Patients with acute ischemk stroke were randomized <24 hours after onset to standard (S) therapy (n=43) or to hypervolemic hemodilution (HH) with pentastarch (n=45). The therapeutic goal of hypervolemic hemodilution was to rapidly reduce hematocrit to 33%, to raise cardiac output, and to continue hypervolemic hemodilution for 3 days. A graded neurologic examination was scored by a blinded obser...

Limited information is available for humans on whether blood viscosity affects total peripheral resistance and, hence, blood pressure. Our study was aimed at assessing the effects of acute changes in blood viscosity on both clinic and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (BP) values. In 22 normotensive and hypertensive patients with polycythemia, clinic and 24-hour ambulatory BPs were measured bef...

Delayed neurologic deterioration from vasospasm remains the greatest cause of morbidity and mortality following subarachnoid hemorrhage. The authors assess the incidence and clinical course of symptomatic vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage using a uniform management protocol over a 24-month period. One hundred eighteen consecutive patients were admitted to the neurovascular surgery ser...

Hb-based O(2)-carrying solutions (HbOCs) have been developed as red blood cell substitutes for use in patients undergoing hemodilution. Variously modified Hb with diverse solution properties have been shown to produce variable hemodynamic responses. We examined, through pulsed-Doppler velocimetry, the systemic and renal hemodynamic effects of dextran-benzene-tetracarboxylate-conjugated (Hb-Dex-...

UNLABELLED Since 1993, we have progressively adopted three techniques to reduce transfusion requirements during major orthopedic surgery: red-cell scavenging, acute normovolemic hemodilution, and active patient warming. We retrospectively evaluated all 821 elective hip and knee arthroplasties performed in our institution beginning with July 1993. Target minimal hematocrits were guided by patien...