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Background: Lactating women undergoing operations under general anesthesia are advised to pump and discard their milk for 24h after the procedure. We determined the kinetics of midazolam elimination in breast milk to ascertain its safety after midazolam administration.Methods: Five lactating women were studied after providing institutionally-approved written informed consent. Patients were premedicated with midazolam, 2 mg IV, 5 min before anesthetic induction with fentanyl, 100 μg IV, and propofol, 2.5 mg/kg IV. Anesthesia was maintained with potent volatile anesthetics. Milk was collected using an electric breast pump before and at 5, 7, 9, 11, and 24h after drug administration. Blood samples were collected before and at regular intervals up to 7h after drug administration. Plasma and milk midazolam concentrations were measured by LC-MS. Midazolam elimination in milk was modelled simultaneously with the plasma kinetics as the cumulative amount of drug in milk just as urinary elimination is modelled, albeit with a delay.Results: Plasma midazolam pharmacokinetics were consistent with those reported by ourselves and others. In 24h of milk collection, only 0.005 (± 0.005)% of the midazolam dose was eliminated in milk, representing 0.009 (± 0.005)% of the midazolam elimination clearance with a pharmacokinetic delay of approximately 9h.Conclusion: The amount of midazolam appearing in breast milk over 24h after administering a single dose is very small and unlikely to affect a healthy term infant.Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2005) 79, P7–P7; doi: 10.1016/j.clpt.2005.12.021 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety, agitation, delirium, and pain are common findings in the ICU. These unhealthy states may lead to increased irritability, discomfort, hypertension, tachycardia, cardiac ischemia, harmful motor activity, and psychologic disquiet for the patient. The appropriate treatment of these conditions may lead to decreased morbidity and mortality in the critically ill patient. Unfortunately, the management of anxiety, agitation, delirium, and pain in the intensive care unit is not ideal. Many patients interviewed after an ICU stay rate their pain control as poor and their memories of their stay as unpleasant. Furthermore, many caregivers lack sufficient understanding of the appropriate or indicated uses of drugs to allay patients' fears and pain. The use of suitable protocols for the proper titration of sedation of mechanically ventilated patients and monitoring of the level of sedation in ventilated patients may decrease the amount of time that patients are ventilated and may alleviate some of the emotional stresses of recall of painful procedures or uncomfortable mechanical ventilation. Future research into protocols for the care of the critically ill patient can enhance the overall well-being of these patients.

Objective: To investigate the effect of a single, vital capacity breath (vital capacity maneuver [VCM]), administered at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), on pulmonary gas exchange in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery., Design: Prospective, randomized, double-blind study., Setting: University-affiliated hospital., Participants: Forty patients scheduled for elective coronary artery bypass graft surgery and early tracheal extubation., Interventions: Patients were randomized to 1 of 2 groups. VCM patients received a VCM at the conclusion of CPB. Control patients received no VCM., Measurements and Main Results: Intrapulmonary shunt (Q(S)/Q(T)), arterial oxygenation (PaO2), and alveolar-arterial oxygen gradients (P(A-a)O2) were measured after induction of anesthesia, CPB, intensive care unit (ICU) arrival, and extubation. The duration of postoperative intubation was recorded for each group. Q(S)/Q(T) increased significantly 30 minutes after CPB in the control group (15.7 +/- 1.8% to 27.4 +/- 2.6%; p = 0.01). In the VCM group, a small decrease in Q(S)/Q(T) occurred (16.1 +/- 2.0% to 14.9 +/- 2.0%). After ICU arrival and extubation, no significant difference in Q(S)/Q(T) existed between the 2 groups. With the exception of a higher P(A-a)O2 in the control group at induction of anesthesia, no differences in PaO2 or P(A-a)O2 were present between the 2 groups at any measurement interval. Patients who received a VCM were extubated earlier than the control group (6.5 +/- 2.1 hours v 9.4 +/- 4.2 hours; p = 0.01)., Conclusion: The use of a VCM prevented an increase in Q(S)/Q(T) from occurring in the operating room. Although a VCM did not influence pulmonary gas exchange in the ICU, its application in the operating room appears to exert a beneficial effect on tracheal extubation times after cardiac surgery., (Copyright 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company.)

Background and Objectives: Unintentional dural puncture with a Tuohy epidural needle during the course of an epidural anesthetic may lead to a postdural puncture headache and double vision. We describe a parturient that developed left abducens nerve palsy after an epidural anesthetic for labor., Methods: A 32-year-old female developed a postdural puncture headache 1 day after an epidural anesthetic for labor. Over the next several days she began to complain of diplopia. Subsequent to this, she developed lateral rectus muscle palsy., Results: The lateral rectus palsy resolved spontaneously 8 weeks after the epidural anesthetic., Conclusions: We believe that a dural puncture during an attempted epidural anesthetic resulted in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage with a consequent headache. The CSF leak caused traction on the sixth cranial nerve resulting in lateral rectus muscle palsy. An epidural blood patch performed after the onset of symptoms did not acutely resolve the abducens nerve palsy.