1/32. Early autonomic dysreflexia.INTRODUCTION: During the stage of spinal shock the conventional view is that autonomic activity is abolished. Here, evidence is presented that autonomic activity is still present. patients: Four patients with acute cord transactions are presented: one new case and three from the literature. DEFINITIONS: The definitions of spinal shock and autonomic dysreflexia are given. methods: All four cases showed acute autonomic dysreflexia between 7 and 31 days after acute cord transection at a stage when the tendon reflexes were abolished. RESULTS: Two cases showed a severe rise in blood pressure; the two earlier cases, before blood pressure was routinely recorded, profuse sweating. In two cases autonomic dysreflexia was obtained when the bladder was overdistended with 1000 ml and 1600 ml. In the other two cases it occurred in response to traumatic catheterisation. This was found when supramaximal stimuli were applied. It has not been recorded routinely as, with modern management, the bladder does not get overdistended or traumatised. DISCUSSION: Other evidence, the blood pressure, and urethral tone is presented to show that sympathetic reflex activity of the cord is not abolished during spinal shock. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The clinical importance of this is that autonomic dysreflexia can be seen at an early stage and it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a sick patient immediately after spinal injury.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/32. Hormonal and cardiovascular reflex assessment in a female patient with pure autonomic failure.We report the case of a 72-year-old female with pure autonomic failure, a rare entity, whose diagnosis of autonomic dysfunction was determined with a series of complementary tests. For approximately 2 years, the patient has been experiencing dizziness and a tendency to fall, a significant weight loss, generalized weakness, dysphagia, intestinal constipation, blurred vision, dry mouth, and changes in her voice. She underwent clinical assessment and laboratory tests (biochemical tests, chest X-ray, digestive endoscopy, colonoscopy, chest computed tomography, abdomen and pelvis computed tomography, abdominal ultrasound, and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring). Measurements of catecholamine and plasmatic renin activity were performed at rest and after physical exercise. Finally the patient underwent physiological and pharmacological autonomic tests that better diagnosed dysautonomia.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/32. Swallowing syncope: complex mechanisms of the reflex.A 69-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for the examination of syncope. When she ate solid food, she had dizziness or loss of consciousness. The ambulatory ECG suggested sino-atrial block during swallowing with a maximum sinus pause of 6 seconds. An electrophysiologic study revealed pre-existing sinus node dysfunction, which was exaggerated by the balloon inflation in the esophagus. atropine counteracted the slowing of the basal sinus rate induced by esophageal pressure, but it did not block the effect on the maximum sinus node recovery time. This observation suggested that the syncope was mediated partly by a non-vagal mechanism.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/32. Visual loss with papilledema in guillain-barre syndrome.papilledema and raised intracranial pressure have been reported in association with guillain-barre syndrome. papilledema is usually asympotomatic or associated with mild visual field defects, without any visual loss. The cerebrospinal fluid protein is usually reported to be high. A case of a 35 year old lady is reported, who presented with headache, diplopia and progressive visual loss in both eyes and limb weakness with hyporeflexia. Optic fundus examination showed bilateral papilledema. She had features of pseudotumor cerebri. Nerve conduction studies were suggestive of polyradiculopathy. The unusual things in this case, were the profound visual loss normal cerebrospinal fluid profiles and the presentation of papilledema before the limb weakness.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/32. Hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP) in a toddler presenting with toe-walking, pain and stiffness.The typical clinical presentation of hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies is an adult-onset recurrent, painless monoparesis. Electrophysiological abnormalities--decreased nerve conduction velocities and delayed distal latencies--can be detected even in asymptomatic patients. We describe a toddler, who presented with asymmetric toe walking, painful cramps and stiffness in the legs. He had calf hypertrophy, brisk tendon reflexes and bilateral Babinski signs and the electrophysiological examination was normal. The unlikely diagnosis of hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies was reached 5 years later, when the boy started to complain of episodic numbness and weakness in the upper extremities. His father, paternal aunt and grandmother had similar symptoms, but they had never been investigated. The typical 1.5 Mb deletion on chromosome 17p11.2-12 was found in our patient and his affected relatives.