BACKGROUND: Few studies have been designed to assess the performance of surgical staplers. In this study, we analyzed the effect of staple height, buttressing, and overlapping of staple lines on staple line failure. METHODS: Staple lines created on fresh porcine small bowel segments ex vivo were tested for leak pressure ...

BACKGROUND: Although the cardiovascular effect of CO2 insufflation has not been reported in pediatric thoracoscopy, several clinical trials have demonstrated significant hemodynamic deterioration in adults. We investigated the concept of therapeutic hypercapnia for counteracting the hemodynamic effect of induced capnothorax. METHODS: Twelve pediatric patients who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic patent ductus ...

BACKGROUND: Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 PUFAs) have antithrombotic, lipid-lowering and antiinflammatory properties. The aim of this study was to verify if dietary supplementation with omega-3 PUFAs is able to induce changes of blood pressure, nutritional and coagulative profile, inflammation and blood cell counts in patients on hemodialysis (HD). METHODS: ...

During 2004 the spatial distribution of total Hg in sediments from Todos Santos Bay, Baja California, México was studied to evaluate the degree of environmental impact in this bay. The results showed low concentrations and no Hg enrichment at any site. These findings suggest natural levels of Hg in the ...

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this work was to evaluate the accuracy of a new heart failure (HF) sensor (HFS) (Heart Failure Sensor, CardioMEMS Inc., Atlanta, Georgia) pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) monitoring compared with Swan-Ganz (SG) (Hospira, Inc., Lake Forest, Illinois) catheterization and echocardiography (ECHO) in ambulatory HF patients. BACKGROUND: There ...

BACKGROUND: Masked hypertension (MH) is defined as a normal blood pressure in the physician's office and an elevated blood pressure when measured out-of-office. The cause of MH may be termed the masked hypertension effect (MHE), and is not restricted to blood-pressure (BP) values around the thresholds for normal BP. We ...

Within the aortic valve (AV) leaflet resides a population of interstitial cells (AVICs), which serve to maintain tissue structural integrity via protein synthesis and enzymatic degradation. AVICs are typically characterized as myofibroblasts, exhibit phenotypic plasticity, and may play an important role in valve pathophysiology. While it is known that AVICs ...

BACKGROUND: To assess the efficacy of transcutaneous Pco2 (Ptcco2) measurements for monitoring alveolar ventilation in patients requiring noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NPPV). METHODS: In a prospective study on method agreement pairs of Paco2 and Ptcco2 (SenTec Digital Monitor; SenTec AG; Therwil, Switzerland), measurements were performed every 10 min during the establishment ...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine whether release of the distal volar forearm fascia (DVFF) is necessary at the time of median nerve decompression for carpal tunnel syndrome. METHODS: Five fresh-frozen cadaver specimens were mounted vertically with the hand dependent and a 2.27-kg weight suspended from the ...

BACKGROUND: Prophylactic use of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) has been shown to be efficacious in decreasing thromboembolism. LMWHs are associated with increased rates of bleeding. OBJECTIVE: We reviewed perioperative blood pressure dynamics for patients who experienced hematomas while undergoing body contouring procedures while receiving enoxaparin (Lovenox), compared with similar ...

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to compare the effects of the angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) olmesartan versus the calcium channel blocker (CCB) amlodipine on coronary endothelial dysfunction in patients with hypertension. BACKGROUND: Angiotensin II receptor blockers are thought to have greater beneficial effects than CCBs on coronary vasomotion by directly blocking ...

Parts of the population are permanently exposed to low levels of Hg degrees and Hg(II) from dental amalgam. It was the aim (1) to investigate the internal exposure to amalgam-related mercury from the kinetics of inorganic Hg in plasma and erythrocytes after amalgam removal, and (2) to estimate the amalgam-related ...

OBJECTIVES: Permissive hypercapnia improves outcomes in patients with respiratory failure, most likely because of a reduction in ventilator-induced lung injury. Because hypercapnia is a potent vasoactive stimulus, adequate tissue perfusion and oxygen delivery to dilated microvessels may be restored. We examined how Paco2 affects microvascular changes, hemodynamics, and cardiac output ...

The use of swine in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) research has increased in the last decades. Landrace-Large White (LLW) swine are a farm breed of pigs. The aims of the present study were to describe the baseline hemodynamics of this breed and to demonstrate that it is suitable for CPR research. ...

BACKGROUND: Very little objective laboratory data are available describing the physiologic effects of stun guns or electromuscular incapacitation devices (EIDs). Unfortunately, there have been several hundred in-custody deaths, which have been temporally associated with the deployment of these devices. Most of the deaths have been attributed to specific cardiac and ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have shown little or no improvement in pulmonary function and arterial blood oxygenation after therapeutic thoracocentesis. This study investigated changes in pulmonary function, arterial blood gases and dyspnoea after therapeutic thoracocentesis in patients with paradoxical movement (PM) of a hemidiaphragm due to pleural effusion. METHODS: ...

