Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Apr 1997
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialComparison of patient-controlled epidural analgesia with patient-controlled intravenous analgesia using pethidine or fentanyl.
We compared patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) with patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) using pethidine or fentanyl in a randomized, double-blind crossover study of 80 patients after caesarean section. Patients received pethidine by PCEA or PCIA, or fentanyl by PCEA or PCIA, with a crossover of the route of administration at 12h. For pethidine, pain scores were lower with PCEA vs PCIA from 4 to 16h (P < 0.05). ⋯ Plasma pethidine was similar between groups. Plasma fentanyl was higher with PCIA vs PCEA at 12h (P = 0.002). PCEA has advantages over PCIA and pethidine may be the preferred drug.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Apr 1997
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialMivacurium in daycase surgical patients.
Laparoscopy is commonly performed as a daycase procedure and requires satisfactory but brief and readily reversible muscle relaxation with good intubating conditions. We have examined the use of the new nondepolarizing muscle relaxant, mivacurium, in this setting and compared it with the two most commonly used such drugs in day surgery, atracurium and vecuronium, in a prospective randomized trial of 107 patients. Mivacurium provided a significantly more rapid onset and briefer duration of muscle relaxation, which was readily reversible with or without pharmacological antagonism.