Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Oct 2007
Multicenter StudyAnticoagulation, bleeding and blood transfusion practices in Australasian cardiac surgical practice.
We surveyed contemporary Australasian cardiac surgical and anaesthetic practice, focusing on antiplatelet and antifibrinolytic therapies and blood transfusion practices. The cohort included 499 sequential adult cardiac surgical patients in 12 Australasian teaching hospitals. A total of 282 (57%) patients received red cell or component transfusion. ⋯ Despite frequent (67%) use of antifibrinolytic therapy, there was a marked variability in red cell transfusion rates between centres (range 17 to 79%, P < 0.001). This suggests opportunities for improvement in implementation of guidelines and effective blood-sparing interventions. Many patients presenting for surgery receive antiplatelet and/or antifibrinolytic therapy, yet the subsequent benefits and risks remain unclear.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Oct 2007
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyComparative evaluation of myolaxin and EMLA cream for attenuation of venous cannulation pain: a prospective, randomised, double blind study.
We evaluated the efficacy of topical Myolaxin (capsaican ointment, Geno, Mumbai) ointment over EMLA (eutectic mixture of lignocaine, prilocaine; Neon, Goa) cream for attenuating venous cannulation pain in this prospective, randomised, double blind study. Sixty adult patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy were randomly assigned into two equal groups. Group I (EMLA) received EMLA cream, whereas Group II (Myolaxin) received Myolaxin ointment. ⋯ The incidence of venous cannulation pain was similar between groups: in the EMLA group 65% (18/28) compared to 67% (20/30) in the Myolaxin group (P=0.19). The severity of pain (median VAS with inter quartile range) was also similar between the groups: in the EMLA group 1.5 (3) compared to 1.5 (2) in the Myolaxin group (P=0.46). As the topical application of Myolaxin ointment is cheaper than EMLA and has similar efficacy, it may be a suitable alternative for reducing the incidence and severity of venous cannulation pain.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Oct 2007
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyComparison of airway management during anaesthesia using the laryngeal mask airway CTrach and Glidescope.
The design of the Laryngeal Mask Airway CTrach combines the fibreoptic viewing capability of the Glidescope and the ability for ventilation of the Fastrach. We conducted a prospective randomised trial comparing the intubation characteristics of the CTrach and Glidescope to investigate the difference in clinical performance for airway management during anaesthesia. One-hundred-and-six patients with normal airways were recruited and randomly assigned to the CTrach or Glidescope group. ⋯ There was no apparent difference in complications of device insertion. Our results suggest that during elective management of normal airways, the time to intubation with the Glidescope is significantly shorter than the CTrach. Further studies are required to compare these devices in patients with difficult airways.