Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 1986
Does intravenous infusion of nitroglycerin potentiate pancuronium- and vecuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade?
The dose requirement for 95% depression of twitch tension and the time course of the neuromuscular blocking effects of the ED95 of pancuronium bromide and vecuronium bromide were studied during intravenous infusion of glucose, 5%, and nitroglycerin, 1 microgram X kg-1 X min-1, in 20 cats anesthetized with pentobarbital. Nitroglycerin administered continuously starting 1 hr before the administration of the ED95 and maintained during at least five maintenance doses of either pancuronium or vecuronium did not significantly potentiate the action of the neuromuscular blocking drugs, nor did it alter their time course of action. A tendency for a decrease (statistically not significant) rather than an increase in the duration of action of maintenance doses of both pancuronium and vecuronium was apparent during the treatment with nitroglycerin. These findings indicate a lack of interaction between pancuronium or vecuronium and nitroglycerin, provided that moderate doses are used.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 1986
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialEpidural morphine provides postoperative pain relief in peripheral vascular and orthopedic surgical patients: a dose-response study.
A randomized double-blind study compared the dose-response relationship of epidural morphine for postoperative pain relief in two groups of patients whose surgical procedures would result in either moderate (femoral-popliteal bypass) or severe (total knee replacement) postoperative pain. Preservative-free morphine sulphate in doses of 0, 2, 5, or 10 mg in a volume of 10 ml saline were administered via lumbar epidural catheters. The epidural morphine was administered 1 hr after the last dose of intraoperative local epidural anesthetic in an effort to achieve a pain-free postoperative course. ⋯ Further enhancement of analgesia occurred with 10 mg; however, late respiratory depression, demonstrated by an increased resting PaCO2 10 hr after administration, was seen only with the 10-mg dose in both surgical groups. Minor complications such as nausea, vomiting, pruritus, and urinary retention were uncommon and did not appear to be related to dose. We found that 5 mg epidural morphine provided long-lasting postoperative analgesia without serious adverse effects after peripheral vascular and orthopedic surgery.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 1986
Pneumocephalus: effects of patient position on the incidence and location of aerocele after posterior fossa and upper cervical cord surgery.
The incidence of pneumocephalus and factors contributing to its occurrence were studied retrospectively in 100 consecutive patients who underwent posterior fossa or cervical cord surgery in the sitting, park-bench, and prone positions. Supine skull x-ray films taken immediately postoperatively were used to determine the presence of intracranial air. Surgery in the sitting position uniformly resulted in pneumocephalus (32/32 patients). ⋯ When surgical position is considered one of the contributing factors, only positions significantly affected the frequencies of pneumocephalus and intraventricular air accumulation. None of the 77 patients with pneumocephalus suffered neurologic change related to the presence of intracranial air. We conclude the following: pneumocephalus commonly occurs after posterior fossa or cervical cord surgeries, particularly when the surgery is performed in the sitting position; neurologic change caused by pneumocephalus is a rare complication after posterior fossa craniotomy; when a patient with coexisting hydrocephalus undergoes surgery, if the patient is in the sitting position, there is an increased risk of trapping a large amount of intracranial air.