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Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of intravenous palonosetron compared to ondansetron on hypotension induced by spinal anesthesia in women undergoing cesarean section., Methods: Fifty-four women scheduled for elective cesarean section were, randomly allocated to ondansetron group (n = 27) or palonosetron group (n = 27). Ten minutes prior to the administration of spinal anesthesia, participants received an intravenous injection of either ondansetron or palonosetron. A prophylactic phenylephrine infusion was initiated immediately following the intrathecal administration of bupivacaine and fentanyl. The infusion rate was titrated to maintain adequate blood pressure until the time of fetal delivery. The primary outcome was total dose of phenylephrine administered. The secondary outcomes were nausea or vomiting, the need for rescue antiemetics, hypotension, bradycardia, and shivering. Complete response rate, defined as the absence of postoperative nausea and vomiting and no need for additional antiemetics, were assessed for up to 24 hours post-surgery., Results: No significant differences were observed in the total dose of phenylephrine used between the ondansetron and palonosetron groups (387.5 μg [interquartile range, 291.3-507.8 μg versus 428.0 μg [interquartile range, 305.0-507.0 μg], P = 0.42). Complete response rates also showed no significant differences between the groups both within two hours post-spinal anesthesia (88.9% in the ondansetron group versus 100% in the palonosetron group; P = 0.24) and at 24 hours post-surgery (81.5% in the ondansetron group versus 88.8% in the palonosetron group; P = 0.7). In addition, there was no difference in other secondary outcomes., Conclusion: Prophylactic administration of palonosetron did not demonstrate a superior effect over ondansetron in mitigating hemodynamic changes or reducing phenylephrine requirements in patients undergoing spinal anesthesia with bupivacaine and fentanyl for cesarean section., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Kim et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Laparoscopic donor hepatectomy is being increasingly adopted in transplant programs due to its numerous advantages. However, the role of intrathecal morphine (ITM) in laparoscopic donor hepatectomy has not been thoroughly investigated. This study aimed to compare the analgesic effects and safety of ITM between laparoscopic and open donor hepatectomy. This retrospective study included 742 donors who underwent hepatectomy with ITM between April 2007 and June 2019. Among them, 168 and 574 donors underwent laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH) and open hepatectomy (OH), respectively. Propensity score matching yielded two comparable groups of 168 donors each. The primary endpoint was the incidence of moderate-to-severe pain (maximum numerical rating scale [NRS] pain score ≥ 4) within 24 postoperative hours. The LH group had a significantly lower incidence of moderate-to-severe pain within 24 postoperative hours than the OH group (16.1% vs 64.3%, P < .001). Moreover, the cumulative rescue intravenous opioids (in morphine-equivalent dose) on postoperative day (POD) 1 was lower in the LH group than in the OH group (3.3 [0-8.3] mg vs 10 [3.3-17.3] mg; P < .001). There were no significant between-group differences in the incidence of respiratory depression (2.4% vs 0.6%; P = .371) and prescriptions for pruritus (14.3% vs 15.5%; P = .878). However, the prescriptions for postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) was significantly higher in the LH group than in the OH group (64.9% vs 41.7%; P < .001). The predictors of antiemetic agent prescription included the use of laparoscopic procedure (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11-3.79; P = .021) and female sex (adjusted OR, 5.63; 95% CI, 3.19-9.92; P < .001). Preoperative ITM administration resulted in a significantly lower incidence of moderate-to-severe pain within 24 postoperative hours after laparoscopic donor hepatectomy than after open donor hepatectomy., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Rationale: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a syndrome with potentially fatal consequences that results from an excessive immune response caused by malfunctioning natural killer cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Secondary HLH, which is the predominant type in adults, is associated with various medical conditions, including infections, malignancies, and autoimmune diseases. Secondary HLH associated with heat stroke has not been reported., Patient Concerns: A 74-year-old male was admitted to the emergency department after being unconscious in a 42°C hot public bath. The patient was witnessed to be in the water for more than 4 hours. The patient's condition was complicated by rhabdomyolysis and septic shock, which were managed with mechanical ventilation, vasoactive agents, and continuous renal replacement therapy. The patient also showed evidence of diffuse cerebral dysfunction., Diagnoses: While the patient's condition initially improved, the patient developed a fever, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and an acute rise in total bilirubin, which, we suspected, was caused by HLH. Further investigations revealed elevated serum ferritin and soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels., Interventions: The patient received 2 cycles of serial therapeutic plasma exchange to lower the endotoxin burden. To manage HLH, high-dose glucocorticoid therapy was done., Outcomes: Despite the best efforts, the patient did not recover and expired from progressive hepatic failure., Lessons: We report a novel case of secondary HLH associated with heat stroke. Diagnosing secondary HLH can be difficult since clinical manifestations of the underlying disease and HLH may present simultaneously. Early diagnosis and prompt initiation of treatment is required to improve the prognosis of the disease., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background: Previous studies have investigated the safety of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, it remains uncertain whether PICC placement can be successfully carried out in settings with limited resources and a challenging environment for procedures, such as communicable-disease isolation units (CDIUs)., Methods: This study investigated the safety of PICCs in patients admitted to CDIUs. These researchers used a handheld portable ultrasound device (PUD) to guide venous access and confirmed catheter-tip location with electrocardiography (ECG) or portable chest radiography., Results: Among 74 patients, the basilic vein and the right arm were the most common access site and location, respectively. The incidence of malposition was significantly higher with chest radiography compared to ECG (52.4% vs. 2.0%, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Using a handheld PUD to place PICCs at the bedside and confirming the tip location with ECG is a feasible option for CDIU patients.