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/32. Uninhibited anal sphincter relaxation syndrome. A new syndrome with report of four cases.I report a new syndrome, in four patients, all male. patients ranged from 36 to 43 years of age. The main complaint was fecal urgency with occasional fecal soiling. physical examination as well as pressure and EMG studies of anal sphincters and levator ani muscle were all normal. The only positive finding was an abnormal rectoinhibitory reflex. The external anal sphincter did not contract either reflexively or voluntarily on rectal distension, leaving the relaxing internal sphincter unprotected and uncontrolled. The patients could not oppose the urge to defecate if conditions are inopportune, with resulting urgency and occasional fecal soiling. The cause is unknown, but biofeedback effected improvement in all four cases.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/32. Asystole following left ventricular pacing.During biventricular ICD implantation, pacing the epicardial inferior posterior-lateral surface of the left ventricle via the coronary sinus produced asystole. The proposed mechanism is a Bezold-Jarisch reflex manifested by a drop in heart rate and blood pressure through direct C fiber stimulation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/32. Obstetrical anaesthesia and analgesia in chronic spinal cord-injured women.Improved acute and rehabilitative care and emphasis on integrating patients into society after spinal cord injury is likely to result in increasing numbers of cord-injured women presenting for obstetrical care. Anaesthetists providing care to these women should be familiar with the complications resulting from chronic cord injury and aware that many may be aggravated by the physiological changes of normal pregnancy. These complications include reduced respiratory volumes and reserve, decreased blood pressure and an increased incidence of thromboembolic phenomena, anaemia and recurrent urinary tract infections. patients with cord lesions above the T5 spinal level are at risk for the life-threatening complication of autonomic hyperreflexia (AH) which results from the loss of central regulation of the sympathetic nervous system below the level of the lesion. Sympathetic hyperactivity and hypertension result in response to noxious stimuli entering the cord below the level of the lesion. Labour appears to be a particularly noxious stimulus and patients with injuries above T5 are at risk for AH during labour even if they have not had previous AH episodes. morbidity is related to the degree of hypertension and intracranial haemorrhage has been reported during labour and attributed to AH. We report our experience in providing care to three parturients with spinal cord injuries. Two patients had high cervical lesions, one of whom experienced AH during labour and was treated with an epidural block. The second was at risk for AH having had episodes in the past and received an epidural block to provide prophylaxis for AH. In both cases epidural blockade provided effective treatment and prophylaxis for AH.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/32. baroreflex failure: a rare complication of carotid paraganglioma surgery.Multiple head and neck paragangliomas are a rare occurrence. We report a patient with removal of bilateral carotid paragangliomas who subsequently developed baroreflex failure 1 month after surgery. The pathology and physiology of this presentation is extremely interesting because it exhibits the complex homeostatic mechanisms involved in the maintenance of steady-state blood pressure. Although rare, it is important to be aware of baroreflex failure and its variable course. Most postsurgical cases occur within days of surgery but, as this report demonstrates, hypertensive urgency can occur weeks to months after surgery; and if not recognized early, it can lead to disastrous postoperative complications such as stroke and myocardial infarction.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/32. Bezold-Jarisch reflex in postoperative pediatric cardiac surgical patients.The Bezold-Jarisch reflex is an inhibitory reflex that originates from the heart, is mediated by the vagus nerve, and is manifested by hypotension and bradycardia. We present 4 pediatric cardiac surgical patients, aged 1 day to 9 months, who exhibited cardiovascular collapse in their early postoperative course. In each patient, cardiovascular deterioration was marked by an insidious decrease in arterial blood pressure without an associated change in heart rate, central venous pressure, or airway pressure. bradycardia followed the decrease in blood pressure. The Bezold-Jarisch reflex was suspected and atropine was administered, first as a bolus injection at 0.01 mg/kg, and later, as a continuous infusion at 0.01 mg.kg-1.h-1. atropine prevented recurrent episodes of hypotension and bradycardia. We believe the Bezold-Jarisch reflex is more prevalent than previously suspected in postoperative pediatric cardiac surgical patients.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.3333333333333keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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