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Biomedical subjects

V Banssillon

Publications and source records attributed to V Banssillon.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Corynebacterium JK: surgical infections in non-immunosuppressed patients.

Infection caused by Corynebacterium JK (CJK) has been recently described in immunocompromised patients. To evaluate the frequency of CJK infection among surgical and trauma intensive care patients, all patients with CJK isolations at clinical sites were reviewed. The criteria used were the presence of bacterial infection symptoms, isolation from significant sites and the efficiency of a vancomycin treatment. Eight patients were studied; 3 of them were considered infected, while 5 were judged only colonized. It is concluded that CJK infections can be a clinical problem in surgical trauma patients.

Adult↗

Cutaneous and subcutaneous blood flow during general anaesthesia.

The vasodilator effect of anaesthetic agents on cutaneous vessels has often been investigated. In contrast, although subcutaneous tissue is concerned with metabolism and thermoregulation, the effects of anaesthesia on subcutaneous blood flow have not been well documented. The purpose of this study was to determine the magnitude of changes in cutaneous and subcutaneous blood flow during general anaesthesia in Man. Anaesthesia was induced with flunitrazepam in 15 patients before facial plastic surgery. Blood flow was estimated using heat thermal clearance (HC). Two HC sensors in different areas allowed the measurement of superficial and deep HC. Systolic (SABP), diastolic (DABP) and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), heart rate (HR), and rectal and mean skin temperature were also recorded. After induction of anaesthesia, HR increased significantly (p less than 0.05) whereas SABP, DABP and MABP remained unchanged. The rectal-toe temperature gradient fell from 6.3 +/- 4.1 degrees C to 3.4 +/- 1.1 degrees C (p less than 0.01) suggesting a reduction in vasomotor tone. Superficial HC increased from 0.37 +/- 0.06 to 0.42 +/- 0.08 W.m-1.degrees C-1 (p less than 0.05) whereas deep HC decreased from 0.33 +/- 0.07 to 0.31 +/- 0.09 W.m-1.degrees C-1 (NS) and returned to the control value thereafter. Rectal temperature and mean skin temperature were unchanged. The changes in deep HC are similar to those previously observed in muscle during induction of anaesthesia. Our results show that anaesthesia mainly affects cutaneous blood flow, without any significant change in subcutaneous blood flow during the early phase of anaesthesia in human beings.

Adult↗

[Regional anticoagulation with citrate in hemodialysis in patients with a high risk for hemorrhage].

During haemodialysis in the patient at high risk for bleeding, heparin cannot be safely used to prevent clotting in the dialysis assembly. Among numerous procedures proposed to reduce the risk for bleeding, Pinnick et al. (N Engl J Med, 308: 258, 1983) proposed the use of citrate as the sole anticoagulant. Citrate toxicity and efficiency were studied during 44 haemodialyses carried out in thirteen patients with a high risk for bleeding or with active bleeding. Three patients had hepatic failure. Two types of citrate solution were used, the trisodium form of citrate (102 mmol.l-1 citrate) or the monosodium form (306 mmol.l-1 citrate). The solutions were infused with a calibrated, pressure insensitive pump, before the dialysis unit at a flow rate of 600 ml.h-1 and 200 ml.h-1 respectively. Sufficient citrate was infused to maintain a clotting time of the blood line and dialyser of more than 18 min. Standard 10% calcium chloride was infused at a constant rate of 7 mg.min-1 into the blood being returned to the patient. The patients were dialysed for 4 h for each haemodialysis with a single-pass system. The dialyses were uncomplicated; no active bleeding was noted. The patient's clotting time was significantly reduced during haemodialysis (18.1 +/- 8.9 min to 14.5 +/- 6.3 min; p less than 0.001). Two-hundred and twenty serum citrate levels were measured. Only nine were above the toxic value of 2 mmol.l-1. No clinical evidence of a decrease in ionized calcium was found: there was no change in the corrected QT intervals and blood pressure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

[Evaluation of the Engstrom metabolic computer].

The Engstrom Metabolic Computer (EMC), in association with the Erica Ventilator, uses indirect calorimetry to carry out continuous on-line gas exchange measurements. A laboratory assessment of the different parts of this equipment is described. The variability of FIO2 was less than 0.05. The accuracy and stability of the inspiratory flowmeter were only slightly modified by changes in the I/E ratio and gas flow rates. The overestimation of flow on increasing FIO2 was taken into account by the computer. The hygrometry of inspiratory and expiratory air samples reached that of room air, with an absence of saturation during prolonged measurements. The CO2 analyser also showed a good stability. The accuracy of the oxygen cell needed to be checked periodically. A global evaluation was carried out using Damask's method: a lung model was used into which CO2 and N2 were insufflated at precise rates to simulate CO2 production and O2 consumption. The measured respiratory quotient was also compared with the known RQ of burning methanol. The difference between measured and real values was less than 5%. Therefore, it was concluded that the EMC was reliable for indirect calorimetry measurements.