Chemical restraint is an important tool for the management and medical care of both captive and free-ranging rhinoceroses. Current anesthetic protocols for the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) are reported to cause varying degrees of hypertension, tachycardia, muscular stiffness and fasciculation, acidosis, and, most importantly, respiratory depression with resulting hypoventilation, hypoxia, ...

Objectives: Nebivolol is a selective β(1)-adrenoceptor antagonist with endothelium-mediated vasodilating properties. The effects of nebivolol on renal haemodyamics are unknown in humans. We tested the hypothesis that nebivolol prevents reductions in renal blood flow (RBF), compared with atenolol, in patients with essential uncomplicated hypertension. Methods: The effects of nebivolol (5 ...

PURPOSE: We investigated the effects of acute maximal hydratation with hemoce (H) and dextran-40 (D40) on the postoperative graft function, following renal transplantation (RT) in a canine model. METHODS: After induction of anesthesia with pentobarbital (5 mg/kg), 18 beagle dogs were randomized to receive either saline solution to increase the ...

Placental insufficiency in the rat results in intrauterine growth restriction and development of hypertension in prepubertal male and female growth-restricted offspring. However, after puberty, only male growth-restricted offspring remain hypertensive, whereas female growth-restricted offspring stabilize their blood pressure to levels comparable to adult female controls. Because female rats reach their ...

Many studies on bioavailability of toxic metals have made the assumption that observation of toxicity is evidence thatthe metal was taken into the cells (i.e., was "bioavailable"). A second assumption is that results at the high concentrations necessary for toxic effect are applicable to the lower concentrations more commonly found ...

Several studies of chronologies of mercury (Hg) in inland lake sediments have demonstrated that Hg accumulation decreased in recent decades. However, episodic mercury accumulation events were recorded in some of these lakes, but not investigated in detail. Recent decreases had been attributed to the reduction of regional Hg consumption and ...

The purpose of this study was to compare ganglionic blockade with trimethaphan (TMP) and an alternative drug strategy using combined muscarinic antagonist (glycopyrrolate, GLY) and alpha-2 agonist (dexmedetomidine, DEX). Protocol 1: incremental phenylephrine was administered during control and combined GLY-DEX, or control and TMP on two control combined GLY and ...

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the safety of prolonged coronary injections during a rotational acquisition covering 180 degrees. BACKGROUND: Rotational angiography has been adapted to coronary angiography and shown to reduce radiation and contrast exposure. Three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions and other advanced applications require imaging over a 180 degrees -arc with a single but ...

BACKGROUND: Concerns persist about the validity of generalized transfer function-derived, aortic blood-pressure measurements during the administration of vasoactive agents in clinical trials. Hence, we compared this transfer-function method with another, which estimates aortic systolic pressure directly from the late systolic shoulder of the radial pressure wave, after administration of placebo, ...

To determine the optimal cuff width for measuring toe blood pressure in patients with lower limb ischemia, this experimental prospective study examined 20 patients with symptoms of peripheral arterial disease referred for vascular examination or vascular surgery. Toe blood pressure was measured hydrostatically by the pole test using cuffs of ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the predictive contribution of mean arterial pressure after rewarming to > or =34 degrees C in the operating room to mortality after cardiac surgery in infants < or =6 weeks old. METHODS: In this prospective inception cohort study, 70 consecutive infants who had open cardiac surgery with ...

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a protocol for permissive hypotension was feasible for patients admitted with a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (RAAA). It was aimed to limit prehospital intravenous fluid administration to 500 mL and to maintain systolic blood pressure at a range of 50 to ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether venous blood gases (VBG) test can be replace by an arterial blood gases (ABG) in exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: From October 2005 to March 2006, at the Emergency Room of Kashan Beheshti Hospital, the data of 107 patients with exacerbation of COPD ...

The removal of elemental mercury (Hg(0)) with the reactive species produced from dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) was studied. The effects of the operating parameters, such as the applied voltage, residence time, initial concentration and co-existence of other pollutants, were investigated. The removal of Hg(0) was significantly promoted by an increase ...

INTRODUCTION: Ultrasonic dissectors are useful to ligate arteries, but their effectiveness on larger arteries has not been thoroughly documented in vivo. The purpose of this study is to determine the bursting pressure of sealed arteries and the incidence of failure to adequately seal 4 mm and 5 mm arteries in ...

The efficiency of hemodialysis treatments depends on catheter performance and, consequently, on effective blood flow that can be achieved at maximum extracorporeal pressures. Differences in effective and displayed flow were determined with ultrasound dilution technology, and a mathematical correction function for the MultiFiltrate hemodialysis machine was developed. This algorithm was ...

The authors retrospectively reviewed their experience with nitric oxide (NO) in a pediatric ICU. Given its cost ($3000/d), ongoing evaluations are required to ensure its effective use and avoid inappropriate applications. NO use included 4 categories: (1) hypoxemic respiratory failure, (2) pulmonary hypertension following surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD), ...

