Effect of Cervical Interlaminar Epidural Steroid Injection: Analysis According to the Neck Pain Patterns and MRI Findings

BACKGROUND: It is widely accepted that cervical interlaminar steroid injection (CIESI) is more effective in treating radicular pain than axial neck pain, but without direct comparison. And the differences of effect after CIESI according to MRI findings are inconsistent. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the therapeutic response of CIESI according to pain sites, durations, MRI findings, and other predictive factors altogether, unlike previous studies, which evaluated them separately. METHODS: The medical records of 128 patients who received fluoroscopy guided CIESI were analyzed. We evaluated the therapeutic response (more than a 50% reduction on the visual analog scale [VAS] by their second visit) after CIESI by (1) pain site; neck pain without radicular pain/radicular pain with or without neck pain, (2) pain duration; acute/chronic (more than 6 month), and (3) findings of MRI; herniated intervertebral disc (HIVD)/spinal stenosis, respectively and altogether. RESULTS: Eighty-eight patients (68%) responded to CIESI, and there were no significant differences in demographic data, initial VAS score, or laboratory findings. And there were no significant differences in the response rate relating to pain site, pain duration, or MRI findings, respectively. In additional analysis, acute radicular pain with HIVD patients showed significantly better response than chronic neck pain with spinal stenosis (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: We cannot find any sole predictive factor of therapeutic response to the CIESI. But the patients having acute radicular pain with HIVD showed the best response, and those having other chronic neck pain showed the worst response to CIESI.

Management of cardiac arrest in a parturient with Eisenmenger's syndrome and complete atrioventricular block during Cesarean section: a case report / 대한마취과학회지

A 26-year-old parturient with Eisenmenger's syndrome and complete atrioventricular block was presented for emergency Cesarean section due to preterm labor. Ventricular tachycardia (VT), which progressed to ventricular fibrillation (VF), started immediately after the incision. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation with electric shocks was given by anesthesiologists while the obstetrician delivered the baby between the shocks. A cardiac surgeon was ready for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation institution in case of emergency but spontaneous circulation of the patient returned after the 3rd shock and the delivery of the baby. The newborn's Apgar score was 4 at 1 minute and 8 at 5 minutes. An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator was inserted before the discharge because the patient had recurrent episodes of VT and VF postoperatively.

Air embolism during off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery: A case report / 대한마취과학회지

There have been several reports of gas embolism occurring during off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (OPCAB) surgery. However, all these cases of air embolism were associated with the repair of venous circulation, using a CO2 blower. In this report, we describe a rare case of air embolism in the coronary arteries associated with the use of a CO2 blower during OPCAB. There was no injury to the veins during OPCAB. The air embolism was treated successfully with cardiopulmonary bypass.