Calorimetry↗

[A severe form of heat stroke in a long-distance runner].

A case of a severe heat stroke is reported in a 30 yr old white man while running a long-distance race. At the time of admission, moderate hyperthermia (40 degrees C) and coma were two major symptoms found at physical examination. Within 24 h, the clinical picture evolved to multiple organ failure with marked rhabdomyolysis, acute renal failure with hyperkalaemia and lactic acidosis. At this time, were also found a consumptive coagulopathy and acute hepatic failure. After numerous complications, most of them infectious, the patient was discharged after four months in ICU and admitted in a physical rehabilitation department. Muscle biopsy performed three years after the heat stroke showed an abnormal reactivity to caffeine, but a normal reaction to halothane. The relationship between malignant hyperthermia and heat stroke remains uncertain.

Acute Disease↗

[Femoral nerve block as a postoperative analgesia technic in surgery of the knee].

A femoral nerve block was performed as a postoperative analgesic technique in 50 patients after knee surgery; this surgery is a very painful one. The technique used was the inguinal route, as described in the textbooks. Bupivacaine was used: 1.5 mg X kg-1 without exceeding 150 mg. The result was good in 46 patients, with four failures. The average duration of analgesia was 600 min, the shortest being 300 min, the longest being 1,200 min. This technique can be recommended after surgery of the knee as safe and reliable.

Adolescent↗

[Creatine phosphokinases and serum and urinary myoglobin following a procedure in prolonged knee-chest position for the treatment of spondylolisthesis].

Rhabdomyolysis following the knee-chest position was studied in 15 patients scheduled for surgery for spondylolisthesis. A comparison was made between 11 patients scheduled for orthopaedic surgery: ligamentoplasty (6 patients), total hip prosthesis (5 patients) and 11 patients scheduled for long oral surgery. The measurements carried out were blood CPK before surgery, 4, 8, 12 and 24 h after the beginning of surgery, and at days 2, 3 and 4. Blood and urinary myoglobin were measured at days 1, 2, 3 and 4 after surgery. The results were tested with the Mann and Whitney test. There was no statistical change in CPK and myoglobin in the test population. Following the knee-chest position, there was a statistical increase of CPK in all patients, with great individual variations. Myoglobinaemia and myoglobinuria were observed in six patients, these not being correlated with the variations of CPK. Nevertheless, the maximal increase of CPK and myoglobin was seen in one patient, without any modification of diuresis but with an increase of creatininaemia at 220 mmol X l-1. In this series, rhabdomyolysis was real. CPK was not a good index of the release of haematic pigments, the only dangerous ones. A qualitative search for myoglobinuria is suggested, this being followed, or not, by alkalization to prevent acute renal failure.

Adolescent↗

Changes in skin thermal clearance during anaesthesia.

Thermal and vascular side effects occurring during general anaesthesia are related to skin blood flow. A new, noninvasive probe which measures skin thermal clearance, a variable closely related to skin blood flow, was used in nine patients under phenoperidine, droperidol, propanidid anaesthesia. Statistically significant increases in skin thermal clearance clearly preceded the drop in mean arterial blood pressure and the rise in skin temperature. It is concluded that general anaesthesia induced an early increase in skin blood flow and that thermal clearance is a better technique than skin thermometry to monitor skin blood flow.

Adult↗

[Circulatory arrest in the operating room in a patient with a congenital long QT syndrome].

Reversible cardiocirculatory arrest was observed during orthopaedic treatment of a digital dislocation in a 37 year old female patient. Cardiological studies showed a prolonged QT interval (0.6 s) in the patient and her daughter, associated with hypokalemia (3.4 mmol) in the former. The diagnosis suggested was that of Romano-Ward's syndrome. Preparation and choice of anaesthesia are discussed.

Adult↗

[Post-traumatic hyperthyroxinemia or hyperthyroidism].

A fifteen year-old girl presented with several fractures after a road traffic accident. Five days later, fat embolism occurred, complicated by adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and disseminated coagulation (DIC). She was successfully managed in the intensive therapy unit, and was transferred to a general surgery after five weeks. Tachycardia and fever persisted without any other sign of infection. Clinical examination showed exophthalmos and a thyroid murmur. The venous concentration of T4 was increased: 204 nmol . 1(-1) (N: 70-150), whereas that of T3 was normal: 2.3 nmol . 1(-1) (N: 1-1.25). No other investigations were performed. The regression of clinical symptoms and a normalization of T4 were seen after treatment (carbimazole and acebutolol). Post-traumatic hyperthyroidism is discussed. Although classical, this syndrome was not well documented, as was shown in the literature survey. After trauma or an acute illness, an early fall in thyroid hormone concentrations was usually seen; a late increase in T4 was a rare occurrence.

Adolescent↗