RESUMEN
A 60-year-old man presented with pain on the left cheek and lateral nose. The patient had been diagnosed with facial herpes zoster in the left V2 area 6 months previously. Medical treatment was prescribed for 6 months but it had little effect. We blocked the left infraorbital nerve under ultrasound guidance, but pain relief was short term. Therefore, we performed pulsed radiofrequency treatment on the left infraorbital nerve under ultrasound guidance. Six months after the procedure, the reduction of pain was still maintained, and there was no need for further management.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: This study was designed to assess the effects of pneumoperitoneal pressure (PP) and positional changes on the respiratory mechanics during laparoscopy assisted colectomy. METHODS: Peak inspiratory pressure, plateau pressure, lung compliance, and airway resistance were recorded in PP of 10 mmHg and 15 mmHg, with the position change in 5 steps: head-down at 20°, head-down at 10°, neutral position, head-up at 10° and head-up at 20°. RESULTS: When the patient was placed head-down, the position change accentuated the effects of pneumoperitoneum on respiratory mechanics. However, when the patient was placed in a head-up position during pneumoperitoneum the results showed no pattern. In the 20° head-up position with the PP being 10 mmHg, the compliance increased from 30.6 to 32.6 ml/cmH(2)O compared with neutral position (P = 0.002). However with the PP being 15 mmHg, the compliance had not changed compared with neutral position (P = 0.989). In 20° head-down position with the PP of 10 mmHg, the compliance was measured as 24.2 ml/cmH(2)O. This was higher than that for patients in the 10° head-down position with a PP of 15 mmHg, which was recorded as 21.2 ml/cmH(2)O. Also in the airway resistance, the patient in the 20° head-down position with the PP of 10 mmHg showed 15.8 cmH(2)O/L/sec, while the patient in the 10° head-down position with the PP of 15 mmHg showed 16.2 cmH(2)O/L/sec of airway resistance. These results were not statistically significant but still suggested that the head-down position accentuated the effects of pneumoperitoneum on respiratory mechanics. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that respiratory mechanics are affected by the patient position and the level of PP - the latter having greater effect.
RESUMEN
PURPOSE: Increasing evidence indicates that lithium is a neuroprotective agent against transient focal and global ischemic injury in the adult animal. In the developing brain, lithium has shown protective effects against neuroapoptosis induced by drugs. This study was designed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of lithium on hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in the neonatal rat. METHODS: Seven-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats underwent hypoxic-ischemic injury (HII) induced by ligation of the common carotid artery followed by exposure to ~2.5 h of hypoxia (~7% oxygen). After HII, rat pups were randomly assigned into two groups: a control group (n = 21), which received a daily subcutaneous injection of 0.9% normal saline for 14 days following HII; and a lithium group (n = 32), treated with daily injection of lithium chloride. N-acetylaspartate/creatinine, choline/creatinine, lipid/creatinine ratios at 1.3 ppm (Lip(1.3)/Cr) and 0.9 ppm (Lip(0.9)/Cr) lipid peaks were evaluated by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy on the day of HII and on days 7 and 14 after HII. Infarct ratios based on magnetic resonance images were also determined at the same time points. RESULTS: Seven days after HII, the Lip(1.3)/Cr and Lip(0.9)/Cr ratios as well as the infarct ratio were significantly lower in the lithium group than in the control group. The Lip(1.3)/Cr and Lip(0.9)/Cr ratios were significantly correlated with infarct ratio. CONCLUSION: This study showed that post-HII treatment with lithium may have a neuroprotective effect in the immature brain. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanism of neuroprotective properties of lithium against HII-induced neonatal brain damage.
