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A 51-year-old woman with renal failure requring hemodialysis received a total of 446 mg of vecuronium over a period of 4 days to help mechanical ventilation and developed generalized muscle weakness after its discontinuation. It took 2 wks to wean her from mechanical ventilation and 3 wks for her to be able to walk. She did not receive drugs which might alter neuromuscular transmission such as corticosteroid and aminoglycoside antibiotics. Electromyogram and nerve conduction studies were normal. We believe that the cause is the accumulation of vecuronium and active metabolites due to renal failure. The case suggests that we should minimize the duration of neuromuscular block in patients with renal failure by aggressive use of sedatives and analgesics and the optimization of ventilator settings.

We report on a 42-year-old oliguric uremic man on regular hemodialysis who developed sudden cardiac arrest, secondary to severe hyperkalemia, with a plasma potassium concentration of 9.7 mEq x l(-1). The cardiac arrest persisted after the initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and intensive treatment for marked hyperkalemia for an hour and 55 minutes. Therefore a portable percutaneous cardiopulmonary support (PCPS) system had to be instituted while the patient had very prolonged refractory ventricular fibrillation. His cardiac rhythm was restored immediately after application of PCPS and he recovered without neurological sequelae. We therefore suggest that PCPS should be considered as a therapeutic option during cardiopulmonary resuscitation for life-threatening cardiac arrest secondary to severe hyperkalemia.

Two patients, a 48-year-old woman and a 61-year-old man, with portal vein tumor emboli underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy combined with portal vein resection. In order to protect the liver during occlusion of the portal vein, we induced mild hypothermia with surface cooling and hepatic oxygen status was monitored by hepatic venous oxygen saturation (ShvO2). During the temporary occlusion of the portal vein, the woman showed a marked decrease in ShvO2, significantly lower than 20%, and continued for about one hour, but on the other hand the man did not. But as the body temperature was raised, they showed the same tendency of decreased ShvO2. Postoperatively, her serum GOT, GPT, T-bilirubin were 104 UI.dl-1, 58 UI.dl-1, 1.95 mg.dl-1 and his data were 62, 42, 1.01 respectively. No other complication were observed. These results suggest that ShvO2 monitoring and mild hypothermia are clinically useful in detecting hepatic oxygen supply/demand unbalance and in protecting the liver.

We report a case of ACTH deficiency. A 75-year-old man complained of anoxia, nausea and vomiting. Three years ago, he had an attack of loss of consciousness. On admission, his serum sodium level was down to 119.6 mEq.l-1. Plasma osmolality was low and urinary osmolality was high without edema, and he was diagnosed as having SIADH. After CRH test, rapid ACTH test and continuous ACTH test, he was diagnosed as having ACTH deficiency, and he was treated with steroids. One year later, he received urethrotomy due to urethrostenosis under spinal anesthesia with no trouble. In the next year, he was scheduled for sigmoidectomy due to sigmoid colon cancer under general anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia. In the morning of his operation, he took hydrocortisone 10 mg per os. During operation, hydrocortisone 300 mg was given intravenously divided for three times. Plasma ACTH and aldosterone levels were below normal ranges, but serum cortisol was above the normal range. His operation was finished without troubles. Regarding this case, we discussed steroid therapy during anesthesia and operation.

It is difficult to correct fluid balance during operation in patients under hemodialysis. We managed intraoperative anticoagulantless continuous hemodialysis (CHD) with ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVAL) dialyzer in four patients on maintenance hemodialysis. All patients could be managed satisfactorily with no coagulation. Only in the first patient, we used nafamostat mesilate to avoid coagulation in the dialyzer. In this patient, activated clotting time (ACT) was 151 seconds. Their recovery from anesthesia was good, and they showed no complications perioperatively. This is a good method to manage these patients during operation, because EVAL dialyzer is cheap and we need not take care of hemorrhage. Using a small amount of nafamostat mesilate may be useful to avoid coagulation.

