Postconditioning (PoC) with brief intermittent ischemia after myocardial reperfusion has been shown to lessen some elements of postischemic injury including arrhythmias and, in some studies, the size of myocardial infarction. We hypothesized that PoC could improve reflow to the risk zone after reperfusion. Anesthetized, open-chest rabbits were subjected to 30 min of coronary artery occlusion followed by 3 h of reperfusion. In protocol 1, rabbits were randomly assigned to the control group (n = 10, no further intervention after reperfusion) or to the PoC group, which consisted of four cycles of 30-s reocclusions with 30 s of reperfusion in between starting at 30 s after the initial reperfusion (4 x 30/30, n = 10). In protocol 2, rabbits were assigned to the control group (n = 7) or the PoC group, which received PoC consisting of four cycles of 60-s intervals of ischemia and reperfusion starting at 30 s after the initial reperfusion (4 x 60/60, n = 7). No reflow was determined by injecting thioflavine S (a fluorescent marker of capillary perfusion), risk zone by blue dye, and infarct size by triphenyltetrazolium chloride. In protocol 1, there were no statistical differences in hemodynamics, ischemic risk zone, or infarct size (35 +/- 6% of the risk zone in the PoC group vs. 29 +/- 4% in the control group, P = 0.38) between the groups. Similarly, in protocol 2, PoC failed to reduce infarct size compared with the control group (45 +/- 4% of the risk zone in the PoC group vs. 42 +/- 6% in the control group, P = 0.75). There was a strong correlation in both protocols between the size of the necrotic zone and the portion of the necrotic zone that contained an area of no reflow. However, PoC did not affect this relationship. PoC did not reduce infarct size in this model, nor did it reduce the extent of the anatomic zone of no reflow, suggesting that this intervention may not impact postreperfusion microvascular damage due to ischemia.

Erythema multiforme (EM) is an acute, immune-mediated, mucocutaneous disease, caused by several factors such as infections, drugs, malignancy, autoimmune disease, radiation, and immunization. The anesthetic concerns in these patients include possibility of difficult airway, intraoperative steroid supplementation, avoidance of precipitating drugs, intraoperative arrhythmias, perioperative skin, and eye care. A 13-year-old boy, a known case of EM with a history of recurrent ocular herpes and impaired vision along with fibrosis at the bilateral angle of the mouth underwent emergency open appendectomy under spinal anesthesia. Spinal anesthesia with injection hyperbaric bupivacaine (0.5%) is a safe and suitable alternative in a patient with EM with recurrent herpes simplex virus.

No abstract

No abstract

A 24 year old female, diagnosed with right middle cerebral artery aneurysm was posted for aneurysmal clipping. After uneventful induction of anaesthesia, on starting mannitol infusion patient developed high airway pressures within minutes. After ruling out common conditions, a diagnosis of anaphylactic reaction to mannitol was made. Surgery was postponed and after initial stabilization patient was shifted and managed in ICU. Although a rare entity, intraoperative anaphylactic reaction to mannitol should be kept in mind by anaesthesiologist.