Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology : the journal of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
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Comparative Study
Anaesthesia preference, neuraxial vs general, and outcome after caesarean section.
We investigated parturients' preference for neuraxial vs general anaesthesia, while they have experienced both techniques in the past. A total of 102 parturients who underwent elective caesarean section under general or neuraxial anaesthesia at different times completed a questionnaire comparing the two techniques. ⋯ Neuraxial anaesthesia was associated with less pain assessed by the Verbal Analogue Scale (VAS) (54 ± 21 vs 72 ± 20 p < 0.001), fewer days of hospital stay (4 ± 0.5 vs 5 ± 1.5, p = 0.001) and higher satisfaction scores (77 ± 18 vs 52 ± 24, p = 0.001) vs general anaesthesia. Finally, 80% of the women would choose neuraxial anaesthesia for a future caesarean section.
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Haemorrhage is one of the leading global causes of maternal mortality. The Rüsch balloon has been used in the treatment of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) after failure of medical management. It is often effective in tamponading uterine bleeding, thus providing an alternative to hysterectomy. ⋯ We include a review of the current literature on balloon tamponade for PPH, including analysis of six relevant case series. This demonstrates a variety of methods based on tamponade to terminate uterine haemorrhage. Our study highlights the benefit of balloon tamponade for massive PPH and the importance of its involvement in labour ward protocols.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Randomised clinical trial of the influence of pulmonary recruitment manoeuvre on reducing shoulder pain after laparoscopy.
Shoulder pain after laparoscopy is common and its probable mechanism is residual CO(2) gas after surgery. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of pulmonary recruitment manoeuvre which means pulmonary inflation with positive pressure of 40 cm H(2)O to remove gas and reduction of shoulder pain after gynaecological laparoscopic surgery. A double-blind clinical trial on 146 patients for minor gynaecological laparoscopy was performed from May 2008 to February 2009. ⋯ Pain scores in the control and intervention group were 3.6 +/- 3.5 vs 1.28 +/- 1.7; 3.4 +/- 2.9 vs 1.19 +/- 1.7; 2.6 +/- 2.4 vs 0.89 +/- 1.3; 1.5 +/- 1.6 vs 0.46 +/- 0.7, at 4, 12, 24 and 48 h after operation, respectively (p < 0.001). The controls had greater usage of analgesics 1.12 +/- 5.67 compared with 0.95 + 0.31 in the cases. It was concluded that pulmonary recruitment manoeuvre seems to be a simple and safe way to reduce shoulder pain and analgesic use after laparoscopy.