Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 2008
Comparative StudyAre melodic medical equipment alarms easily learned?
We tested melodic auditory alarms recommended in the IEC 60601-1-8 standard for medical electrical equipment for ease of learning and discrimination, and for effectiveness during a timeshared task. ⋯ The slow rate of learning and persistent confusions suggest that the IEC 60601-1-8 melodic alarms should be redesigned before they are adopted for clinical practice.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 2008
Comparative StudyPredicting orthopedic surgeons' preferences for peripheral nerve blocks for their patients.
A 2002 survey of 468 Canadian orthopedic surgeons found that the "two principal reasons regional anesthesia is not favored" are "delays in operating rooms" and "unpredictable success." We reanalyzed the data from the study to evaluate whether these concerns were the best predictors of an individual surgeon's willingness to use peripheral nerve blocks for their patients. ⋯ A surgeon's preference for peripheral nerve blocks for his or her own surgery predicted a surgeon's preference for his or her patients. Perceptions of delays and success rate did not add sufficient incremental information to the surgeon's preferences to be of economic importance. These results are important to better forecast the net economic impact on an anesthesia group of a regional block team.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 2008
Comparative StudyA comparison of seal in seven supraglottic airway devices using a cadaver model of elevated esophageal pressure.
Supraglottic airway devices are increasingly important in clinical anesthesia and prehospital emergency medicine, but there are only few data to assess the risk for aspiration. We designed this study to compare the seal of seven supraglottic airway devices in a cadaver model of elevated esophageal pressure. ⋯ Concerning the risk of aspiration, the use of devices with an additional esophageal drainage lumen might be superior for use in patients with an increased risk of aspiration. The Combitube, Easytube, and intubating laryngeal mask Fastrach showed the best capacity to withstand an increase of esophageal pressure.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyThe effect of motor activity on the onset and progression of brachial plexus block with bupivacaine: a randomized prospective study in patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
A decreased latency of onset of neural blockade has been noted when muscular exercise of the hand was performed after supraclavicular brachial plexus block using lidocaine. In this observational study, we examined the effect of repetitive muscle contraction of the hand on the speed of onset of interscalene brachial plexus block (ISB) using bupivacaine. ⋯ Our results imply that attempting to use a frequency-dependent conduction block with repetitive motor activity as a clinical adjuvant to brachial plexus block with bupivacaine is without merit.