Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Endotracheal intubation in patients with cervical spine immobilization: a comparison of macintosh and airtraq laryngoscopes.
The Airtraq laryngoscope (Prodol Ltd., Vizcaya, Spain) is a novel single-use tracheal intubation device. The authors compared ease of intubation with the Airtraq and Macintosh laryngoscopes in patients with cervical spine immobilization in a randomized, controlled clinical trial. ⋯ These findings demonstrate the utility of the Airtraq laryngoscope for tracheal intubation in patients with cervical spine immobilization.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Association of ethnicity with the minimum alveolar concentration of sevoflurane.
Selective breeding produces animal strains with varying anesthetic sensitivity. It thus seems unlikely that various human ethnicities have identical anesthetic requirements. Therefore, the authors tested the hypothesis that the minimum alveolar concentration of sevoflurane differs significantly as a function of ethnicity. ⋯ The results suggest that minimum alveolar concentration varies as a function of ethnicity. However, the extent to which confounding characteristics contribute, including lifestyle choices and environmental factors, remains unknown.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Adrenergic receptor genotype but not perioperative bisoprolol therapy may determine cardiovascular outcome in at-risk patients undergoing surgery with spinal block: the Swiss Beta Blocker in Spinal Anesthesia (BBSA) study: a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial with 1-year follow-up.
Neuraxial blockade is used as primary anesthetic technique in one third of surgical procedures. The authors tested whether bisoprolol would protect patients at risk for cardiovascular complications undergoing surgery with spinal block. ⋯ Perioperative bisoprolol therapy did not affect cardiovascular outcome in these elderly at-risk patients undergoing surgery with spinal block.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-response pilot study evaluating intradiscal etanercept in patients with chronic discogenic low back pain or lumbosacral radiculopathy.
In recent years, convincing evidence has emerged implicating tumor necrosis factor alpha as a causative factor in radiculopathy and discogenic back pain. But although preliminary open-label studies demonstrated promising results for the treatment of low back pain with tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors, early optimism has been tainted by a controlled study showing no significant benefit in sciatica. To determine whether outcomes might be improved by a more direct route of administration, the authors evaluated escalating doses of intradiscal etanercept in 36 patients with chronic lumbosacral radiculopathy or discogenic low back pain. ⋯ Although no serious side effects were observed in this small study, a single low dose of intradiscal etanercept does not seem to be an effective treatment for chronic radicular or discogenic low back pain.