We report a case of 58-year-old man who had repeated cardiac arrests on the first post-operative day. The patient underwent splenectomy due to ITP (idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura). He also had diabetes mellitus and nephrotic syndrome. There was no abnormal finding at the preoperative examination, except bleeding time of 6 minutes. The operation was finished without complications under general anesthesia. Midnight on the day of surgery, the first cardiac arrest occurred, and lasted for about 10 seconds. He recovered soon from the incident, but at 6 o'clock next morning, he developed severe bradycardia and cardiac arrest. He recovered again, but around 10 o'clock, he developed bradycardia and arrest again, and fell into a fit of convulsions and lost his consciousness. Again he recovered soon and no bradycardia and cardiac arrest occurred after this episode. Two years later, he was scheduled for vitrectomy due to diabetic retinosis. There were a few PACs and PVCs in his Holter-ECG, but no typical bradycardia and ST changes. During the operation, we injected atropine sulfate, dopamine hydrochloride and bucladesine sodium to increase his heart rate above 60 per minute. The operation was finished smoothly and there was no trouble perioperatively. A year later, he also underwent bilateral cataract extraction under local anesthesia without any troubles.

A 21-year-old male with bilateral pneumothorax underwent thoracoscopic bullaectomy in the lateral decubitus position. General anesthesia was induced using thiopental 250 mg and suxamethonium 80 mg and maintained using the combination of the thoracic-epidural anesthesia with assisted spontaneous respiration. He was intubated with a tube equipped with mobile bronchial cuff. On the left bullaectomy, two lung ventilation (TLV) was applied and its course was uneventful. On the right, one lung ventilation (OLV) was done. Fifty minutes after the start of OLV of the left lung, percutaneous arterial hemoglobin saturation (SpO2) declined to 60% with PaO2 36 mmHg. Then, under super imposed HFJV (high frequency jet ventilation) added to manual assisted ventilation through the bronchial brocker, SpO2 increased rapidly to 100%. Postoperative chest X-p showed signs of re-expansion pulmonary edema (RPE) in the dependent, left lung. PaO2 after 25 minutes of hypoxic episode increased to 339.2 mmHg. About 2 hours later he was extubated uneventfully. We conclude that superimposed HFJV is very beneficial for treatment of the RPE of the dependent lung during OLV applied for thoracoscopic operation with bilateral pneumothorax.

A 63-year-old woman presenting with thrombocytepenia and signs of intravascular coagulation (prothronbin time, 59%: FDP, 100 micrograms.ml-1) due to a giant hemangioma of the liver (Kasabach-Merritt syndrome) was scheduled for the resection of the right lobe of the liver. In order to protect the liver on occlusion of the right hepatic artery and portal vein, we induced mild hypothermia technique with vasodilation and surface cooling by convecting warming device together with hepatoprotective agents of PGE1 and ulinastatin. Severe, acute massive bleeding occurred due to the injury of the middle hepatic vein and from the resected surface of the liver. Her rectal temperature was 31.9 degrees C during massive bleeding. Her hemoglobin decreased to 3.9 g.dl-1. Total estimated blood loss was 22,000 ml. The weight of the resected liver was 2.5 kg. The maximum postoperative levels of T-Bil and GOT were 2.47 mg.dl-1 and 171 IU.l-1, respectively. The liver seemed to have been well preserved and no other complications were observed. The hemangioma was completely removed by excision of the right lobe of the liver. Subsequently, all coagulation parameters returned to normal, indicating a complete reversibility of the coagulopathy. Surface-induced mild hypothermia is a useful and valuable method for protecting the liver during severe massive bleeding.

