European journal of anaesthesiology
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Case Reports
Pneumopericardium associated with high-frequency jet ventilation during laser surgery of the hypopharynx in a child.
A case of pneumopericardium, without concomitant pneumothorax, resulting from high frequency jet ventilation during laser surgery of the hypopharynx is described. The patient, a four-year-old boy, suffered cardiac arrest as a consequence of the incident. The pneumopericardium was likely to have been caused by obstruction to the expiratory flow during surgery. Other possible explanations for the incident are discussed.
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The efficacy and side effects of 100 lumbar epidural treatments with low concentrations of bupivacaine (1 mg mL-1), fentanyl (2 micrograms mL-1) and adrenaline (2 micrograms mL-1) combined with rectal paracetamol were prospectively evaluated in children aged 4-14 years after femoral osteotomy. The mean treatment time was 43 h and the mean dose was 0.18 mL kg-1 h-1. Ninety-nine per cent of the children were either without pain or experienced very low pain at rest for at least 80% of the treatment time. ⋯ Sixty-three per cent of the patients experienced nausea or vomiting, but antiemetic treatment was indicated in only 11%. One epidural treatment had to be stopped in a child who did not respond to antiemetics. The incidence of pruritus was high (49%), but the symptoms were mild and limited.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Tramadol in the management of post-operative pain: a double-blind, placebo- and active drug-controlled study.
A double-blind, randomized, placebo- and drug-controlled study in which the analgesic efficacy and safety of intravenous (i.v.) tramadol in patients with post-operative pain is reported. One hundred and eighty patients recovering from gynaecological or abdominal surgery were assigned to one of three treatment groups. After titration of an individual loading dose, patients could self-administer tramadol 20 mg, morphine 2 mg or placebo using a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) device throughout a 48-h period. ⋯ VAS after the initial bolus were 39.2 +/- 22.1, 35.9 +/- 21.6 and 50.0 +/- 24.2 (P = 0.002), the initial loading dose amounted to tramadol 144.9 +/- 51.2 mg, morphine 12.3 +/- 5.1 mg and placebo 17.2 +/- 4.9 mL. No serious opioid-related adverse events occurred in the patients given tramadol while two patients given morphine developed an impaired respiratory rate and a decreased oxygen saturation to 80% or less. Tramadol proved to be efficacious for PCA treatment of post-operative pain following gynaecological and abdominal surgery.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Mivacurium or vecuronium for muscular relaxation in day-case surgery.
Anaesthetic agents for day-case surgery ideally should have a short duration of action. This study was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of mivacurium and vecuronium for healthy adults undergoing dental day-case surgery. Thirty fit healthy adult patients (ASA I or II) randomly received either mivacurium 0.15 mg kg-1 (n = 15) or vecuronium 0.1 mg kg-1 (n = 15). ⋯ One patient in the mivacurium group had a low plasma cholinesterase concentration (0.43 ku L-1); recovery times however, fell within the 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the group. There was no correlation between cholinesterase levels and recovery time. Mivacurium may be the more appropriate agent for dental day-case surgery because it has a shorter duration of action and does not generally require antagonism with an anticholinesterase.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Ondansetron is not superior to moderate dose metoclopramide in the prevention of post-operative nausea and vomiting after minor gynaecological surgery.
Peri-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV), remain a considerable problem. Ondansetron is being promoted currently as the drug of choice for the prevention and treatment of PONV. Experiments to investigate efficacy of ondansetron in PONV have been made with placebo or single doses of other drugs, e.g. metoclopramide, and often with different anaesthetic regimes with different emetic potential. ⋯ Nausea scores were similar between the groups in the recovery ward and 24-h follow-ups but there were higher post-operative nausea scores in the ondansetron group in the day ward (P = 0.001). There were no significant side effects due to either drug. We conclude that moderate dose metoclopramide is an effective alternative to ondansetron in the control of PONV.