Anesthesiology
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The aim of the study was to establish whether there exists a relationship between blood methadone concentration and analgesic response and the intrasubject and intersubject variability in this relationship. Sixteen general surgical (upper abdominal) and orthopedic (spinal fusion) patients were administered methadone (20 mg, iv) as part of the general anesthetic and supplementary methadone doses (usually 5 mg, iv) in the recovery ward until postoperative pain was controlled effectively. The criteria established for the administration of supplementary methadone doses were the co-existence of 1) spontaneous reporting of significant pain by the patient; 2) an unstimulated respiratory rate of greater than 10 breaths/min, and 3) no significant depression of the level of consciousness. ⋯ Serial blood samples were collected for the estimation of blood methadone concentration following all doses. The methadone concentration in the blood sample collected immediately prior to a supplementary dose was termed the minimum effective concentration (MEC [methadone]). The mean (+/- SD) coefficient of variation in MEC (methadone) for the 16 patients was 21 +/- 10% (range: 7-38%), while the mean MEC for methadone was 57.9 +/- 15.2 ng/ml (range: 34.5-80.3 ng/ml) in these patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Major traumatic injury frequently causes hemodynamic instability that necessitates reducing the usual dose of anesthetic given for surgery. Nevertheless, a lower dose may be sufficient to provide anesthesia because of conditions present in trauma victims that are known to reduce anesthetic requirement (hypotension, hypothermia, and acute alcohol intoxication). To determine the incidence and patient perception of recall of surgery, 51 patients were interviewed after surgery for major trauma. ⋯ Of the six patients in this group who recalled surgery (43%), two considered this awareness their worst hospital experience. No condition known to reduce anesthetic requirement did so reliably enough that recall of surgery did not occur when the anesthetic dose had to be reduced because of major trauma. The authors conclude that the incidence of recall of surgery in victims of major trauma is considerable, and that reducing the dose of anesthetic increases this incidence, despite the presence of conditions known to reduce anesthetic requirement.
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Comparative Study
Pharmacokinetics, placental transfer, and neonatal effects of vecuronium and pancuronium administered during cesarean section.
Vecuronium and pancuronium were compared for placental transfer, pharmacokinetic variables, and neonatal effects during cesarean section under general anesthesia. Eighteen women underwent rapid-sequence intravenous induction using d-tubocurarine, succinylcholine, thiopental, and oxygen. Immediately after tracheal intubation, an intravenous injection of vecuronium (n = 11) or pancuronium (n = 7), 0.04 mg/kg, was given. ⋯ No other pharmacokinetic differences were found between the drugs. Neonatal outcome was not affected adversely by either muscle relaxant, as assessed by Apgar scores and NACSs. The short duration of action, the minimal placental transfer, and the apparent lack of clinical neuromuscular effects on the newborn suggest that vecuronium should be a useful muscle relaxant for cesarean section.