A Pilot Estimation of Ventricular-Arterial Coupling Using a Vascular Screening Device (VaSera®).

BACKGROUND: Non-invasive cardiovascular assessment has become an alternative to invasive techniques. VaSera®, a vascular screening device, measures arterial stiffness with the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI); it also measures cardiophysiological variables of ejection time (ET) and pre-ejection period (PEP). We aimed to apply the parameters obtained by VaSera® to estimate heart function based on left ventricular end-systolic elastance/arterial elastance (Ees/Ea) and to assess the minimal required number of measurements for estimation. METHODS: We conducted an experimental laboratory study for healthy volunteers. Using the previously established formula, the Ees/Ea value of each participant was estimated using ET and PEP values measured by VaSera®. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) assessed the minimum required number of measurements. Concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) and Bland and Altman analysis assessed variation of Ees/Ea estimation against the trimmed average. RESULTS: A total of 660 measurements from 132 participants were included. The Ees/Ea estimates from the VaSera® were 1.5 [1.2, 1.9]. The ICC for Ees/Ea was 0.71 (95% confidence interval: 0.65-0.77), suggesting that four measurements were required. The CCC between the trimmed average of Ees/Ea and the mean of four Ees/Ea estimates was 0.99. Bland and Altman analysis showed excellent agreement for the mean of four Ees/Ea estimates and the trimmed average of Ees/Ea. CONCLUSIONS: For screening of heart failure, the Ees/Ea estimated using non-invasive vascular-stiffness assessment device would be tolerable and four sequential measurements were required.

Opioid-Sparing Cardiac Anesthesia: Secondary Analysis of an Enhanced Recovery Program for Cardiac Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac anesthetics rely heavily on opioids, with the standard patient receiving between 70 and 105 morphine sulfate equivalents (MSE; 10-15 µg/kg of fentanyl). A central tenet of Enhanced Recovery Programs (ERP) is the use of multimodal analgesia. This study was performed to assess the association between nonopioid interventions employed as part of an ERP for cardiac surgery and intraoperative opioid administration. METHODS: This study represents a post hoc secondary analysis of data obtained from an institutional ERP for cardiac surgery. Consecutive patients undergoing cardiac surgery received 5 nonopioid interventions, including preoperative gabapentin and acetaminophen, intraoperative dexmedetomidine and ketamine infusions, and regional analgesia via serratus anterior plane block. The primary objective, the association between intraoperative opioid administration and the number of interventions provided, was assessed via a linear mixed-effects regression model. To assess the association between intraoperative opioid administration and postoperative outcomes, patients were stratified into high (>50 MSE) and low (≤50 MSE) opioids, 1:1 propensity matched based on 15 patients and procedure covariables and assessed for associations with postoperative outcomes of interest. To investigate the impact of further opioid restriction, ultralow (≤25 MSE) opioid participants were then identified, 1:3 propensity matched to high opioid patients, and similarly compared. RESULTS: A total of 451 patients were included in the overall analysis. Analysis of the primary objective revealed that intraoperative opioid administration was inversely related to the number of interventions employed (estimated -7.96 MSE per intervention, 95% confidence interval [CI], -9.82 to -6.10, P < .001). No differences were detected between low (n = 136) and high (n = 136) opioid patients in postoperative complications, postoperative pain scores, time to extubation, or length of stay. No differences were found in outcomes between ultralow (n = 63) and high (n = 132) opioid participants. CONCLUSIONS: Nonopioid interventions employed as part of an ERP for cardiac surgery were associated with a reduction of intraoperative opioid administration. Low and ultralow opioid use was not associated with significant differences in postoperative outcomes. These findings are hypothesis-generating, and future prospective studies are necessary to establish the role of opioid-sparing strategies in the setting of cardiac surgery.

Results from an enhanced recovery program for cardiac surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Enhanced recovery programs are multidisciplinary perioperative bundles of evidence-based process measures. Following the design and implementation of preanesthesia and intraoperative enhanced recovery programs for cardiac surgery guidelines, we evaluated the association between compliance and key clinical outcomes. METHODS: Consecutive patients undergoing cardiac surgery at a single tertiary medical center from September 2017 to June 2018 were included. Patients were stratified into low (0-4 measures) and high (5-7 measures) compliance groups and then 1-to-3 propensity matched on the basis of 15 patient and surgical covariables. The primary outcome of interest was time to postoperative extubation. Secondary outcomes included interval time point extubation rates and intensive care unit, floor, and hospital lengths of stay. RESULTS: A total of 451 patients were included in the study. After propensity matching (n = 315), patients in the high compliance group (n = 84) had a significant reduction in time to extubation (P < .001), floor length of stay (P = .01), and hospital length of stay (P = .03) compared with patients in the low compliance group (n = 231). Patients in the high compliance group were more likely to be extubated in the operating room (odds ratio, 35.8; 95% confidence interval, 10.66-168.75; P < .001) and within 6 hours of surgery (odds ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.18-6.07; P < .02). High compliance was associated with a median estimated time reduction of 3.4 hours to postoperative extubation (P < .001) and 19.4 hours in hospital length of stay (P = .01) compared with low compliance counterparts. There were no reintubations reported among patients extubated in the operating room (0/62 patients). CONCLUSIONS: There is value in developing phase-specific enhanced recovery programs guidelines, which improve rates of early extubation and affect the duration of stay after cardiac surgery. These results are hypothesis generating, and further prospective study is necessary to identify clinical impact of further program expansion.

