal with 20% lipid emulsion (20% Intralipos). A 40-year-old woman, 40 kg, ASA-I, was scheduled for laparoscopy-assisted myomectomy of the uterus in which 40 ml of 0.375% ropivacaine was injected for bilateral US guided transversus abdominis plane block (TAPblock) under general anesthesia. Anesthesia proceeded uneventfully and she could go back to the ward 15 min later, but 3 hours after TAPblock, her blood pressure dropped to seventies and she became unresponsive. She also displayed clonic seizure/twitching of limbs. Immediately after diazepam 2 mg injection, clonic seizure disappeared and she could obey verbal commands. Within a few minutes clonic seizure was noted again, and she was hypotensive despite administration of vasopressors. A presumptive diagnosis of local anesthetic toxicity was made, and she received 100 ml bolus of 20% Intralipos. She regained consciousness with spontaneous return of blood pressure. She received a total of 230 ml 20% Intralipos, which was discontinued due to her rapid emergence with no further seizure episodes. This case suggests that early and sufficient use of lipid emulsion may lead to a good outcome. We recommend the immediate availability of lipid emulsion along with other emergency therapeutics at the ward after TAPblock.

Unique three-way translocation, t(3;14;18)(q27;q32;q21), in follicular lymphoma.

A 43-year-old woman was diagnosed as having stage IV follicular lymphoma. Phenotypically, the lymphoma cells were CD5(-), CD10(+), CD19(+), CD20(+), CD23(-), HLA-DR(+), and IgM-lambda(+). Conventional chromosomal analysis showed a three-way t(3;14;18)(q27;q32;q21) in the lymphoma cells, which was confirmed by spectral karyotyping (SKY) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Immunohistochemistry revealed that both BCL2 and BCL6 proteins were expressed in the lymphoma cells, whereas only the BCL6 gene, and not the BCL2 gene, was rearranged by Southern blotting. The patient received combination chemotherapy and has been well for 3 years. This is the first reported case showing a three-way translocation involving 2 major lymphoma-specific abnormalities, 3q27 and t(14;18)(q32;q21).

Plasmacytoma of the urinary bladder in a renal transplant recipient.

A 28-year-old woman underwent renal transplantation in 1993. Eight years later, she experienced macroscopic hematuria, and Epstein-Barr virus-negative solitary extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP) of the urinary bladder was diagnosed. After the reduction of immunosuppressive therapy, she received combined chemotherapy, resulting in complete tumor disappearance. However, 10 months later, she relapsed with aggressive multiple EMP and died of disease progression in 2003. This report is the first of a case of solitary EMP of the urinary bladder appearing as posttransplantation plasma cell dyscrasias after renal transplantation.

[Anesthetic management for video-assisted extended thymectomy of patients with myasthenia gravis].

BACKGROUND: Thymectomy is one of therapeutic modalities for patients with myasthenia gravis. Since 1998, we have performed video-assisted extended thymectomy, which is much less invasive than traditional method. However, its optimal perioperative management has not been established. METHODS: From April 1998 to December 2003, 40 patients with myasthenia gravis underwent video-assisted extended thymectomy in our hospital. Anesthesia was maintained with propofol, sevoflurane and epidural anesthesia. No muscle relaxant was used. Operations were performed in supine position and required differential lung ventilation of both sides in turn for manipulation. A central venous catheter was inserted in the femoral vein to prepare for unexpected bleeding or other hemodynamic changes. RESULTS: Seven patients presented hypoxemia under differential lung ventilation and needed bilateral lung ventilation or addition of CPAP to nondependent lung. Unexpected bleeding from the left innominate vein occurred in two patients and required median sternotomy. Severe hypotension caused by compression of the heart during operation was observed in twenty-one patients. Extubation in the operating room was successful in all patients except one with severe bulbar paralysis before preoperative period. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to examine both surgical techniques of video-assisted surgery and physiological features of myasthenia gravis for anesthetic management of video-assisted extended thymectomy.

