[Electroconvulsive Therapy - A beneficial and well tolerated therapy in children and adolescents with schizophrenia]. / Elektrokonvulsionstherapie ­ bei Kindern und Jugendlichen mit Schizophrenie wirksam und gut verträglich.

We report four cases of 12- to 17-year-old patients with schizophrenia, two of them suffering from catatonia, which were treated by ECT. Under a combined treatment with either ziprasidone or clozapine, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), they improved markedly. Severity and course of acute schizophrenia were evaluated by the Brief Psychiatric rating Scale (BPRS), severity and course of catatonia were evaluated with the Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale (BFCRS). This article underlines the benefit, the safety and the tolerability of ECT in younger patients with schizophrenic disorders.

Comparison of heart rate variability response in children undergoing elective endotracheal intubation with and without neuromuscular blockade: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The routine use of neuromuscular blocking drugs (NMBD) for endotracheal intubation in children is the subject of much controversy. The analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) can reveal information about the functional state of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). AIM: The purpose of this study was to determine if HRV elucidates differences in the sympathovagal balance of children undergoing elective endo-tracheal intubation with and without neuromuscular blockade (NMB). METHODS: In this prospective study, 38 children (2-6 years) scheduled for adenotonsillectomy were randomized into two groups to receive fentanyl 2 µg·kg(-1) and propofol 4 mg·kg(-1) , with either mivacurium 0.25 mg·kg(-1) (NMB group) or saline solution (NoNMB group) for anesthesia induction. The same experienced, blinded anesthesiologist performed endotracheal intubation. Heart rate variability, RR intervals, ECG as well as an electroencephalogram were recorded with HRV and BIS XP monitors, respectively. Heart rate variability was analyzed in the frequency domain. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in HRV changes immediately after mivacurium administration compared with an administration of saline. The groups were comparable for the bispectral index value (NMB 35 [33-41] vs NoNMB 34 [32-42]) during endotracheal intubation. Changes in both the low-frequency power and the low-/high-frequency ratio immediately after endotracheal intubation compared with the unstimulated state before laryngoscopy were significantly higher without NMB (P = 0.015 and P = 0.006, respectively), whereas there was no significant difference with respect to the high-frequency power. CONCLUSIONS: The stress response during endotracheal intubation in pediatric patients represented by the frequency domain analysis of HRV was found to be higher without NMB. When mivacurium was added to a propofol-fentanyl induction regimen, the ANS alterations during endotracheal intubation decreased significantly.

Design and implementation of a control system reflecting the level of analgesia during general anesthesia.

INTRODUCTION: Measuring and ensuring an adequate level of analgesia in patients are of increasing interest in the area of automated drug delivery during general anesthesia. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to develop a control system that may reflect the intraoperative analgesia value. Our hypothesis was that a feedback controller could be applied in clinical practice safely and at an adequate quality of analgesia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the practical feasibility of such a system in a clinical setting. METHODS: The control system for the level of analgesia described in this paper relies on a parameter combination of heart rate variability (HRV), heart rate (HR), and blood pressure (mean arterial pressure, MAP), which serve as input variables for an expert system. For this fuzzy system, the experience of the participating anesthesiologists was translated into a set of fuzzy rules. In a pilot trial, the control system for automated titration of remifentanil, a short-acting opioid, was tested combined with a closed-loop propofol infusion system for hypnosis. Ten adult patients (4 women, 6 men), aged 22-52 years (median, 45 years; range, 29-49 years), with an American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status class I or II and who were scheduled for elective trauma surgery in a supine position were enrolled in this prospective trial. The precision of the system was calculated using internationally defined performance parameters. RESULTS: There was no human intervention necessary during the computer-controlled administration of propofol and remifentanil, and operating conditions were satisfactory in all patients. All patients assessed the quality of anesthesia as "good" to "very good". Median performance error, median absolute performance error, and wobble for HR and MAP during maintenance of anesthesia were -8.98 (5.32), 10.08 (4.17), and 2.68 (1.29) and -4.51 (12.73), 13.63 (2.27), and 3.90 (2.08) [mean (SD)], respectively. CONCLUSION: The control system, reflecting the level of analgesia during general anesthesia designed and evaluated in this study, allows for a clinically practical, nearly fully automated infusion of an opioid during medium-length surgical procedures with acceptable technical requirements and an adequate precision.

