European journal of anaesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Ipsilateral shoulder pain after thoracotomy surgery: a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled evaluation of the efficacy of infiltrating the phrenic nerve with 0.2%wt/vol ropivacaine.
The aim of this prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to evaluate the efficacy of phrenic nerve infiltration with ropivacaine 0.2% on the incidence and severity of ipsilateral shoulder pain after thoracotomy in patients receiving continuous thoracic epidural analgesia. ⋯ Phrenic nerve infiltration with ropivacaine 0.2% 10 mL reduced the incidence and delayed the onset of ipsilateral shoulder pain during the first 24 h after open lung resection, with no clinically relevant effects on respiratory function.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Scheduled prophylactic ondansetron administration did not improve its antiemetic efficacy after intracranial tumour resection surgery in children.
Postoperative nausea and vomiting after craniotomy may increase intracranial pressure and morbidity in children. This prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled and double-blinded study was designed to evaluate the antiemetic efficacy of prophylactic ondansetron after intracranial tumour resections in children. ⋯ Ondansetron, in this study of 90 children, was not very effective in preventing nausea and vomiting after neurosurgical operations.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
The effects of surgical levels of sevoflurane and propofol anaesthesia on heart rate variability.
We compared heart rate dynamics during surgical levels of propofol and sevoflurane anaesthesia in a highly standardized setting. ⋯ Hypnotic levels of sevoflurane and propofol anaesthesia suppressed the heart rate variability measured using conventional analysis methods. Deeper surgical levels of anaesthesia also reduce the complexity of heart rate variability.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Auditory-evoked potentials in bispectral index-guided anaesthesia for cardiac surgery.
Midlatency auditory-evoked potentials, as measures of the anaesthetic state, were evaluated at similar levels of bispectral index in cardiac surgical patients maintained with either propofol or isoflurane anaesthesia. ⋯ After intubation and surgical stimulation, when bispectral index was at a constant level, there was a difference in the Nb and Pa components of the midlatency auditory-evoked potentials between the two anaesthetic regimens, indicating a distinction in the state of anaesthesia. Our results suggest that the parallel use of these two electrophysiological methods can show differences in the components of anaesthesia between various anaesthesia methods in cardiac surgical patients.
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Comparative Study
Flow rate, syringe size and architecture are critical to start-up performance of syringe pumps.
Significant start-up delays are inherent to syringe infusion pumps, particularly at low infusion rates, as routinely used in children's anaesthesia and intensive care. Such delays are mainly the result of engagement of gears in the mechanical drive or compliance of the syringe assembly. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of flow rate, syringe size and syringe architecture on fluid delivery during infusion start-up. ⋯ Highest possible flow rate, smaller sized syringes and syringe plungers with reduced compressibility should be preferred in order to avoid significant start-up delays in fluid delivery.