CD5-negative chronic lymphocytic leukemia with indolent clinical course and autoimmune thrombocytopenia, successfully treated with rituximab.

A 59-year-old male with lymphocytosis and thrombocytopenia was asymptomatic without lymphadenopathy or hepatosplenomegaly over 10 years. He was admitted to our hospital because his thrombocytopenia had worsened. The clonal lymphocytes appeared as regular small mature lymphocytes on blood films, and bone marrow biopsy showed diffuse infiltration of mature lymphocytes. However, megakaryocytes also presented. The immunophenotypic analysis by flow cytometry revealed that the lymphocytes were positive for CD19, CD20, CD22, and surface membrane immunoglobulin (SmIg) M and D-lambda and were negative for CD5, CD10, CD11c, CD23, and other lineage markers. Expression levels of CD20 and SmIg were strong. The markers were consistent with CD5- CLL with autoimmune thrombocytopenia. He received rituximab, and a rapid decrease of lymphocytes with concomitant increase of platelets was observed. A few cases of CD5- CLL with a stable clinical course have been reported, thought to be B lymphocytosis of undetermined significance (MLUS). This is the first report of CD5- CLL with indolent clinical course associated with autoimmune thrombocytopenia, successfully treated with rituximab.

[Preoperative evaluation, anesthetic management and postoperative complications of athetotic type cerebral palsy patients undergoing laminoplasty].

BACKGROUND: The patients with athetotic type cerebral palsy need to have their necks fixed for preventing worsening of their symptoms during surgery. Cervical fixation with a halo vest leads to difficult tracheal intubation and possibility of aspiration. Therefore careful perioperative management is necessary, especially for respiratory complications. However, since it is difficult on the patients with cerebral palsy to perform spirogram correctly, their preoperative respiratory functions are hard to be evaluated. METHODS: We evaluated the relationships between preoperative condition and postoperative complications in 50 athetotic type cerebral palsy patients who had undergone laminoplasty. In addition, we also compared them with non-cerebral palsy patients for laminoplasty without a halo vest. RESULTS: The patients with cerebral palsy showed lower preoperative ADL score, severer symptoms of myelopathy, and decreased %VC in spirogram. We found all of these were related to prolonged postoperative recovery of ADL and longer hospitalization. Two patients with cerebral palsy suffered from aspiration pneumonia after operation, whereas any non-cerebral palsy patients had no remarkable complications. CONCLUSIONS: Careful perioperative management is necessary for cerebral palsy patients undergoing laminoplasty, especially for prevention of aspiration pneumonia.

[Thoracoscopic surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax and its anesthetic considerations].

BACKGROUND: Incidence of spontaneous pneumothorax (SPT) is increasing recently. Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is, at present, accepted generally as a procedure of choice for surgical treatment of SPT. This study was designed to investigate whether pre-operative complications and epidural anesthesia contribute to post-operative outcome following VATS for SPT. METHODS: From 1999 to 2002, 88 patients (78 men and 10 women, ranging in ages from 18 to 86, with an average age of 42 years) presented with SPT and received VATS at the Osaka Police Hospital. We evaluated the relationship between peri-operative risk factors and post-operative outcome after VATS for SPT. RESULTS: Age and epidural analgesia contributed to post-operative pain (P=0.0268 and P=0.0165, respectively). Moreover, old age and long duration of surgery extended a hospitalization period (P=0.0002, r2=0.393 and P=0.0394, r2=0.224, respectively). In addition, old age contributes to post-operative pneumonia (P=0.0405). The patient with history of smoking had prolonged duration of surgery (P=0.0040) and oxygen supply after surgery (P=0.0312). CONCLUSIONS: VATS for SPT is less invasive and contribute to short hospitalization. However, VATS also requires general anesthesia with one-lung ventilation. From our study, peri-operative careful management is necessary in a patient with old age and a habit of smoking.