INTRODUCTION High thoracic epidural anesthesia (TEA) causes blockade of sympathetic fibers involved in innervation of the heart (segments T1-T4), which results in changes of cardiac electrophysiology. The anti-arrhythmic effects of TEA on supraventricular arrhythmias, mainly atrial fibrillation, are controversial. THE AIM OF THE STUDY The aim of the study was to assess the influence of epidur...

conclusions ct epidurography is not closely correlated with a clinical assessment of epidural block; thus, a clinical assessment of the sensory block is mandatory. the use of opioid analgesia in combination with local anesthetics may compensate for the lack of efficacy of local anesthetics alone. objectives the primary objective of this study was to evaluate, by ct imaging and digital multiplan...

BACKGROUND Different additives have been used to prolong regional blockade. We designed a prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial to evaluate the effect of dexamethasone added to bupivacaine-fentanyl on the duration of postoperative analgesia via epidural catheterization. METHODS Seventy two adult patients scheduled for elective abdominal or thoracic surgery under epi...

BACKGROUND Epidural anaesthesia and analgesia has been shown to suppress the neuro-hormonal stress response, but its role in the inflammatory response is unclear. The primary aim was to assess whether the choice of analgesic technique influences these processes in patients undergoing radical retropubic prostatectomy. METHODS Twenty-six patients were randomized to Group P (systemic opioid-base...

Background: Periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) share a number of clinical and pathologic features, one of which is the presence of the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)-induced bone resorption that is involved in the pathogenesis of both. Objectives: To investigate the effect of TNF-α blockade on periodontal conditions in patients with active RA. Method: The periodontal statuses of 3...

Background. Thoracic epidural catheters provide the best quality postoperative pain relief for major abdominal and thoracic surgical procedures, but placement is one of the most challenging procedures in the repertoire of an anesthesiologist. Most patients presenting for a procedure that would benefit from a thoracic epidural catheter have already had high resolution imaging that may be useful ...

background: periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis (ra) share a number of clinical and pathologic features, one of which is the presence of the tumor necrosis factor alpha (tnf-α)-induced bone resorption that is involved in the pathogenesis of both. objectives: to investigate the effect of tnf-α blockade on periodontal conditions in patients with active ra. method: the periodontal statuses of 3...

We previously demonstrated that baseline synovial overexpression of the interleukin-7 receptor α-chain (IL-7R) is associated with poor response to tumour necrosis factor (TNF) blockade in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We found that IL-7R gene expression is induced in fibroblast-like synovial cells (FLS) by the addition of TNF-α, IL-1β and combinations of TNF-α+ IL-1β or TNF-α+ IL-17, thereby sugge...