BACKGROUND: Current diagnostic thresholds for ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) mainly rely on statistical parameters derived from reference populations. We determined an outcome-driven reference frame for ABP measurement. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed 24-hour ABP monitoring in 5682 participants (mean age 59.0 years; 43.3% women) enrolled in prospective population studies in ...

We compared the hemodynamic performance of the Edwards Perimount Magna (EPM) and the Medtronic Mosaic (MM) bioprostheses according to the patient aortic annulus diameter (AAD). Eighty-six patients undergoing aortic valve replacement were prospectively assigned to receive either an EPM-valve (n=43) or an MM-bioprosthesis (n=43). Randomization was performed after measuring the ...

Mercury accumulation and elimination by Eurythoe complanata were evaluated through two laboratory bioassays in the absence (bioassay A) and presence (bioassay B) of sediment. Ten individuals per treatment (three replicates) were exposed to Hg in solution (0, 1.5, 1.7, 3, 7.4, 8.7, 9, and 11 microg/L) for an 8-day exposure ...

We determined the difference between HeartMate (HM) VE auto mode, average filling 76 mL, and HM XVE Opti-Fill, average filling 79 mL, regarding blood chamber and inflow valve peak pressure pulses (BCPP and IVPP). The relation between stroke volume (SV) and peak pressures was investigated by using a circulatory mock ...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the stability of 2.2 mm and 3.0 mm clear corneal cataract incisions with square or nearly square surface architecture. SETTING: Private practice ambulatory surgical center, Century City, California, USA. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 60 patients who had clear corneal cataract extraction between January and September ...

We have developed a new end-aortic clamp balloon catheter intended to be inserted directly into, thereby occluding, the ascending aorta. We examined the performance of this catheter in a canine model. We evaluated the extent of migration tolerance of the catheter under cardiopulmonary bypass perfusion in 12 mongrel dogs, weighing ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a combined transcutaneous carbon dioxide pressure (tcPCO(2)) and pulse oximetry sensor in sheep and dogs. ANIMALS: 13 adult sheep and 11 adult dogs. PROCEDURES: During inhalation anesthesia, for the first 10 minutes following sensor placement, arterial blood gas was analyzed and tcPCO(2) was recorded every 2 minutes. ...

Our objective was to review all published trials of coenzyme Q10 for hypertension, assess overall efficacy and consistency of therapeutic action and side effect incidence. Meta-analysis was performed in 12 clinical trials (362 patients) comprising three randomized controlled trials, one crossover study and eight open label studies. In the randomized ...

BACKGROUND: Morbidly obese individuals (ie, body mass index [BMI], > or = 40 kg/m2) may have a pulmonary gas exchange impairment due to the large fat mass surrounding their abdomen. PURPOSES: To examine the effect of the waist-to-hip (W/H) ratio on pulmonary gas exchange in the morbidly obese. METHODS: Twenty-five ...

The effects of pH, Cl-, and humic acid (HA) on sonolytic desorption of Hg(II) from aluminum oxide were examined. Results showed that Hg(II) desorption was achieved by lowering the pH from 7.0 to 4.0. Ultrasound enhanced Hg(II) release at short times compared to both hydrodynamic mixing and that expected on ...

PURPOSE: To design an apparatus for in vitro quantification of effects of modifications to nonvalved tube shunts, and to compare the effects of these modifications done to prevent early postoperative hypotony. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A testing apparatus was designed and constructed to measure intraluminal pressure (ILP) during constant infusion of ...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to calibrate and evaluate the precision of the new applanation resonance tonometry (ART) in a clinical study designed in accordance with the International Standard Organization's requirements. METHODS: This was a prospective, randomized, single-center study, where healthy volunteers and patients participated. A total of ...

OBJECTIVE: Values of central venous pressure of 8-12 mm Hg and of pulmonary artery occlusion pressure of 12-15 mm Hg have been proposed as volume resuscitation targets in recent international guidelines on management of severe sepsis. By analyzing a large number of volume challenges, our aim was to test the ...

Activation of the sympathetic nervous system contributes to the pathogenesis of obesity-induced hypertension. The present study sought to determine whether sympathetic regulatory neurons of the rostral ventrolateral medulla contribute to the elevated blood pressure in obese rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (350 to 425 g) were placed on a moderately high-fat ...

INTRODUCTION: Trauma patients represent a heterogeneous group at risk for the development of both primary and secondary abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS). Our study aims at identifying these individuals early in their course and placing an intra-abdominal catheter to reduce intra-abdominal pressure before the serious hemodynamic consequences of ACS occur. METHODS: ...

OBJECTIVES: To compare clinical outcomes of three different modalities of treatment for deep intra-bony defects. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty-six patients were paralleled for clinical parameters and randomly assigned to treatment. They displayed one angular defect each with an intra-bony component > or =3 mm, probing pocket depth (PPD) and probing ...

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) has been shown to be 3 times more prevalent in patients with renal artery stenosis (RAS) compared to essential hypertension, but factors that predict LVH in this population are not known. We identified 66 patients with unilateral renal artery stenosis and an interpretable electrocardiogram (ECG). LVH ...