Enhanced tactile resolution of the contralateral side after surgery and regional anesthesia of the hand.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether enhancement of tactile resolution (measured with Grating Orientation Task) can be demonstrated for patients undergoing regional anesthesia during hand surgery compared with surgery in general anesthesia and nonoperative controls. Regional anesthesia (nine patients) induced a significant improvement in contralateral tactile resolution at 10 and 24 h after the operation (P<0.01 and <0.05) compared with baseline. In the general anesthesia group (10 patients), tactile resolution improved significantly over time, but to a lesser extent than in the regional anesthesia group. When comparing with the control group (10 individuals), only the regional anesthesia group showed significantly increased tactile resolution at both the time points (P<0.01 and P<0.05), postoperatively.

Effects of a catecholamine-induced increase in cardiac output on lung injury after experimental unilateral pulmonary acid instillation.

OBJECTIVES: Increasing pulmonary blood flow aggravated ventilation-associated lung injury in ex vivo animal experiments, but data were less consistent in an in vivo animal model and do not reflect redistributed lung perfusion seen in clinical acute lung injury. We sought to determine the effects of increased cardiac output on markers of lung injury in an in vivo model of inhomogeneous lung perfusion and injury. DESIGN: Prospective, controlled animal study. SETTING: Experimental research laboratory of a university hospital. SUBJECTS: A total of 50 anesthetized, mechanically ventilated, male Wistar rats. INTERVENTIONS: Unilateral lung injury was induced in rats by left lung acid instillation. After 24 hrs, animals were anesthetized and subjected to mechanical ventilation (tidal volume, 8 mL/kg; positive end-expiratory pressure, 7 cm H2O; FIO2, 0.4) and continuous infusion of either 10 microg x kg x min dobutamine or isotonic saline (control) for 4 hrs. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Cardiac output and differential lung perfusion were recorded throughout the ventilation period. Right and left lung wet-to-dry weight ratio, cytokines and inflammatory cells in lung lavage, and histologic lung injury were measured postmortem. After acid injury, lung perfusion was preferentially distributed to the noninjured lung. Dobutamine increased baseline cardiac output (>70%) and perfusion of both lungs (left, acid-instilled lung: from 16 +/- 2 to 29 +/- 6 mL/min; right, non-acid-instilled lung: from 54 +/- 3 to 98 +/- 7 mL/min). There was no difference in left lung injury between dobutamine- and saline-infused animals, but right lung injury was aggravated in dobutamine-infused animals, as indicated by increased lung edema, histologic lung injury, and cell counts in lavage. CONCLUSIONS: In the setting of unilateral lung injury and uneven lung perfusion, a dobutamine-induced increase in cardiac output has potentially detrimental effects on the opposite lung.

Percutaneous transtracheal emergency ventilation during respiratory arrest: comparison of the oxygen flow modulator with a hand-triggered emergency jet injector in an animal model.

The oxygen flow modulator is a device for percutaneous transtracheal emergency ventilation. Simulating a respiratory arrest situation, we studied the effects of this device in comparison with a hand-triggered emergency jet injector during pulmonary resuscitation. Nine pigs were anesthetized and mechanically ventilated. After surgical exposure, an emergency transtracheal airway catheter was inserted into the trachea. Ventilation was stopped until SpO2 was below 70%. Each animal was subsequently randomly ventilated via the transtracheal airway catheter with either the hand-triggered emergency jet injector or the oxygen flow modulator. After 10 minutes, respiratory and hemodynamic parameters were recorded. Ventilation was stopped again until SpO2 reached 70%, and the animal was ventilated with the second device. With both devices, pulmonary resuscitation was successful. Whereas PaO2 differed not significantly between the two devices, PaCO2 was lower during percutaneous transtracheal ventilation with the hand-triggered emergency jet injector.

PEEP has beneficial effects on inflammation in the injured and no deleterious effects on the noninjured lung after unilateral lung acid instillation.

OBJECTIVE: In clinical lung injury areas of inflammation and structural alveolar alteration are unevenly distributed and interspaced between healthy or less injured lung areas. Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) applied with mechanical ventilation (MV) may affect injured and healthy lung areas differently. We compared the effects of PEEP on the inflammatory response in injured and noninjured regions of the lung in an animal model of unilateral lung acid instillation. SUBJECTS: Anesthetized, paralyzed, and ventilated rats. INTERVENTIONS: Rats underwent left-endobronchial instillation with either hydrochloric acid or isotonic saline and were randomized 24 h later to MV using constant tidal volume (16 ml/kg) with either ZEEP, PEEP at 5 mmHg, or PEEP at 10 mmHg. After 4 h of MV the animals (n=9 or 10 per group) were killed and inflammatory markers assessed in left- and right-lung lavage fluid samples. In four additional animals per group differential lung perfusion was assessed. RESULTS: Unilateral acid injury alone worsened oxygenation, decreased left-lung perfusion, and increased left-lung lavage neutrophil and macrophage counts and cytokine levels. MV with ZEEP further impaired oxygenation and further decreased left-lung perfusion in acid-injured animals. MV with high PEEP preserved oxygenation and significantly decreased left-lung lavage protein content and cell counts in acid-injured animals and had no deleterious effect on the right (noninjured) lung. CONCLUSION: In this model of unilateral lung acid injury high PEEP attenuates the inflammatory cell response in the acid-injured lung, preserved oxygenation and has no deleterious effects in the opposite lung.

