Background Ischemic myocardial damage accompanying coronary artery bypass graft surgery remains a clinical challenge. We investigated whether xenon anesthesia could limit myocardial damage in coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients, as has been reported for animal ischemia models. Methods In 17 university hospitals in France, Germany, Italy, and The Netherlands, low-risk elective, on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients were randomized to receive xenon, sevoflurane, or propofol-based total intravenous anesthesia for anesthesia maintenance. The primary outcome was the cardiac troponin I concentration in the blood 24 h postsurgery. The noninferiority margin for the mean difference in cardiac troponin I release between the xenon and sevoflurane groups was less than 0.15 ng/ml. Secondary outcomes were the safety and feasibility of xenon anesthesia. Results The first patient included at each center received xenon anesthesia for practical reasons. For all other patients, anesthesia maintenance was randomized (intention-to-treat: n = 492; per-protocol/without major protocol deviation: n = 446). Median 24-h postoperative cardiac troponin I concentrations (ng/ml [interquartile range]) were 1.14 [0.76 to 2.10] with xenon, 1.30 [0.78 to 2.67] with sevoflurane, and 1.48 [0.94 to 2.78] with total intravenous anesthesia [per-protocol]). The mean difference in cardiac troponin I release between xenon and sevoflurane was −0.09 ng/ml (95% CI, −0.30 to 0.11; per-protocol: P = 0.02). Postoperative cardiac troponin I release was significantly less with xenon than with total intravenous anesthesia (intention-to-treat: P = 0.05; per-protocol: P = 0.02). Perioperative variables and postoperative outcomes were comparable across all groups, with no safety concerns. Conclusions In postoperative cardiac troponin I release, xenon was noninferior to sevoflurane in low-risk, on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients. Only with xenon was cardiac troponin I release less than with total intravenous anesthesia. Xenon anesthesia appeared safe and feasible.
Background: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a complex disease with deteriorating liver and kidney function and associated organ failure in patients with chronic liver disease. Methods: This is a concise overview for bedside and algorithmic decision making in patients with ACLF based on the most recent literature. Results: Diagnosis and dynamics of ACLF can be easily monitored with the CLIF-C-ACLF calculator, which delivers grading for ACLF and estimates the risk of mortality, as the natural transplant-free course of ACLF is often fatal. Transplantation offers the best results in patients with ACLF that do not recover spontaneously. However, marginal donor organs should be avoided. Conclusion: ACLF is an increasingly relevant indication with good outcome after liver transplantation. Adequate donor rates may reduce the incidence by means of timely transplantation of acute decompensated patients in lower stages of urgency. Future challenges comprise specific allocation of donor organs to this group of patients that are at a similar risk of mortality when compared to acute liver failure.
Intraoperative examination of sentinel axillary lymph nodes can be done by imprint cytology, frozen section, or, most recently, by PCR-based amplification of a cytokeratin signal. Using this technique, benign epithelial inclusions, representing mammary tissue displaced along the milk line, will likely generate a positive PCR signal and lead to a false-positive diagnosis of metastatic disease. To better appreciate the incidence of ectopic epithelial inclusions in axillary lymph nodes, we have performed an autopsy study, examining on 100 μm step sections 3,904 lymph nodes obtained from 160 axillary dissections in 80 patients. The median number of lymph nodes per axilla was 23 (15, 6, and 1 in levels 1, 2, and 3, respectively). A total of 30,450 hematoxylin-eosin stained slides were examined, as well as 8,825 slides immunostained with pan-cytokeratin antibodies. Despite this meticulous work-up, not a single epithelial inclusion was found in this study, suggesting that the incidence of such inclusions is much lower than the assumed 5% reported in the literature.
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