European journal of anaesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Esomeprazole for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
Postoperative nausea and vomiting still represents a major problem after surgery. Although risk factors for postoperative nausea and vomiting and procedures to reduce postoperative nausea and vomiting have been described, the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting remains high. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential role of the proton pump inhibitor esomeprazole to reduce postoperative nausea and vomiting after elective surgery. ⋯ There is no evidence that prophylactic esomeprazole reduces the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting or the degree of postoperative nausea.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Double- vs. single-injection infraclavicular plexus block in the emergency setting: higher success rate with lower volume of local anaesthetic.
Infraclavicular plexus block has many advantages of particular interest in the emergency setting. However, the number of nerve stimulations needed to optimize the technique remains unclear. We evaluated both the local anaesthetic requirement and the success rate of Sim's derived infraclavicular plexus block performed with a nerve stimulator when either one or two responses were sought. ⋯ We conclude that only 30 mL of local anaesthetic seems to be sufficient to ensure a high level of success when performing an infraclavicular block with stimulation of both the musculocutaneous nerve and median, ulnar or radial nerve.
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Comparative Study
Current practice in regional anaesthesia in Germany.
Several new techniques and agents (e.g. ropivacaine) have been introduced in regional anaesthesia to improve patients outcome and safety. The beneficial effects on patient outcome are clear with these techniques, however, no information is available about their pattern and frequency of use in clinical practice. This study presents data concerning the current practice of regional anaesthesia in Germany. ⋯ In small hospitals a majority of board certified anaesthesiologists rely on basic regional anaesthesia techniques. In large departments some consultants provide the entire spectrum of regional anaesthesia, with the majority of cases transferred to the residents responsibility. These results indicate the strong need to improve residency programs with regard to regional anaesthesia.
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Comparative Study
Inter-patient variability upon induction with sevoflurane estimated by the time to reach predefined end-points of depth of anaesthesia.
A difficult issue in anaesthesia is its titration for an individual patient to avoid over- and underdosage. Common practice is to use an initial dose and increase it subsequently if the defined end-point is not reached. This assumes that the end-point is reached after a similar interval of time in all patients given a similar dose. In order to test this hypothesis we measured the time to reach end-points such as loss of consciousness (LOC), a bispectral index (BIS) value of 60, the minimal BIS and the minimal mean arterial pressure (MAP) values. ⋯ These results demonstrate large inter-patient variability for the time necessary to reach defined end-points of depth of anaesthesia when a similar dose of anaesthetic is given. Measuring the time to reach a predefined BIS value would allow application of nociceptive stimuli only at adequate levels of hypnosis and would facilitate titration.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
The correlation between the Richmond agitation-sedation scale and bispectral index during dexmedetomidine sedation.
The primary objective of sedation in the critically ill patient is to achieve security and comfort. The routine use of standardized and validated sedation scales and monitors are needed. The Richmond agitation sedation scale has been used but some patients cannot be evaluated with subjective assessment tools such as the Richmond agitation sedation scale because they lack motor responsiveness due to therapeutic paralysis or because they are receiving deep sedation. We aimed to assess the correlation of bispectral index with Richmond agitation sedation scale during dexmedetomidine sedation and evaluate the use of the bispectral index in monitoring the levels of sedation in intensive care patients. ⋯ Richmond agitation sedation scale levels significantly correlated with bispectral index values during dexmedetomidine sedation in critically ill patients requiring mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit.