Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jul 1997
Laryngeal mask airway and the incidence of regurgitation during gynecological laparoscopies.
We studied the incidence of regurgitation in 100 patients undergoing elective gynecological laparoscopies under general anesthesia with intermittent positive pressure ventilation using a laryngeal mask airway (LMA). Patients ingested methylene blue capsules 10-15 min before induction of anesthesia. After induction and insertion of an LMA using the recommended insertion technique, a fiberoptic examination of the larynx was made for traces of dye and to site a pH probe in the bowl of the LMA for continuous monitoring. ⋯ The 95% confidence limit for a true probability of regurgitation in this study is 0.041 or a true rate of regurgitation of less than 4.1%. A larger study would be required to possibly demonstrate a lower incidence of regurgitation. This study confirms the clinical impression that the incidence of regurgitation during laparoscopies with a LMA is extremely low.
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We describe a novel supraclavicular approach to the brachial plexus. Designated as the intersternocleidomastoid technique, this new approach was tested in unembalmed cadavers. It was then applied for evaluation to 150 ASA grade I or II patients scheduled for elective surgery or physiotherapy of the upper limb or for treatment of reflex sympathetic dystrophy associated with painful shoulder. ⋯ Postoperative analgesia was provided for 48 h or more in 45 patients and for 24 h in 18 patients. Only minor complications were observed: asymptomatic phrenic nerve block in 89 patients (60%), transient Horner's syndrome in 15 (10%), transient recurrent laryngeal nerve blockade in 2, and misplacement of the catheter into the subclavian vein in 1 patient. No pneumothorax was observed.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jul 1997
Non-operating room emergency airway management and endotracheal intubation practices: a survey of anesthesiology program directors.
Airway management in the operating room is the responsibility of anesthesiologists, although a variety of personnel may be responsible for airway management outside the operating room. We conducted a survey of anesthesia program directors regarding emergency airway management practices at their institutions. A questionnaire was sent to anesthesia program directors listed in the Graduate Medical Education Directory for 1995-1996. ⋯ EW physicians are prominently involved in airway management in the emergency room both independently and with anesthesiologists. Airway management in trauma patients remains the domain of anesthesiologists. Anesthesiologists are most represented in airway management on hospital floors.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jul 1997
Predictive factors for usefulness of fiberoptic pulmonary artery catheter for continuous oxygen saturation in mixed venous blood monitoring in cardiac surgery.
The main goal of this prospective study was to identify among cardiac surgery patients, usually monitored through a standard pulmonary artery catheter (PAC), those in whom a fiberoptic catheter oximeter to measure oxygen saturation in mixed venous blood (SVO2 PAC) would be most useful. Data from 286 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft (50%) or valvular surgery were recorded, including ASA physical status, New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification, and Parsonnet score (PS). Hemodynamic events and SVO2 changes were collected intra- and postoperatively until weaning from mechanical ventilation. ⋯ Similarly, morbidity was frequent in the useful group, although it was not always significantly different from the nonuseful group according to the type of complications. Mortality was comparable in the groups despite their different degree of illness and was reduced when taking into account the predictive and observed mortality provided by the PS. This study defined independent preoperative factors associated with SVO2 PAC monitoring and proposed a cutoff point above which SVO2 may be useful.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jul 1997
Thromboelastographic changes in healthy parturients and postpartum women.
Thromboelastography (TEG) using disposable plastic cups and pins was performed with native whole blood (native group) in 17 nonpregnant volunteers, 134 healthy term pregnant women (>36 wk gestation), and 69 postpartum women. Thromboelastography was also performed with celite-activated whole blood (celite group) in 15 nonpregnant female volunteers, 38 healthy term pregnant women, and 34 postpartum women. The thromboelastographic parameters r and K were significantly decreased in pregnant and postpartum women compared with nonpregnant women in both groups (P < 0.05). ⋯ The TEG coagulation index was significantly greater in pregnant and postpartum women compared with nonpregnant women in both groups. In this study, TEG showed that pregnancy is a hypercoagulable state and that postpartum women remain hypercoagulable through the first 24 h postdelivery. The use of celite in TEG accelerated the speed of TEG analysis.