Pulmonary hypertension is a serious complication of a number of lung and heart diseases that is characterized by peripheral vascular structural remodeling and loss of vascular tone. Nitric oxide can modulate vascular injury and interrupt elevation of pulmonary vascular resistance selectively; however, it can also produce cytotoxic oxygen radicals and exert cytotoxic and antiplatelet effects. The balance between the protective and adverse effects of nitric oxide is determined by the relative amount of nitric oxide and reactive radicals. Nitric oxide has been shown to be clinically effective in the treatment of congenital heart disease, mitrial valvular disease combined with pulmonary hypertension and in orthotropic cardiac transplantation patients. Additionally, new therapeutic modalities for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension, phosphodiesterase inhibitors, natriuretic peptides and aqueous nitric oxide are also effective for treatment of elevated pulmonary vascular resistance.

The efficacy and side-effects of nefopam were prospectively compared with those of fentanyl for patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) following cardiac surgery. Patients scheduled to undergo cardiac surgery were randomly assigned between three PCA groups (nefopam, fentanyl or nefopam + fentanyl). Pain was assessed at rest and during movement at 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72 h after surgery using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Total infused PCA volume, number of rescue drug injections, duration of intubation and length of stay in the intensive care unit were recorded. The incidence of adverse effects was noted at 48 h postoperatively. There were no significant between-group differences in VAS score, total PCA infusion volume or number of rescue injections (n = 92 per group). Nausea was significantly more common in the fentanyl group compared with both other groups. PCA with nefopam alone provides suitable postoperative analgesia after cardiac surgery.

Park HS, et al. Korean J Anesthesiol. 2014 Apr;66(4):317-321. http://dx.doi.org/10.4097/kjae.2014.66.4.317

Background: Minimally invasive robot-assisted cardiac surgery is generally performed nowadays. To avoid the interference of a superior vena cava (SVC) cannula during surgery, it should be inserted before the operation. The position of this cannula is very important because it can cause poor venous drainage during operation. The proper position of the SVC cannula was investigated in the present study. Methods and Results: The position of the SVC cannula using the transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and chest X-ray in 45 patients was ascertained. The distances from the SVC cannula tip to the carina, sternal end of the right clavicle and the lower margin of the T4 vertebral body on chest X-rays were measured. The mean depth of the SVC cannula was 142.0±11.6 mm. The correlation coefficients of cannula depth with sex, weight and height were 0.519, 0.399 and 0.382, respectively. Conclusions: The appropriate depth of an SVC cannula has weakly positive relationships with sex, weight and height. The results of the present study suggest that chest X-rays might be necessary to confirm the appropriate location of the cannula and that TEE might be the method of choice for correct positioning of the SVC cannula in minimally invasive robot-assisted cardiac surgery. (Circ J 2010; 74: 284-288)

Opiranserin injection (Unafra®, Vivozon Inc.) is a first-in-class, non-opioid analgesic for the management of moderate-to-severe postoperative pain. The active ingredient, opiranserin (code name: VVZ-149), is a synthetic molecule that simultaneously antagonizes glycine transporter 2 (GlyT2) and serotonin 2A receptors (5-HT2A), both of which play key roles in pain processing. Opiranserin exemplifies the application of ex vivo phenotypic screening combined with a bait–target approach to identify effective multi-target agents that overcome the limitations of conventional single-target analgesics. In this review, we aim to describe the discovery and optimization of opiranserin through efficacy-based screening using a bait-target approach, outline its pharmacological mechanisms of action as a drug with both central and peripheral activity, and summarize published clinical studies demonstrating its successful translation from preclinical efficacy to reductions in postoperative pain and opioid consumption. We also discuss the clinical implications and future research directions to enhance the therapeutic utility of opiranserin injection and maximize patient benefit within the framework of precision analgesia.