Background: Hepatic estrogen signaling, which is important in liver injury/recovery, is determined by the level of systemic estrogen and hepatic estrogen receptor. We aimed to evaluate whether females' advantage in the tolerance of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury decreases according to the age of 40 y (systemic estrogen decrease) and macrosteatosis (hepatic estrogen receptor decrease)., Methods: We included 358 living liver donors (128 female and 230 male individuals). The tolerance of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury was determined by the slope of the linear regression line modeling the relationship between the duration of intraoperative hepatic ischemia and the peak postoperative transaminase level. Estrogen receptor content was measured in the biopsied liver samples using immunohistochemistry., Results: In the whole cohort, the regression slope for aspartate transaminase was comparable between female and male individuals (P = 0.940). Within the subgroup of donors aged ≤40 y, the regression slope was significantly smaller in female individuals (P = 0.031), whereas it was comparable within donors aged >40 y (P = 0.867). Within the subgroup of nonmacrosteatotic donors aged ≤40 y, the regression slope was significantly smaller in female individuals in univariable (P = 0.002) and multivariable analysis (P = 0.006), whereas the sex difference was not found within macrosteatotic donors aged ≤40 y (P = 0.685). Estrogen receptor content was significantly greater in female individuals within nonmacrosteatotic donors aged ≤40 y (P = 0.021), whereas it was not different in others of age >40 y or with macrosteatosis (P = 0.450)., Conclusions: The tolerance of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury was greater in female individuals than in male individuals only when they were <40 y and without macrosteatosis. The results were in agreement with the hepatic estrogen receptor immunohistochemistry study., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Pure laparoscopic donor right hepatectomy (PLDRH) is not a standard procedure for living donor liver transplantation but is safe and reproducible in the hands of experienced surgeons. However, the perioperative outcomes of PLDRH have not been fully evaluated yet. We used propensity score matching to compare the perioperative complications and postoperative short-term outcomes of donors undergoing PLDRH and open donor right hepatectomy (ODRH). A total of 325 consecutive donors who underwent elective, adult-to-adult right hepatectomy were initially screened. After propensity score matching, all patients were divided into two groups: PLDRH (n = 123) and ODRH (n = 123) groups. Perioperative complications and postoperative outcomes were compared between the two groups. Postoperative pulmonary complications were significantly more common in the ODRH than in the PLDRH group (54.5 vs. 31.7%, P < 0.001). The biliary complications (leak and stricture) were higher in PLDRH group than in the ODRH group (8% vs. 3%), but it failed to reach statistical significance (P = 0.167). Overall, surgical complication rates were similar between the two groups (P = 0.730). The opioid requirement during the first 7 postoperative days was higher in the ODRH group (686 vs. 568 mg, P < 0.001). The hospital stay and time to the first meal were shorter in the PLDRH than in the ODRH group (P = 0.003 and P < 0.001, respectively). PLDRH reduced the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications and afforded better short-term postoperative outcomes compared to ODRH. However, surgical complication rates were similar in both groups.

Intravenous (IV) dexmedetomidine is reported to prolong analgesia following peripheral nerve blocks. Popliteal sciatic nerve block provides effective postoperative analgesia, but some patients still experience severe pain during the early postoperative period. We aimed to evaluate the postoperative analgesic effects of IV dexmedetomidine versus propofol in patients undergoing foot surgeries under popliteal sciatic nerve block. Forty patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive either IV propofol ( n = 20) or IV dexmedetomidine ( n = 20) for intraoperative sedation. All the patients received continuous popliteal sciatic nerve block. The corresponding drug infusion rate was adjusted to achieve a modified observer's assessment of alertness/sedation score of 3 or 4. The primary outcome was postoperative cumulative opioid consumption during the first 24 h after surgery. Thirty-nine patients were analyzed. The median (interquartile ranges) postoperative cumulative opioid consumption during the first 24 h after surgery was significantly lower in the dexmedetomidine group (15 (7.5-16.9) mg) than in the propofol group (17.5 (15-25) mg) ( p = 0.019). The time to first rescue analgesic request was significantly greater in the dexmedetomidine group than in the propofol group (11.8 ± 2.2 h vs. 10.0 ± 2.7 h, p = 0.030) without the prolonged motor blockade ( p = 0.321). Intraoperative sedation with dexmedetomidine reduced postoperative opioid consumption and prolonged analgesic duration after a popliteal sciatic nerve block., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Since the implementation of the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scoring system in 2002, the liver transplantation (LT) society has observed a substantial increase in the number of recipients with renal dysfunction. Intraoperative renal replacement therapy (ioRRT) has emerged as one of the solutions available to manage high-MELD score recipients; however, its usefulness has not yet been proven. To date, we have experienced five cases of simultaneous liver and kidney transplantation (SLKT). Recipients of SLKT tend to have a lower pre-transplant kidney function and the longer operation time mandates a larger amount of fluid than LT alone. Hence, anesthetic care is more prone to be challenged by hyperkalemia, metabolic acidosis, and volume overload, making ioRRT a theoretically valuable intervention. However, in all five cases, recipients were managed without ioRRT, resulting in excellent graft and patient survival. As such, in this case series, we discuss current issues about ioRRT and SLKT.