The effects of xenon or nitrous oxide supplementation on systemic oxygenation and pulmonary perfusion during one-lung ventilation in pigs.

During experimental one-lung ventilation (OLV), the type of anesthesia may alter systemic hemodynamics, lung perfusion, and oxygenation. We studied whether xenon (Xe) or nitrous oxide (N(2)O) added to propofol anesthesia would affect oxygenation, lung perfusion, and systemic and pulmonary hemodynamics during OLV in a pig model. Nine pigs were anesthetized, tracheally intubated, and mechanically ventilated. After placement of arterial and pulmonary artery catheters, a left-sided double-lumen tube was placed via tracheotomy. IV anesthesia with propofol was supplemented in random order with N(2)O/O(2) 60:40 or Xe/O(2) 60:40 or N(2)/O(2) 60:40. All measurements were made after stabilization at each concentration. Differential lung perfusion was measured with colored microspheres. Oxygenation (Pao(2): 90 +/- 17, 95 +/- 20, and 94 +/- 20 mm Hg for N(2)/O(2), N(2)O/O(2), and Xe/O(2)) and left lung perfusion (16% +/- 5%, 14% +/- 6%, and 18.8% for N(2)/O(2), N(2)O/O(2), and Xe/O(2)) during OLV did not differ among the 3 groups. However, mean arterial blood pressure (78 +/- 25, 62 +/- 23, and 66 +/- 23 mm Hg for N(2)/O(2), N(2)O/O(2), and Xe/O(2)) and mixed venous saturation (55% +/- 12%, 48% +/- 12%, and 50% +/- 12% for N(2)/O(2), N(2)O/O(2), and Xe/O(2)) were reduced during N(2)O/O(2) as compared with the control group (N(2)/O(2)). Supplementation of IV anesthesia with Xe or N(2)O does not impair oxygenation nor alter lung perfusion during experimental OLV.

Measuring cardiac output in one-lung ventilation: a comparison of pulmonary artery and transpulmonary aortic measurements in pigs.

OBJECTIVE: The agreement between cardiac output measurements via pulmonary artery thermodilution (CO[PA]) and transpulmonary aortic thermodilution (CO[AT]) during one-lung ventilation was studied. DESIGN: Animal study with repeated simultaneous measurements comparing 2 cardiac output measurement techniques. SETTING: Experimental animal facility of a university department. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-eight female pigs (26-42 kg). INTERVENTIONS: The pigs were anesthetized, tracheally intubated, and mechanically ventilated. After placement of an aortic thermistor catheter via the femoral artery and a pulmonary artery catheter, a double-lumen tube was placed via tracheotomy. During one-lung ventilation in each animal, 3 measurements with pulmonary artery thermodilution and transpulmonary aortic thermodilution were performed in different hemodynamic states. Both thermistors were connected to 1 computer system, and 144 simultaneous cardiac output measurements were analyzed. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Linear regression analyses revealed a close relationship between the 2 methods: CO(AT) = 0.81 CO(PA) + 1.04 (L/min) (r = 0.96, p < 0.0001). Bland-Altman analysis showed that CO(AT) was slightly higher than the CO(PA) with a bias of 0.2 +/- 0.5 L/min. However, in higher CO states, an inversion of this relationship was found, possibly because of indicator loss and recirculation. CONCLUSIONS: The pulmonary artery thermodilution and the transpulmonary aortic thermodilution techniques both accurately measure cardiac output during one-lung ventilation.

Lung perfusion, shunt fraction, and oxygenation during one-lung ventilation in pigs: the effects of desflurane, isoflurane, and propofol.

OBJECTIVE: To study how desflurane, isoflurane, and propofol affect pulmonary perfusion, shunt fraction, and systemic oxygenation during one-lung ventilation (OLV) in vivo. DESIGN: Prospective animal study with a crossover design. SETTING: Animal laboratory of a university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Twelve female pigs. INTERVENTIONS: The pigs were anesthetized, tracheally intubated, and mechanically ventilated. After placement of femoral arterial and thermodilution pulmonary artery catheters, a left-sided, double-lumen tube (DLT) was placed via tracheotomy. After DLT placement, F(I)O(2) was adjusted at 0.8, and anesthesia was continued in random order with 1 minimal alveolar concentration of desflurane, 1 minimal alveolar concentration of isoflurane, or propofol. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Measurements of respiratory and hemodynamic parameters were made after stabilization at each anesthetic. During OLV, perfusion of the nonventilated lung and shunt fraction were comparable during all 3 anesthetics. PaO(2) was lower during desflurane and isoflurane anesthesia as compared with propofol anesthesia. Mixed venous PO(2) and cardiac output were lower with desflurane and isoflurane as compared with propofol. CONCLUSIONS: In a clinically relevant model of OLV cardiac output, PaO(2) and mixed venous PO(2) decreased during desflurane and isoflurane as compared with propofol, whereas perfusion of the nonventilated lung and shunt fraction remained comparable.