[Renal denervation for resistant hypertension without general anesthesia: advantage of a MEOPA morphine protocol. Preliminary experience]. / Dénervation rénale pour HTA réfractaire sans anesthésie générale : intérêt d'un protocole MEOPA Morphine. Expérience préliminaire.

UNLABELLED: Renal denervation using the technique of radiofrequency is used only recently for the treatment of resistant hypertension. Normally, it is done under general anesthesia because the ablation point technique is painful. We suggest an alternative to general anesthesia comprising an association of morphin 0.1mg/kg IV to MEOPA (gas combining oxygen and azot protoxyd) delivered through an oxygen mask. Our series includes 12 consecutive patients treated between October 2011 and June 2013, the first five patients (group 1) have received only an hydroxizin and morphin sedation. Every five have felt the ablation painful, in two cases bearable pain (EVA<5), in three cases intense (EVA>5) pain leading to increasing doses of morphin, (total dose of 0.25mg/kg in two cases, 0.17mg in one case). For the seven following patients, a protocol including hydroxyzin, morphin and MEOPA given through a mask has been set up. Only one patient has felt a mild pain (EVA 5) leading to an increasing dose of morphin (total dose 0.17mg/kg). None of the six other patients has felt any pain during the procedure. The average dose of morphin is 0.17mg/kg in group 1, 0.11mg/kg in group 2. This is a preliminary study; if confirmed, it will allow a lot of hospitals without on-site possibilities of general anesthesia, to realize such procedures. CONCLUSION: regarding pain, the procedure of renal ablation was well tolerated for six among seven patients receiving the association MEOPA and IV morphin. In contrast, in the five patients treated only with IV morphin, we observed a less good tolerance to pain and the need to increase the doses of IV morphin.

Bepridil for recurrent sustained ventricular tachycardias: assessment using electrophysiologic testing.

Bepridil was found to possess electrophysiologic properties common to class I and IV antiarrhythmic agents. Intravenous and oral bepridil were evaluated using serial electrophysiologic studies in a selected group of 9 patients with recurrent sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) unresponsive to usual therapy, including amiodarone therapy in 15 patients. Intravenous bepridil treatment terminated sustained, well tolerated, pacing-induced VT in 3 of 6 patients and prevented the initiation of VT in 2 of these and in a patient in whom the drug failed to restore sinus rhythm. Oral bepridil was administered at a loading dose of 800 mg on day 1, and 500 to 600 mg the following days, and programmed electrical stimulation was repeated 2 to 6 days after initial study. Oral bepridil therapy prevented VT initiation in 6 patients (66%). The tachycardia cycle length was prolonged (30 to 105 ms) in 2 patients in whom VT remained inducible. In 1 patient the tachycardia cycle length significantly shortened after bepridil and prompt cardioversion was required. Five of the 6 patients with successful results underwent long-term oral treatment with bepridil. VT recurred in 1 patient during the hospitalization period and an adverse effect (paralytic ileus) in another patient required drug discontinuation. Three patients remain symptom-free over a follow-up of 4 to 13 months. These data suggest that bepridil may be useful in patients with recurrent, sustained VT.