An autopsy case of aortic root rupture with thin porcelain aorta during balloon-expandable transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

A 92-year-old woman was transferred to our institute due to drug-resistant heart failure from severe aortic stenosis. She seemed to be a candidate for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) because of her frailty and porcelain aorta. There were no severe calcified nodules in the left-ventricular outflow tract area. Because three-dimensional computed tomography analysis showed that her basal annulus area was 419 mm2, a 26-mm SAPIEN XT (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA, USA) was selected for implantation. After deployment of the valve with 10% reduced volume, aortic root rupture occurred and her blood pressure fell due to acute cardiac tamponade. Emergent cardiac pericardial fenestration was done and drained blood was continuously returned to the circulation through percutaneous cardiopulmonary bypass. Despite strenuous efforts to save her life, she died 13 h after the event. An autopsy revealed a thin porcelain aorta and aortic root rupture with a fragile aortic wall. .

[A case of thoracic endovascular aortic repair using a transapical approach through the left ventricular apex for an ascending aortic pseudoaneurysm].

We report a case of a patient with two previous histories of resection of thymoma using median sternotomy and repair for an ascending aortic pseudoaneurysm using median thoracotomy undergoing endovascular aortic repair of the recurrence of pseudoaneurysm in the same site. Due to severe adhesion and calcification in the tissue after two histories of thoracotomy, we expected it impossible to repair the pseudoaneurysm with open thracotomy. We concluded that endovascular aortic repair was the best way for the case. Only problem was the limitation of the characters of current devices for thoracic endovascular aortic repair. If the procedure is done in the ordinary way, the tips of stent graft delivery systems are so long that there may be a danger of damaging the aortic valve, coronary artery, and left ventricle. This is why we decided to use a transapical approach through the left ventricular apex by using left thoracotomy. For the operation, an arterial line and central venous line were secured and one-lung ventilation was performed. We used femoral-femoral bypass to prepare for unexpected bleeding. During the deployment of the stent graft, ventricular fibrillation was produced by the fibrillator to locate in the appreciate site. In the end, the operation was successful.

[Noncardiac ST elevation during the ileus operation].

A 59-year-old man had undergone the esophagectomy for esophageal carcinoma. Subsequently, he was scheduled to undergo the operation for ileus. He had midazolam 1 mg intramuscular injection before the surgery. General anesthesia was induced with thiamylal 62.5 mg and vecuronium 6 mg and maintained with sevoflurane, fentanyl, air and oxygen. ST elevation up to 0.3 mV occurred 45 minutes after the start of the operation, but his hemodynamic status was stable. We administered a nitrovasodilator, but the ST elevation rose gradually without hemodynamic instability until the end of the operation. He was then admitted to the cardiac care unit. The evidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) was not found, althrough the ST elevation did not decline to the baseline. Suddenly, a physician watching the patient and his ECG compressed his chest and interrupted its motion. Surprisingly, the ST elevation was improved. In this case, the gastric tube after esophagectomy had been extended to the ileus and the movement of the heart was influenced in the crowded mediastinal space. When ST elevation was found with no evidence of ACS, we must consider other reason than ACS.

[A Kumamoto model of clinical training in tracheal intubation for paramedics].

BACKGROUND: Since July 2004, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare approved certified paramedics to perform emergency prehospital tracheal intubation. A specialized training system in tracheal intubation has been established in Kumamoto Prefecture. METHODS: The Kumamoto Prefectural Medical Control Organization, a tracheal intubation task force was established: consisting of the departments of Anesthesiology at Kumamoto University and 11 other major hospitals, along with Kumamoto Prefecture and the 14 prefectural fire-departments. This group published the Kumamoto training guidelines and a training system for paramedics. RESULTS: Kumamoto Prefecture appealed for support of paramedic activity on television and in newspapers as public education. The prefectural governor officially asked hospitals to train paramedics. Because 9 of the 14 fire-departments had no regional teaching hospital, trainees were matched with other hospitals by the task force. The task force published a pamphlet to inform surgical patients about tracheal intubation training and to recruit patients as practice volunteers. Anesthesiologists undertook significant roles in making arrangements to facilitate the project at their hospitals, in addition to teaching paramedics prior to surgical procedures. CONCLUSIONS: The Medical Control Organization, Kumamoto Prefecture, anesthesiologists and emergency response personnel worked together successfully to promote the training program for clinical tracheal intubation by paramedics.

Sedative and respiratory effects of intramuscular midazolam as a premedicant: Influence of gender.

We compared the sedative and respiratory effects of intramuscular midazolam in men and women in a randomized, single-blind trial. The patients (203 men and 195 women) received a single dose of midazolam (0.05, 0.075, 0.1, or 0.15 mg·kg-1) intramuscularly 45 min before arriving at the operating room. Assessments in the operating room included sedation level and respiratory status rated on an objective four-point scale. Men given 0.075, 0.1, or 0.15 mg·kg-1 of midazolam exhibited greater sedation than did women given comparable doses. Midazolam 0.15 mg·kg-1 depressed respiration more frequently in men than in women. Plasma concentrations of midazolam were determined in 10 men, and 10 women randomly selected from the patients who received 0.15 mg·kg-1 of midazolam. A higher plasma concentration of midazolam, associated with a higher degree of sedation and respiratory depression, was attained in men than in women. These findings suggest that the optimal dose per unit body weight of intramuscular midazolam as premedication should be lower in men than in women to prevent over-sedation and respiratory depression.