1/2. Progression of first degree heart block to high-grade second degree block during spinal anaesthesia.A case is presented in which a patient with pre-existing first degree heart block developed high-grade second degree heart block during spinal anaesthesia. Progression of the block was associated with blockade of cardiac sympathetic neurons induced by spinal anaesthesia. This suggests that patients with pre-existing heart block may be at increased risk for development of higher grade block during spinal anaesthesia.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/2. Sudden cardiorespiratory arrest after renal transplantation in a patient with diabetic autonomic neuropathy and prolonged QT interval.A 31-yr male with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus for 20 years underwent general anaesthesia for renal transplantation. During transfer from operating theatre to ICU he developed bradycardia advancing to ventricular fibrillation and had to be resuscitated. bradycardia did not respond to atropine. Postoperative autonomic nervous function tests showed advanced autonomic neuropathy. He was found to have constantly prolonged QTc interval in his pre- and postoperative ECGs (462-503 ms). Prolongation of QTc interval could be used as a valuable predictor of postoperative cardiac complications in diabetic patients with autonomic neuropathy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |