Yasunori Mishima

Neuroprotective effect of epidural electrical stimulation against ischemic spinal cord injury in rats : Electrical preconditioning

Background:Electroconvulsion therapy is likely to serve as an effective preconditioning stimulus for inducing tolerance to ischemic brain injury. The current study examines whether electrical stimuli on the spinal cord is also capable of inducing tolerance to ischemic spinal cord injury by transient aortic occlusion. Methods:Spinal cord ischemia was induced by occlusion of the descending thoracic aorta in combination with maintaining systemic hypotension (40 mmHg) during the procedure. Animals implanted with epidural electrodes were divided into four groups according to electrical stimulation and sham. Two groups consisted of rapid preconditioning (RE group, n = 8) and sham procedure (RC group, n = 8) 30 min before 9 min of spinal cord ischemia. In the two groups that underwent delayed preconditioning, rats were exposed to 9 min of aortic occlusion 24 h after either pretreatment with epidural electrical stimulation (DE group, n = 8) or sham (DC group, n = 8). In addition, rats were exposed to 6–11 min of spinal cord ischemia at 30 min or 24 h after epidural electrical stimulation or sham stimulation. The group P50 represents the duration of spinal cord ischemia associated with 50% probability of resultant paraplegia. Results:Pretreatment with electrical stimulation in the DE group but not the RE group protected the spinal cord against ischemia, and this stimulation prolonged the P50 by approximately 15.0% in the DE group compared with the DC group. Conclusions:Although the optimal setting for this electrical preconditioning should be determined in future studies, the results suggest that epidural electrical stimulation will be a useful approach to provide spinal protection against ischemia.

Volatile Anesthetics and Neuroprotection

Since 1963, many studies have demonstrated the protective and preconditioning effects of volatile anesthetics on cerebral ischemia, and it has also been suggested that they can delay neuronal cell death, especially in the developing brain. Various molecular mechanisms involving the numerous pathways of the neuronal cell death cascade have been reported to be involved in these neuroprotective effects. Although volatile anesthetics allow neurological function to be maintained after mild insult, neuronal cell death cannot be completely prevented in the convalescent stage in moderate-to-severe cases. The neuroprotective effects of volatile anesthetics are expected to contribute to improving treatment strategies by delaying neuronal cell death and extending the therapeutic window.

The use of amplitude-integrated electroencephalography combined with continuous conventional electroencephalography during therapeutic hypothermia for an infant with postnatal cardiac arrest

IntroductionAmplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) has been employed in therapeutic hypothermia (TH) trials of neonates after perinatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). We present a case report involving the use of aEEG during TH with continuous conventional electroencephalography (cEEG) for an infant who experienced postnatal intraoperative cardiac arrest.Case descriptionA five-month-old infant developed cardiac arrest during operation. Return of spontaneous circulation was achieved after one hour of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Therapeutic hypothermia was applied with neuromuscular blockades. During the TH, the brain function and seizures were monitored with aEEG, which can also display continuous cEEG. Intermittent and discrete seizures were detected on aEEG and confirmed with raw cEEG during the TH and rewarming periods. Several kinds of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were administered to manage seizures according to the findings of aEEG with cEEG. Seizures were controlled by the treatments, and she showed no clinical seizures after TH and AED discontinuation.Discussion and evaluation, conclusionsThis case indicated the possibility that the use of aEEG with continuous cEEG for a postnatal infant after cardiac arrest was feasible to detect and assess seizures and the effects of antiepileptic therapy while undergoing TH.

A significant complication that occurred during insertion of dual guidewires into the right internal jugular vein for central venous catheterization.

We report a significant complication that occurred during double guidewire insertion. The first guidewire (GW1) was inserted under ultrasonographic guidance, whereas the second guidewire (GW2) was inserted by the landmark-based method. Subsequently, GW2 penetrated and entangled with GW1, which caused difficulty in removing both guidewires. A dilator was used to dilate the puncture site, allowing simultaneous removal of both guidewires with minimal invasion. The first guidewire was found to be pointing in a cranial direction, indicating the manner in which the second guidewires puncture needle had penetrated it. Thus, when double cannulation is performed, guidewire position should be confirmed.

Risk factors for and circumstances of needlestick and sharps injuries of doctors in operating rooms: A study focusing on surgeries using general anesthesia at Kurume University Hospital, Japan

Healthcare workers are exposed to serious infectious diseases via needlestick and sharps injuries. The operating room is a particularly important environment in which the risk for needlestick injuries is increased for surgical doctors. According to national surveillance studies, the proportion of needlestick and sharps injuries in operating rooms has been increasing for unknown reasons. In this study, we examined risk factors for and circumstances of injuries in operating rooms by combining and analyzing incidence reports and electronic records of every surgery in Kurume University Hospital (Kurume, Japan). The annual injury rate (reflecting the reporting rate) rose continuously from fiscal years 2007-2012. We conducted analyses focusing on surgeries that used general anesthesia, which accounted for 88.1% of the injuries. An analysis of the time of injury found that the number of injuries increased toward the end of the surgical procedure. A comparative analysis of surgeries by doctors who had experienced injury revealed risk for the injury increased when a procedure ended after 20:00. In addition, a comparative analysis of doctors with and without injury experience who had similar level of operating time per year revealed that the number of working years was not lower in the injured doctors. Although the data analyzed in this study were confined to one university hospital, our approach and these results will form a basis on which to consider more effective measures to prevent injury in operating rooms.