Cardiocirculatory changes during videolaparoscopy in children: an echocardiographic study.

We examined cardiovascular changes associated with intra-abdominal insufflation in 20 children (mean age 6.1+/-4.7 years, ASA physical status I or II) undergoing laparoscopic surgery with general anaesthesia using echocardiography with a transthoracic approach. Intra-abdominal pressure never exceeded 10 mmHg. Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, endtidal CO2, peak, and mean airway pressure increased during intra-abdominal insufflation (P < 0.001). Pneumoperitoneum was associated with increases (P<0.001) in left ventricular enddiastolic volume, left ventricular end-systolic volume and left ventricular endsystolic meridional wall stress. In addition, before, during and after intra-abdominal insufflation, left ventricular fractional shortening and left ventricular ejection fraction, underwent slight, insignificant changes. Pneumoperitoneum in children has a major impact on cardiac volumes and function, mainly through the effect on ventricular load conditions. The sharp increase in intra-abdominal pressure affects both preload and afterload, while systolic cardiac performance remains unchanged.

[The effects of the acute administration of atrial natriuretic peptide on the mechanisms regulating diuresis and natriuresis in the essential hypertension patient]. / Effetti della somministrazione acuta di peptide atriale natriuretico su alcuni meccanismi di regolazione della diuresi e della natriuresi nell'iperteso essenziale.

The authors investigated the role of atrial natriuretic peptide (alpha-hANP 99-126) in essential hypertension by evaluating some hemodynamic and renal effects of acute peptide infusion (1 micrograms/kg for 1 min + 50 ng/kg for the following 20 min) in fourteen subjects: eight mild to moderate, untreated, essential hypertensives (EH) and six normotensive (N) controls, during 2 hour-clearance periods, the 1st after ANP infusion, the 2nd during placebo (PL) administration. The double-blind study was carried out after the patients had rested and fasted overnight. It showed no significant changes in heart rate (HR); instead, compared with placebo, mean blood pressure (MBP) decreased significantly in both groups, beginning from the 3rd min after ANP infusion was begun (N: PL = 87.04 +/- 1.7 mmHg, ANP = 80.9 +/- 3.7 mmHg, p less than 0.0001; EH: PL = 102.6 +/- 3.2 mmHg, ANP = 97.7 +/- 5.9 mmHg, p less than 0.01). Among the urinary parameters we considered, cyclic GMP (cGMP) increased after ANP infusion in all subjects (N: PL = 129.1 +/- 56.3 pmol/mL, ANP = 199.2 +/- 85.4 pmol/mL; EH: PL = 106.55 +/- 56.2 pmol/mL, ANP = 220.03 +/- 92.7 pmol/mL, p less than 0.05); diuresis showed a prompt and significant increase in EH (N: PL = 837 +/- 368 mL, ANP = 1066 +/- 340 mL; EH: PL = 713 +/- 286 mL, ANP = 1043 +/- 280 mL, p less than 0.005), and so did natriuresis (N: PL = 23 +/- 14.3 mEq/L, ANP = 33 +/- 14.6 mEq/L; EH: PL = 25.6 +/- 8.9 mEq/L, ANP = 41.9 +/- 13.8 mEq/L, p less than 0.01); urinary potassium excretion was significantly reduced in EH (N: PL = 18.7 +/- 12.9 mEq/L, ANP = 14.2 +/- 6.9 mEq/L; EH: PL = 16.5 +/- 7.9 mEq/L, ANP = 10.7 +/- 4.8 mEq/L, p less than 0.005), while no changes were noted in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), estimated as creatinine clearance, urinary magnesium, albumin and aldosterone excretion. To investigate other potential mechanisms involved in renal effects of ANP, the urinary excretion of both prostaglandins 6-cheto PGF1-alpha and thromboxane B2 (TXB2), and dopamine were studied. The results showed only a significant decrease of dopamine urinary excretion in EH after ANP administration (N: PL = 50.4 +/- 28.7 micrograms/L, ANP = 45.0 +/- 29.7 micrograms/L; EH: PL = 47.3 +/- 21.5 micrograms/L, ANP = 27.1 +/- 12.7 micrograms/mL, p less than 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)