Annales françaises d'anesthèsie et de rèanimation
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Ann Fr Anesth Reanim · Jan 1990
[Intrathecal and epidural administration of alpha adrenergic receptor agonists].
Alpha-agonists are frequently added to local anaesthetic agents to prolong the duration of spinal or extradural anaesthesia. Adrenaline and phenylephrine have been employed most commonly for this purpose. Recent controlled studies indicated that the alpha-adrenoceptor agonist clonidine, when administered spinally, has a dose-dependent antinociceptive effect. ⋯ However, spinally administered alpha-agonists have side effects, which include vasoconstriction in the spinal cord, hypotension, bradycardia or tachycardia, somnolence and respiratory depression. To minimize such complications, great care may be needed, which is described in this review, assessing the minimal required amount of alpha-agonists and effective clinical monitoring. The development of this technique in the management of subarachnoid and extradural anaesthesia and of chronic pain is discussed.
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Ann Fr Anesth Reanim · Jan 1990
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial[Analgesic and respiratory effects of nalbuphine during the immediate postoperative period in thoracotomy].
As most patients undergoing pulmonary surgery by postero-lateral thoracotomy have decreased preoperative pulmonary function, efficient postoperative analgesia is mandatory. Nalbuphine, a new agonist-antagonist opioid analgesic, and nefopam were compared in a double blind trial involving 60 patients. Intravenous injections of 0.3 mg.kg-1 of either drug were started when the patient evaluated his pain as being above 60 mm on a visual scale graduated from 0 to 100 mm. ⋯ Nefopam led to a 30% increase in heart rate for one hour (p less than 0.01). Whereas patients given nalbuphine were more drowsy, although easily aroused, (p less than 0.001), nefopam was responsible for adverse effects (sweating, nausea, tachycardia with pallor, vertigo, malaise) requiring the exclusion of 7 patients from the study. Nalbuphine, although not ideal, would therefore seem to be a better analgesic than nefopam in thoracotomy patients.
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Cardiac arrests (CA) occurring during anaesthesia and recovery can be classified into three groups: CA not related to anaesthesia (NACA), CA related to anaesthesia (ACA), whether partially (PACA) or totally (TACA). In the French survey, NACAs were three times more frequent than ACAs. Nearly 25% of ACAs occurred at induction and consisted mainly in TACAs. ⋯ The anaesthesia machine and controlled ventilation can induce CA by hypoxic ventilation, overdose of anaesthetic vapour, excessive CO2 reinhalation, hypoventilation, disconnection, excessive pressure in airways. Cardiac hypothermia can be a cause of CA as well as a cause of unsuccessful CPR. Massive infusion of unwarmed fluids and IPPV with unheated gases generate a temperature gradient within the heart which may result in severe arrhythmias and CA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Ann Fr Anesth Reanim · Jan 1990
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial[Alkalization of bupivacaine in the combination fentanyl-bupivacaine in epidural obstetrical analgesia].
A randomized double blind study was carried out to determine whether alkalization of a 0.25% bupivacaine solution in a fentanyl-bupivacaine mixture hastened the onset, and increased the duration and quality, of extradural analgesia during labour. The study included 120 women with uncomplicated full-term gestation. Prior to the extradural injection, 0.1 ml of either 8.4% sodium bicarbonate or normal saline was randomly added to 20 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine. ⋯ There were no statistically significant differences between the bicarbonate and control groups with regard to the speed of onset of analgesia (7.08 +/- 0.7 min vs. 6.78 +/- 0.6 min), its duration (123.6 +/- 10.7 min vs. 113 +/- 6.6 min), and the number of cases of inadequate pain relief (6 and 3 respectively). The rate of maternal adverse effects, and neonatal status, were similar in both groups. It can be concluded that alkalizing a 0.25% bupivacaine solution in a fentanyl-bupivacaine mixture for epidural analgesia in labour has no clinical value.