[Blood pressure control in the area of surgical interventions]. / Blutdruckregelung im Umfeld chirurgischer Interventionen.

For specific surgical interventions, such as aortic stent implantation, it might be temporarily necessary to decrease mean arterial pressure to rather low levels (around 40 mm Hg). Such hypotensive pressure levels are necessary to avoid intra- and postoperative intricacies. Traditionally, the drug Nitroprussidnatrium is used for this task. To adjust the correct amount of drug to reach the target pressure as fast as possible and without overshoot, the anaesthetists typically use empirical knowledge and might need several minutes until the target point is reached. In our research group, an adaptive control system was developed for this task which is able to compute and set the transient drug release automatically. For the design and testing of the adaptive control strategy, the well known Guyton model was implemented into the MATLAB/Simulink development environment. This paper describes the implementation and adaption of the Guyton model to hypotensive pressure control and provides some algorithmic details of the adaptive control strategy for automatic drug delivery in deep hypotension. The designed control system was successfully validated in animal trials (25 trials on 7 pigs). Following this, an additional controller component for increase of blood pressure with the help of the drug Noradrenalin was implemented. It is now possible to increase blood pressure to a specific value to save defined cerebral perfusion pressure for patients with craniocerebral injury. In a second pilot trial, this controller extension was tested in 10 pigs.

Clinical predictors of duration of action of cisatracurium and rocuronium administered long-term.

BACKGROUND: The duration of action of neuromuscular blocking drugs (NBDs) varies between individuals and even within individuals in different settings. OBJECTIVES: To define predictors of variance in duration of action of rocuronium and cisatracurium administered long-term. METHODS: A prospective, double-blind, multicenter trial that included 113 patients scheduled for major abdominal surgery and postoperative admission to the intensive care unit. Patients received repetitive (median, 7) equipotent doses of rocuronium or cisatracurium to maintain deep relaxation (twitch height of the adductor pollicis muscle <25% of baseline). Effects of weight, age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists risk score, lowest core temperature, duration of NBD administration, and tobacco smoking history on duration of action of cisatracurium and rocuronium were determined via multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Only duration of NBD administration was predictive of the duration of action of rocuronium. The predicted increase in time to recovery of the train-of-4 ratio to 0.9 (duration TOF 0.9) per hour of continuous NBD treatment was 12.4 minutes. In contrast, only lowest core body temperature was predictive of cisatracurium's duration of action, and the predicted increase in duration TOF 0.9 per degree Celsius decrease was 9.8 min. CONCLUSION: Duration of NBD treatment is strongly predictive of the duration of action of rocuronium, and body temperature is predictive of the duration of action of cisatracurium. These data may help decrease the incidence of drug-induced muscle weakness in recovery rooms and surgical intensive care units, particularly if neuromuscular transmission monitoring is not available.

Reversal of rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade with sugammadex in pediatric and adult surgical patients.

BACKGROUND: Sugammadex reverses neuromuscular blockade by chemical encapsulation of rocuronium. This phase IIIA study explored efficacy and safety of sugammadex in infants (28 days to 23 months), children (2-11 yr), adolescents (12-17 yr), and adults (18-65 yr). METHODS: Anesthetized patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists class 1-2) received 0.6 mg/kg rocuronium and were randomized to receive sugammadex (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, or 4.0 mg/kg) or placebo at reappearance of T2. Neuromuscular monitoring was performed using acceleromyography. Primary endpoint was time from sugammadex/placebo administration to recovery of the train-of-four ratio to 0.9. Adverse events and electrocardiograms were recorded, and blood samples were collected for safety and determination of sugammadex and rocuronium plasma concentrations. RESULTS: A dose-response relation was demonstrated in children (n = 22), adolescents (n = 28), and adults (n = 26), but not infants because of the small sample size (n = 8). After placebo, median recovery time of train-of-four to 0.9 was 21.0, 19.0, 23.4, and 28.5 min in infants, children, adolescents, and adults, respectively. After 2.0 mg/kg sugammadex train-of-four 0.9 was attained in 0.6, 1.2, 1.1, and 1.2 min, respectively. The sugammadex plasma concentrations were similar for the children, adolescent, and adult age groups across the dose range. Sugammadex was well tolerated: No reoccurrence of blockade, inadequate reversal, significant QT prolongation, or other abnormalities were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Sugammadex is a new reversal agent that rapidly, effectively, safely, and with similar recovery times reverses rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade in children, adolescents, adults, and the small number of infants studied.