Effect of synthetic cell-penetrating peptides on TrkA activity in PC12 cells.

As TrkA, a high-affinity receptor of nerve growth factor (NGF), is a potential target for relieving uncontrolled inflammatory pain, an effective inhibitor of TrkA has been required for pain management. To identify a specific inhibitor of TrkA activity, we designed cell-penetrating peptides combined with amino-acid sequences in the activation loop of TrkA to antagonize tyrosine kinase activity. To select a peptide inhibiting TrkA activity, we examined the effect of cell-penetrating peptides on tyrosine kinase activity of recombinant TrkA in vitro and studied their effects on NGF-stimulated neurite outgrowth and protein phosphorylation in PC12 cells. Thereafter we investigated the effect of the selected peptide on NGF-stimulated TrkA activity and the expression of transient receptor potential channel 1 in PC12 cells. The selected peptide inhibited TrkA activity, but did not inhibit tyrosine kinase activities of other receptor-type tyrosine kinases in vitro. It also suppressed NGF-stimulated responses in PC12 cells. The selected synthetic cell-penetrating peptide antagonizing TrkA function would be a candidate for inflammatory pain therapy.

Repeated exposures to hyperbaric air suppress neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells.

Hyperbaric exposure induces lesions of the CNS in scuba divers. Repeated exposures to hyperbaric air at 0.5 MPa for 30 min with short intervals suppressed NGF-stimulated neurite outgrowth, concomitant with a decrease in the protein expression of ERK in PC12 cells. Hyperbaric exposure most likely causes direct lesions of neural cells.

[The management of the difficult pediatric airway].

BACKGROUND: We are faced sometimes with the difficult pediatric airway due to congenital abnormalities. However, there has been no systematic examination for the management of the difficult pediatric airway. METHODS: We retrospectively examined the incidence of difficult airway in 13,557 pediatric patients who had undergone general anesthesia with tracheal intubation. The difficulties of the intubation were classified into grade 1 to 4; grade 1: intubated one time, grade 2: two times, grade 3: three times or more, grade 4: changed to another way. We defined grade 3 and 4 as "difficult airway". RESULTS: Twenty-five patients (0.17%) are "difficult airway" among 13,557 patients in which 21 patients (0.15%) are classified as grade 3, and 4 patients (0.02%) are grade 4. The difficulties were significantly different among the syndromes (P< 0.001). The rate of the incidence in the difficulty is high in Treacher Collins syndrome, arthrogryposis multiprex congenita and first and second brachial arch syndrome, but few is in Pierre-Robin syndrome, Crouzon syndrome and Apert syndrome which are known to accompany difficult airway. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that the incidence of difficult airway is different among the syndromes.

[Remarkable rightward shift of the mediastinum during a urological operation in the left kidney position--a case report].

Mediastinal rightward shift without involving cardiovascular collapse and dyspnea occurred after a left nephroureterectomy. An 86-year-old female (height, 142 cm; weight, 53 kg) with ureteral cancer was scheduled for an elective nephroureterectomy. Preanesthetic electrocardiogram revealed supraventricular premature contractions and sinus tachycardia (116 beats.min-1) and preanesthetic chest X-ray film revealed cardio-thoracic ratio of 60% and pleural adhesion of the right apex of the lung. Anesthesia was maintained with a combination of inhalation anesthetics (oxygen, nitrous oxide and sevoflurane) and thoracic epidural lidocaine. Artificial ventilation was used during the anesthesia. The operation was uneventful. A chest radiograph taken at the end of the operation demonstrated a large mass-like shadow in the right field of the lung. However, dyspnea or cardiovascular collapse was not observed. The vesicular sounds were auscultated in the left lung field. Results of arterial blood gas analysis during spontaneous respiration were within normal ranges. A CT scanning of the chest showed that the great vessel and the heart had been in the right thoracic cavity. Therefore, we considered that a rightward mediastinal shift had occured during the operation.