The Effect of Routine Maintenance Intravenous Therapy on Hemoglobin Concentration and Hematocrit during Anesthesia in Adults.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the decrease in hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit during elective surgery. METHODS: This was a prospective study being performed in Nemazee Hospital of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. We included a total of 50 American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) I and II patients undergoing elective minor surgeries. Perioperative fluid administration was performed for all the patients and hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were measured three times: Once before the operation, once one hour after start of operation and once in the recovery room. Values were compared using paired sample t-test. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients and controls was 39.66 ± 8.27 years. Hemoglobin level decreases significantly after one hour (p<0.001) and after the end of operation (p<0.001). In the same way hematocrit level was decreased significantly after one hour (p<0.001) and after the end of operation (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: In this patient population undergoing elective minor operations, there was significant decrease in the hemoglobin and hematocrit levels in response to the IV fluids administration.

Outcome of mucormycosis in liver transplantation: four cases and a review of literature.

Mucormycosis is a rare but highly invasive fungal infection that occurs in transplant recipients. The literature contains descriptions of 12 cases of mucormycosis after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). This report describes the fatal courses in four patients at our center who developed mucormycosis after liver transplantation. Of 51 liver transplant recipients who received grafts between December 1993 and April 2003, 4 (7.8%; 3 males and 1 female) developed mucormycosis. The primary liver diseases in the four cases were Wilson's disease, autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, and cryptogenic cirrhosis. Three of the transplants were harvested by another team and shipped to our center. We concluded that selection of poor transplant candidates, prolonged antibiotic therapy and/or hospitalization prior to OLT, and breaks in aseptic technique during harvesting, shipping, and during operation are the main reasons for the high incidence of mucormycosis in our OLT patients.