A surgical technique for catheterization of the sagittal sinus in pigs.

The purpose of our study was to describe an efficient, reliable and inexpensive surgical method for cerebral venous blood gas sampling in acutely instrumented pigs in a research setting. Parameters from the blood samples are used to monitor brain perfusion and oxygenation in different animal models. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first detailed description of an accurate surgical technique for catheterization of the sagittal sinus in pigs.

Sickle cell anemia: conclusions from a forensic case report of a young African woman who died after anesthesia.

A 20-year old African woman underwent anesthesia for interruption of an unwanted pregnancy. As a consequence of the anesthesia, she went into coma because of an as yet unknown and untested homozygotic state of sickle cell anemia. Her vital functions were maintained for more than 1 year by intensive medicine, but she died finally in multiorgan failure and aspiration pneumonia. Because of the complications under anesthesia and the missing preanesthetic test for hemoglobinopathy, autopsy was conducted in the forensic medicine department and not in the department of pathology. The sickle cell disease was diagnosed by electrophoresis of the blood, by molecular detection of mutation in the hemoglobin gene, as well as by postmortem light and electron microscopy. Sickle cells were found in capillaries of brain, liver, lung, bone marrow, and spleen. Electrophoretic analysis revealed 80.2% HbS in addition to 3.2% HbA2 and 16.6% HbF, whereas no HbA0 could be detected in blood, confirming the homozygosity of sickle cell anemia. Because of sickle cell crisis, occluded blood vessels, and severe brain cortex necrosis, the patient died in spite of reanimation and intensive medicine. This case demonstrates that it is still important to realize the possibility of this disease and diagnostic obstacles even in regions where its manifestation is not endemic, as in Northern and Central Europe.

The impact of intra-aortic balloon pumping on cardiac output determination by pulmonary arterial and transpulmonary thermodilution in pigs.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of intra-aortic balloon pumping (IABP) on the comparison of simultaneous measurements of cardiac output via pulmonary arterial and transpulmonary thermodilution (PiCCO; Pulsion Medical Systems, Munich, Germany). DESIGN: Prospective. SETTINGS: University research laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: The data were derived from 9 anesthetized (fentanyl, propofol, flunitrazepam, rocuronium) and ventilated pigs. INTERVENTIONS: A thermodilution catheter was inserted into the pulmonary artery, a PiCCO catheter into the abdominal aorta through the right femoral artery, epicardial atrial pacing wires through a thoracotomy, and a balloon catheter for counterpulsation into the descending thoracic aorta through the left femoral artery. Cardiac output was varied over a wide range by cardiac pacing between 80 and 150/min in steps of 10/min and was measured without and during IABP at an assist frequency of 1:1. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 236 paired cardiac output measurements were carried out in a range of cardiac output between 1.4 to 4.9 L/min. A close correlation was found between transpulmonary and pulmonary arterial thermodilution both without and during IABP (r = 0.94 and 0.93, respectively) and a good agreement of both methods (bias of 0.30 and 0.26 L/min, respectively; precision 0.47 and 0.52 L/min, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Transpulmonary thermodilution is suitable for cardiac output measurement during IABP. Hence, in critically ill patients with cardiac pump failure, blood flow may be determined as accurately with the less-invasive transpulmonary method as with the traditional pulmonary arterial thermodilution one.