Postoperative cognitive impairment is a common complication after cardiac and major non-cardiac surgery in the elderly, but its causes and mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of the current study was to use resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore changes in the functional connectivity, i.e. the synchronization of low frequency fluctuation (LFF), in an animal model of cognitive impairment in aged rats.Aged (22 months) rats were anaesthetized with 40 µg/kg fentanyl and 500 µg/kg droperidol (intraperitoneal) for splenectomy. Cognitive function was assessed using Y maze prior to operation and on postoperative days 1, 3 and 9. To evaluate functional connectivity, resting-state fMRI data were acquired using a 3T MR imaging system with a 4 channel phase array rat head coil.Cognitive function was impaired at postoperative days 1 and 3 compared with preoperative. Significant synchronized LFF was detected bilaterally in the primary somatosensory cortex and hippocampus preoperatively. By contrast, no significant LFF synchronization was detected in the right primary somatosensory cortex and right hippocampus on postoperative days 1 and 3, although the pattern of functional connectivity had become almost normal by day 9.Splenectomy performed under neuroleptic anaesthesia triggers a cognitive decline that is associated with altered spontaneous neuronal activity in the cortex and hippocampus.

The incidence of psychotic disorders during the postpartum period is higher than at any other time during a women's life and coincides with the time when breastfeeding is most recommended. As a result, safety data on use of antipsychotic drugs during lactation is essential. Our aim was to analyze the medical literature for information on antipsychotic drug use during breastfeeding and to determine the safety of their use for the exposed infant.Medline (U.S. National Library of Medicine), LactMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine) and Reprotox (Reproductive Toxicology Center) databases were searched to identify all relevant medical literature on antipsychotic medications and lactation. The database search, updated to March, 2012, used the generic name of each antipsychotic drug in combination with the terms breastfeeding or lactation or breast-milk.4 prospective studies, 12 case series, 28 case reports and 1 pharmaceutical registry were included.Infant outcomes focusing on long-term outcome were summarized from all reports of breastfeeding mothers taking antipsychotic medications. Recommendations for drug use during breastfeeding were based on safety data and on pharmaco kinetic drug properties. Recommendatins were categorized as acceptable, possible under medical supervision, or, not recommended.Among 21 antipsychotic drugs used in clinical practice, for 7 there are no data at all regarding breastfeeding and for 6 others the data are based only on few infant exposures. Only few prospective studies assessing'use of haloperidol, chlorpromazine and olanzapine during breastfeeding were identified. Olanzapine and quetiapine were categorized as acceptable for breastfeeding. Chlorpromazine, haloperidol, risperidone and zuclopenthixol were categorized as possible for breastfeeding under medical supervision. Breastfeeding cannot be currently recommended for the following medications: aripiprazole, asenapine, chlorprothixene, clozapine, droperidol, fluphenazine, flupenthixol, iloperidone, lurasidone, paliperidone, perphenazine, pimozide, trifluoperazine, thiothixene and ziprasidone.With a limited number of infants exposed to antipsychotic drugs during breastfeeding, for most drugs a firm and evidence-based conclusion cannot be reached. Counseling of breastfeeding mothers should be carefully assessed. Pharmacokinetic drug characteristics, disease severity, behavioral or psychosocial alternatives, preventative interventions and possible impact of discontinuing breastfeeding on the maternal-infant relationship should all be considered.

To assess the efficiency and safety of parenteral analgesics for pain relief in acute pancreatitis.We carried out an electronic search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, WEIPU, CNKI and CBM and a manual search for eligible studies. The methodological quality of included trials and quality of evidence were examined by the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias and GRADE, respectively. The data were mainly analyzed descriptively and some were pooled by Review manager 5.Eight randomized controlled trials with a total of 356 patients were finally included in this systematic review. Compared with procaine, pentazocine led to lower pain severity: day 1, Mean Difference (MD), 95%CI: 40.0 [35.3, 44.7]; day 2, MD, 95%CI: 24.00 [20.88, 27.12]; day 3, MD, 95%CI: 5.00 [2.17, 7.83], and it decreased the requirement for additional analgesics, Relative Risk, 95%CI: 2.23 [1.63, 3.05]. The combination of fentanyl, atropine, droperidol and lidocaine rendered lower pain score: day 1, MD, 95%CI: -5.46 [-6.95, -3.97]; day 2, MD, 95%CI: -5.78 [-7.39, -4.17]. Patients treated with metamizole tended to had lower pain than those treated with morphine, MD, 95%CI: -2.60 [-2.95, -2.25]. Nausea, emesis and vomiting were the common adverse events reported and there was almost no significant difference between different agents on safety.The systemic review showed that the randomized controlled trials comparing different analgesics were of low quality and did not favor clearly any particular analgesic for pain relief in acute pancreatitis.

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) are frequently encountered after thyroidectomy. For PONV prevention, selective serotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 (5-HT3) receptor antagonists are considered one of the first-line therapy. We report on the efficiency of granisetron and tropisetron, with that of placebo on the prevention of PONV in patients undergoing total thyroidectomy.One hundred twenty-seven patients were divided into three groups and randomized to receive intravenously, prior to induction of anesthesia, tropisetron 5 mg, or granisetron 3 mg, or normal saline. All patients received additionally 0.625 mg droperidol. All episodes of postoperative PONV during the first 24 h after surgery were evaluated.Nausea visual analogue scale (VAS) score was lower in tropisetron and granisetron groups than the control group at all measurements (P<0.01) except for the 8-h measurement for tropisetron (P=0.075). Moreover, granisetron performed better than tropisetron (P<0.011 at 4 h and P<0.01 at all other points of time) apart from the 2-h measurement. Vomiting occurred in 22.2%, 27.5%, and 37.5% in granisetron, tropisetron, and control groups, respectively (P=0.43).The combination of the 5-HT3 antagonists with droperidol given before induction of anesthesia is well tolerated and superior to droperidol alone in preventing nausea but not vomiting after total thyroidectomy.

Intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (iv-PCA) has a great advantage for pain control in the postoperative period with occasional disadvantages of postoperative nausea and vomiting, which should be treated appropriately. Droperidol is commonly used as anti-emetic drug, but it also has a potential risk to induce extrapyramidal reactions. We report three patients who showed extrapyramidal reactions among 589 patients after droperidol administration. Although this complication is rare, we should be aware of the possible extrapyramidal reactions due to droperidol.

This study aimed to investigate sedation of elderly patients with acute behavioral disturbance (ABD) in the emergency department (ED), specifically the safety and effectiveness of droperidol.This was a prospective study of elderly patients (>65 years) with ABD requiring parenteral sedation and physical restraint in the ED. Patients were treated with a standardized sedation protocol that included droperidol. Drug administration, time to sedation, additional sedation, and adverse effects were recorded. Effective sedation was defined as a drop in the sedation assessment tool score by 2 or a score of zero or less.There were 49 patients with median age of 81 years (range, 65-93 years); 33 were males. Thirty patients were given 10 mg droperidol, 15 were given 5 mg droperidol, 2 were given 2.5 mg, and 2 were given midazolam. Median time to sedation for patients receiving 10 mg droperidol was 30 minutes (interquartile range, 18-40 minutes), compared with 21 minutes (interquartile range, 10-55 minutes; P = .55) for patients receiving 5 mg droperidol. Three patients were not sedated within 120 minutes. Eighteen patients required additional sedation-10 of 30 (33%; 95% confidence interval, 18%-53%) given droperidol 10 mg compared with 7 of 15 (47%; 95% confidence interval, 22%-73%) given 5 mg. Fourteen patients required resedation. Adverse effects occurred in 5 patients (hypotension [2], oversedation [2], hypotension/oversedation [1])-2 of 30 given 10 mg droperidol and 3 of 19 not treated according to protocol. Midazolam was given initially or for additional sedation in 2 of 5 adverse effects. No patient had QT prolongation.Droperidol was effective for sedation in most elderly patients with ABD, and adverse effects were uncommon. An initial 5-mg dose appears prudent with the expectation that many will require another dose.

PURPOSE:

We examined the effects of dexamethasone, droperidol, naloxone, and a combination of these three agents on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in female patients.

METHODS:

In this randomized, controlled study, 120 female patients with ASA PS I or II undergoing laparoscopic gynecological surgery were randomly allocated into four groups. Patients received dexamethasone 8 mg (Dx group) or droperidol 1 mg (Dr group) before induction of general anesthesia. Anesthesia was induced and maintained with propofol and remifentanil. Postoperative analgesia was provided by intravenous patient-controlled analgesia using a disposable infusion pump filled with fentanyl 20 μg/kg alone (Dx group), fentanyl 20 μg/kg with droperidol 2 mg (Dr group), fentanyl 20 μg/kg with naloxone 0.1 mg (Nx group), or fentanyl 20 μg/kg with droperidol 2 mg and naloxone 0.1 mg (Cm group) in a total volume of 80 ml, with a constant infusion rate of 4 ml/h and a bolus dose 2 ml with a 30-min lockout time.

RESULTS:

The number of patients who developed PONV and required a rescue antiemetic was significantly less in the Cm group than in the Nx group (p < 0.001 for all). The incidence of PONV was 43, 43, 70, and 17 % in the Dx, Dr, Nx, and Cm groups, respectively.

CONCLUSION:

A combination of naloxone, droperidol, and dexamethasone was effective for preventing PONV in patients receiving fentanyl for postoperative analgesia after laparoscopic gynecological surgery, although further investigations are required to examine the effect of adding naloxone to other antiemetics.

PURPOSE:

We investigated the effect of low-dose droperidol on heart rate-corrected QT (QTc) interval and interaction with propofol.

METHODS:

Seventy-two patients undergoing upper limb surgery were included in this study. Patients were randomly allocated to one of three groups: group S (n = 24), which received 1 ml saline; group D1 (n = 24), which received 1.25 mg droperidol; or group D2 (n = 24), which received 2.5 mg droperidol. One minute later, fentanyl (3 μg/kg) was administered. Two minutes after fentanyl administration, anesthesia was induced using propofol (1.5 mg/kg) and vecronium. Tracheal intubation was performed 3 min after the administration of propofol. Heart rate, mean arterial pressure, bispectral index, and QTc interval were recorded at the following time points: immediately before the droperidol injection (baseline); 3 min after the saline or droperidol injection; 3 min after the propofol injection; and 2 min after tracheal intubation.

RESULTS:

Compared to baseline, the QTc interval in group S and group D1 was significantly shorter after propofol injection, but recovered after tracheal intubation. In group D2, the QTc interval was significantly prolonged after droperidol injection, but recovered after propofol injection, and was significantly prolonged after tracheal intubation.

CONCLUSIONS:

We found that saline or 1.25 mg droperidol did not prolong QTc interval, whereas 2.5 mg droperidol prolonged the QTc interval significantly, and that propofol injection counteracted the prolongation of the QTc interval induced by 2.5 mg droperidol.