[Cardiovascular and respiratory complications after pneumonectomy]. / Complicaciones cardiovasculares y respiratorias postneumonectomía.

Thoracic surgery has made important progress thanks to parallel advances in anesthetic techniques, which have lowered mortality and complication rates. Pneumonectomy, however, continues to carry a high risk of perioperative death and morbidity, with complications involving the heart and lung being the most common. Pneumonectomy requires careful preoperative assessment to identify patients at high risk of cardiac complications. However, there is no evidence available on the best approach to take in determining risk of impaired lung function after pneumonectomy. Postoperative arrhythmias increase mortality, although evidence does not suggest a need for systematic prophylactic treatment of patients who will undergo lung resection. The incidence of acute myocardial infarction ranges from 1.5% to 5% and diagnosis is difficult because most episodes are silent. The incidence of post-pneumonectomy pulmonary edema is between 4% and 7% and evidence indicates that prevention is the most important therapeutic measure. Patients tend to have greater risk of pneumonia after thoracotomy, but few studies have provided a high level of evidence for the usefulness of antibiotic prophylaxis in chest surgery. The aim of the present study was to review the literature on the most common complications of surgery on the lung in order to support decision making based on the integration of knowledge and clinical judgment acquired with experience. A MEDLINE search was carried out to locate studies published from 1980 through January 2005.

[Comparison of gastric aspirate volume after intubation in patients with and without symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease]. / Comparación del volumen gástrico tras intubación entre pacientes con y sin síntomas de enfermedad por reflujo gastroesofágico.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the postintubation gastric aspirate volume of patients with and without symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). METHODS: Prospective randomized study of 331 physical status ASA I-II adults scheduled for surgery. Patients with GERD symptoms (heartburn and regurgitation) were assigned to group A (n=83); asymptomatic patients (n=248) were assigned to groups B (n=85), C (n=70), and D (n=93). Group A was subdivided: group A1 received outpatients treatment for GERD and group A2 did not. Groups A, B, and C received prophylaxis with omeprazole 40 mg and metoclopramide 10 mg, respectively. Group D received no prophylaxis. Groups A and B patients received 1 mg x kg(-1) of succinylcholine, and groups C and D received 0.2 mg x kg(-1) of cisatracurium. After intubation, gastric content was aspirated and measured. The results were compared with Pearson's chi2 and Student t tests, analysis of variance, and Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS: The gastric aspirate volumes in each group were as follows: 36.6 (SD 5) mL in group A; 9.98 (4.9) mL in group B; 10.8 (5.5) mL in group C; 15.62 (6.3) mL in group D; 32.7 (5.1) mL in group A1; and 39.08 (3.6) mL in group A2. Volumes were significantly greater in group A than in groups B, C, and D (P<0.0001), and in subgroup A2 than in subgroup A1 (P<0.001). The percentages of patients from whom a volume greater than 25 mL was aspirated in each group were as follows: 98.9% of group A, 1.2% of group B, 2.8% of group C, and 8.6% of group D (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Patients with chronic heartburn and regurgitation have greater postintubation gastric aspirate volumes than do asymptomatic patients, attributable to the gastroesophageal motility dysfunction characteristic of GERD that can favor aspiration. GERD questions should be included in preanesthetic medical history taking, and symptomatic patients should be prescribed outpatient proton pump inhibitor therapy.

[Anesthesia in Sebastian syndrome: a new hereditary macrothrombocytopenia]. / Anestesia en el síndrome de Sebastian: una nueva macrotrombocitopenia hereditaria.

The macrothrombocytopenias make up a heterogeneous group of disease involving thrombocytopenia and giant platelets; other clinical or laboratory findings, such as hereditary nephritis, sensorineural hearing loss, leukocyte inclusions, and cataracts, may also be present. The tendency to bleeding is highly variable and is due to decreased expression of the GP1b-V-IX complex on the surface of platelets, leading to altered platelet-vessel wall and platelet-platelet interactions. The 5 autosomal dominant giant-platelet disorders that are associated with macrothrombocytopenia are May-Hegglin anormaly, Epstein, Fechtner, and Sebastian syndromes, and Alport-like syndrome with macrothrombocytopenia. The mutation responsible is in gene 9 (MYH9) coding for the nonmuscle myosin heavy chain IIA that has been identified in the long arm of chromosome 22 (22q12.3-q13.2). The most recently described macrothrombocytopenia is Sebastian syndrome, consisting of thrombocytopenia with giant platelets and leukocyte inclusions. We report the case of a woman with Sebastian syndrome scheduled for abdominoperineal resection for rectal carcinoma. Preoperative studies revealed isolated thrombocytopenia (35,000 platelets/microL) and a mean platelet volumen of 13 fL. Preoperative prophylactic platelet transfusion was carried out with no adverse events. After a postoperative transfusion of packed red cells, needed because of abundant bleeding, clinical course continued to be satisfactory. The anesthetic implications of this syndrome are not well known because few cases have been reported in the literature, and none was found that describes anesthetic management. Nevertheless, thrombocytopenia and the tendency to bleeding present challenges to the anesthesiologist.

[Anesthesia and fibrobronchoscopy for the study of chronic stridor in a boy with Robinow syndrome]. / Anestesia y fibrobroncoscopia para el estudio de estridor crónico en un niño con síndrome de Robinow.

Robinow's syndrome involves fetal facial features, short stature, brachymelia, hypoplastic genitals and a normal karyotype. A 10-year-old boy with Robinow's syndrome was scheduled for study of chronic stridor by fiberoptic bronchoscopy. Airway exploration with the patient awake revealed hipertelorism, retromicrognathia, poor dental alignment, macroglossia and class IV Mallampati. After anesthetic induction in spontaneous ventilation with 5% sevoflurane, grade IV Cormack-Lehane conditions were observed. A laryngeal mask was placed without muscle relaxation after which the boy was ventilated manually for several minutes without stridor. Anesthetic maintenance was with 3% sevoflurane in 50% oxygen and air. After recovery of spontaneous ventilation, marked stridor presented along with a decrease in oxygen saturation and expired fractions of sevoflurane and CO2. Pulse oxymetry did not increase with increased FiO2. However, when continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) was set al 10 cm H2O, pulse oxymetry did increase; likewise, expired and inspired sevoflurane concentrations became equal, and expired CO2 increased. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy revealed an area of intrathoracic tracheomalacia, which collapsed partially during spontaneous expiration and collapsed less when CPAP was started. We discuss the relation between the facial dysmorphia characteristic of this syndrome and the possibility of finding a difficult airway, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of intrathoracic tracheomalacia during anesthesia.

[Severe perioperative hypotension after nephrectomy with adrenalectomy]. / Hipotensión perioperatoria grave tras nefrectomía con suprarrenalectomía.

A 70-year-old obese, hypertensive woman taking angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and chlorthalidone but with no history of corticosteroid treatment or hypothalamus-hypophyseal-adrenal disease, underwent nephrectomy and adrenalectomy under combined general and epidural anesthesia. Severe hypotension with oliguria developed during surgery and persisted during postoperative recovery, with anuria, metabolic acidosis, hyponatremia and hyperpotassemia. Although the symptoms were initially attributed to prior treatment with ACE inhibitors and diuretics together with combined anesthesia, the patient's lack of response to crystalloid, colloid and inotropic catecholamine therapy in the context of anuria, metabolic acidosis, hyponatremia and hyperpotassemia led us to consider a diagnosis of Addisonian crisis. Blood samples were taken to determine adrenocorticotropic hormone levels, and hydrocortisone treatment was started. The patient responded to treatment and cortisol levels fell, confirming the diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency. Compensatory endrocrine secretion of cortisol by the contralateral adrenal gland has been observed in patients undergoing nephrectomy and adrenalectomy for excision of a hypernephroma, and replacement therapy is therefore not recommended. Perioperative Addisonian crises have also been described in patients suffering great surgical stress, and severe hypotension has been observed in patients on long-term treatment with ACE inhibitors after induction of general anesthesia and after epidural anesthesia with local anesthetics. The combination of these factors made rapid diagnosis and start of appropriate therapy difficult.

[Malignant Caroli's disease. Etiopathogenic hypotheses, apropos a case]. / Enfermedad de Caroli malignizada. Hipótesis etiopatogénicas, a propósito de un caso.

We present a case report of Caroli's disease with related cholangiocarcinoma in a 30 years old white woman. The risk of Caroli's disease malignization is estimated about 7-12% being cholangiocarcinoma the histopathologic pattern most frequently found. This frequency, which is over 100 times higher than that expected in the general population, make us think over the possibility of being some premalignant agent, if not a really carcinogenic one in Caroli's disease. The risk of degeneration is proportional to time of evolution of the disease so, when it is possible, the resective surgery should be elected.

[The prognostic factors and evolution of the quality of life in primary biliary cirrhosis]. / Factores pronósticos y evolución de la calidad de vida en la cirrosis biliar primaria.

The prognostic factors and the evolution of the quality of life were evaluated in 38 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (94.7% females, mean age 52.6 +/- 2.0 years) followed up for more than 36 months (mean 65.3 +/- 3.7 months). Karnofsky's index significantly declined during follow up (p less than 0.05) in a parallel fashion to modified Child's hepatic functional class (p less than 0.05) and to the days of hospital readmission (p less than 0.05). Eleven patients (28.9%) died, and the median survival was 88.7 months. The comparison of the actuarial curves showed the following to be significant poor prognostic factors at the time of diagnosis: a) clinical: more than one associated autoimmune disease, weight loss of more than 10% of the ideal weight, jaundice, upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage associated with portal hypertension, portal-systemic encephalopathy and a modified Child's hepatic functional class of 9 or more; b) biochemical: serum albumin lower than 3.5 g/dl and bilirubin higher than 2 mg/dl; c) histological: Total histological activity index of 10 or more and erosive necrosis index of 2 or more (Knodell et al.), lobular granulomas, and stage IV (Ludwig et al). A significant correlation was found (p less than 0.001) between the R index of the Mayo Clinic and the mean survival time of our patients. As a temporary policy, we indicate hepatic transplant when R is 9.2 or higher (life expectancy lower than 24 months), awaiting our own probabilistic prognostic model with the inclusion of quality of life criteria.

[Ménétrier disease. Clinical and histological study of 3 cases]. / Enfermedad de Ménétrier. Estudio clínico e histológico de tres casos.

Three cases of Ménétrier's disease diagnosed and treated in our hospital during the last 15 years are presented. We describe the clinical manifestations as well as the pathological findings; one of the cases was complicated by carcinomatous degeneration. On the basis of our experience, we briefly review the controversial clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of this rare condition.