A 65-year-old woman with ovarian tumor was scheduled for abdominal total hysterectomy and bilateral adnexectomy under epidural anesthesia. Preoperative examinations revealed no abnormalities including ECG. Twenty minites after the epidural injection of mepivacaine, widened QRS complexes, which were diagnosed as complete left bundle branch block (CLBBB) later, appeared on ECG. At that time, heart rate (HR) was 150.min-1. CLBBB disappeared when HR decreased to 110.min-1 following the administration of pindolol and verapamil. The operation was postponed. Exercise-treated ECG showed neither CLBBB nor ischemic change even when HR increased to 160.min-1. Two weeks later the operation was attempted again. CLBBB appeared again twenty minites after the epidural injection of mepivacaine. The CLBBB disappeared 5 minites after the induction of general anesthesia when HR decreased to 100.min-1. The operation was performed uneventfully. The effective refractory period (ERP) is shortened with the increase in HR, but the shortning of ERP varies in different part of the cardiac conduction system. In tachycardia, ERP of left bundle branch is longer than that of right one. Because the cardiac conduction system is depressed by local anesthetics, it is speculated that ERP of left bundle branch is elongated further by mepivacaine and CLBBB appeared in this case.

A 42-year-old man with one year history of cough and chest pain due to right upper lung cancer was scheduled for radical surgery. An echocardiogram and a lung scan showed a tumor mass in the left atrium, which was originating from carcinoma of the right upper lobe. Right pneumonectomy and atrial tumor extirpation were done successfully under the state of cardiac arrest using extracorporeal circulation with topical cooling by crushed ice in order not to spread the tumor cells into systemic circulation. He was extubated on the 1st postoperative day. But, thereafter he developed moderate dyspnea. On 7, 10 and 13th postoperative days he fell into the state of CO2 narcosis. Decreased capacity of the lung after the pneumonectomy and left phrenic nerve injury during the operation were considered factors causing the respiratory insufficiency. Patient was discharged 6 weeks later and continued to have consultations at the outpatient clinic.

Multiple myeloma which occurs mostly in aged people is a neoplastic proliferation of plasma cells characterized by immunoglobulin disorders. It presents various kinds of signs and complications depending on its stage and involved organs, and these complications often require surgical treatment. Risk factors to be considered include renal failure, hemorrhagic tendency, increased susceptibility to infections, hyperviscosity syndrome, anemia, and hypercalcemia. We report 5 anesthetic experiences in 3 cases with multiple myeloma.

Insulinoma is one of the causes of hypoglycemia and can be cured by surgery. Using the enzyme immunoassay kit (ERUMOTEC INSULIN, Mochida Pharmacy Co.), immunoreactive insulin (IRI) can be measured within one hour. Curative operation was confirmed by normalized IRI level. A 58-year-old man had an episode of loss of consciousness. His blood glucose was below, and his IRI was above, normal. These and other examinations revealed that he was suffering from insulinoma. Tumor resection under general anesthesia was scheduled. Glucose was continuously administered intravenously to prevent hypoglycemia until the end of tumor resection. Frequent blood glucose measurement showed that he had no hypoglycemic episodes. Using the enzyme immunoassay kit, IRI was found to be 704 microU.ml-1 during manipulation of the tumor. At 30 minutes after the tumor resection, it decreased to 9.8 microU.ml-1 (within normal ranges). These data suggested that the operation was curative and that no further hypoglycemic attacks by remnant insulinomas would be anticipated.

The authors anesthetized a 48-year-old woman with endometrial cancer and a large ovarian cyst. She developed cardiac failure initially followed by the sick sinus syndrome and A-V block from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, prior to neuromuscular symptoms. Epidural anesthesia assisted by general anesthesia was carried out safely without intravenous administration of any muscle relaxants. From this experience, it is considered that epidural anesthesia assisted with some other proper methods is suitable for surgery of lower abdomen.

We had a patient without history of angina, who repetitively showed transient elevation of ST-segment during general anesthesia. Coronary spasm was suspected, but no triggering factors could be detected; the spasm being observed under deep and stable anesthesia and at this point no surgical stimulations were interposed. It was treated successfully with intravenous administrations of nitroglycerin and verapamil and no further elevations of ST-segment could be observed.