Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2009
Randomized Controlled TrialDoes infusion of colloid influence the occurrence of postoperative nausea and vomiting after elective surgery in women?
The impact of the type of fluid on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is not well defined. In this study we investigated the effects of colloids or crystalloids on PONV when given in addition to a background minimal crystalloid infusion in a female population of surgical patients. ⋯ In surgical procedures with minimal blood loss and minimal fluid shifts, the type of fluid replacement administered (colloid vs 0.9% normal saline) has minimal effect on the incidence of PONV.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2009
ReviewPatient-controlled-analgesia analgesimetry and its problems.
In addition to providing pain relief, patient-controlled-analgesia (PCA) is also extensively used in clinical research for the assay of analgesic effectiveness of new drugs and methods of pain treatment. The main outcome measure of PCA analgesimetry is the difference in opioid requirements between the control (placebo) group and the new drug (or treatment) group. The following potential problems of PCA analgesimetry are analyzed: 1) weak correlation between pain intensity and opioid consumption, 2) interference of nonanalgesic effects of opioids, 3) role of acute tolerance to the analgesic effect of opioids, 4) problems of the patient's training, 5) interaction between main outcome measures, and 6) sample size and negative outcome problems. Knowledge of the pitfalls of PCA analgesimetry should decrease the risk of errors in its use.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2009
Comparative StudySame-patient reproducibility of state entropy: a comparison of simultaneous bilateral measurements during general anesthesia.
State Entropy (SE) is an index of anesthetic depth similar to Bispectral Index (BIS). Both indices use a single-channel electroencephalogram, recorded from a unilaterally applied electrode on the forehead, as their input. Intrapatient reproducibility of BIS was questioned in a recent study in which simultaneous measurements from two electrodes applied to the same patient showed conflicting anesthetic depths. Our purpose was to determine whether SE results are similarly reproducible, even though their computation uses a different algorithm than BIS. In this study, we investigated the reproducibility of SE measurements simultaneously obtained from bilaterally applied electrodes in the same patient. ⋯ SE showed a clinically significant degree of disagreement when probes were applied on both sides of the forehead in the same patient. Bland-Altman statistics showed better same-patient reproducibility in SE than did a similar study on BIS. Nevertheless, 4% of the simultaneously measured pairs of SE suggested different anesthetic depths and differed by more than 10 points. Caution is advised when using SE as a clinical index of anesthetic depth.
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The management of massively transfused trauma patients has improved with a better understanding of trauma-induced coagulopathy, the limitations of crystalloid infusion, and the implementation of massive transfusion protocols (MTPs), which encompass transfusion management and other patient care needs to mitigate the "lethal triad" of acidosis, hypothermia, and coagulopathy. MTPs are currently changing in the United States and worldwide because of recent data showing that earlier and more aggressive transfusion intervention and resuscitation with blood components that approximate whole blood significantly decrease mortality. ⋯ The ideal amounts of plasma, platelet, cryoprecipitate and other coagulation factors given in MTPs in relationship to the red blood cell transfusion volume are not known precisely, but until prospective, randomized, clinical trials are performed and more clinical data are obtained, current data support a target ratio of plasma:red blood cell:platelet transfusions of 1:1:1. Future prospective clinical trials will allow continued improvement in MTPs and thus in the overall management of patients with trauma.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyDoes ultrasound guidance improve the success rate of infraclavicular brachial plexus block when compared with nerve stimulation in children with radial club hands?
The classical response to nerve stimulation may be altered in cases of radial club hand. Ultrasound guidance may prove to be a useful tool in such situations. In this study, we compared the success rate of ultrasound-guided infraclavicular brachial plexus block with nerve stimulation for children undergoing radial club hand repair. ⋯ Ultrasound-guided infraclavicular brachial plexus block improves the success rate in patients with radial club hands when compared with nerve stimulation in patients undergoing radial club hand correction.