Complex cardiac procedures often require blood transfusion because of surgical bleeding or coagulopathy. Thrombelastography (TEG) was introduced in our institution to direct transfusion management in cardiothoracic surgery. The goal of this study was to quantify the effect of TEG on transfusion rates peri- and postoperatively. All patients who underwent complex cardiac surgery, defined as open ...

BACKGROUND Central nervous system complications are the most clinically important of those affecting mortality in patients undergoing coronary artery surgery. Newly developed sophisticated techniques and surgical interventions obviating the need for cardiopulmonary pumps have facilitated avoidance of these complications. In this study, we compared the impact of on-pump and off-pump coronary art...

OBJECTIVES In the past few years there has been increasing evidence that the respiratory function of patients with diabetes is impaired in the course of their disease. The objective of this article was to investigate whether patients with diabetes are particularly at risk of pulmonary complications during the perioperative stage of coronary bypass surgery. METHODS The data of 8555 patients wh...

Posterior spinal instrumentation and fusion surgery in school-aged children and adolescents is associated with the potential for massive intraoperative blood loss, which requires significant allogeneic blood transfusion. Until now, the intraoperative use of the cell saver has been extensively adopted; however, its efficacy and cost-effectiveness have not been well established. Therefore, the ai...

Perioperative acute kidney injury (AKI) is not uncommon and is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Recently, several definition systems for AKI were proposed, incorporating both small changes of serum creatinine and urinary output reduction as diagnostic criteria. Novel biomarkers are under investigation as fast and accurate predictors of AKI. Several special considerations re...

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS The aim of this study is to clarify the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic hepatectomy, through comparing the early and late periods of perioperative outcomes. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 138 patients who underwent laparoscopic hepatectomy from January 2003 to June 2011, at Yeungnam University Hospital. We divided the total patients to early period (from January 2...

Studies of the effects of preoperative starvation on blood glucose levels in children have produced apparently conflicting results. The study which we conducted, investigated the incidence of hypoglycaemia and hypoglycaemic signs in the children fasted for various periods. It also studied the hemodynamic responses in the perioperative period in relation to the duration of fasting and reliabilit...

Bodily injury and stress associated with surgical interventions increase glucose levels not only in individuals diagnosed with diabetes mellitus but also in patients without a preoperative diagnosis of diabetes. Whatever the cause, hyperglycemia is becoming an increasingly important indicator of perioperative patient outcomes. An elevated blood glucose level affects the body's defense systems a...

BACKGROUND The strategy of whether to continue anticoagulation and antiplatelet agents during surgery depends on an evaluation of the thromboembolic risk and haemorrhagic risk of the individual patients. Procedures that carry a significant risk of bleeding may require temporary cessation of the medication. OBJECTIVE We briefly review the use of common oral anticoagulant and antiplatelet agent...

Hypothermia is one of the common complications in the perioperative period. Currently, normothermia is maintained with forced air warming (FAW) or passive heat retention methods. We compared the efficacy of the Mediwrap blanket with FAW in maintaining normothermia during intra-operative period in thoracic surgery in a prospective randomised controlled trial on 30 patients. Core temperature was ...