Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthésie
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The present study employed train-of-four (TOF) stimulation at a current of 20 mA to assess the incidence and degree of residual neuromuscular blockade in 64 randomly selected Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) patients. Group C (Control, n = 10) had received anaesthesia without nondepolarizing muscle relaxant; Group V (n = 25) had received vecuronium; and Group P (n = 29) had received pancuronium. At the end of surgery, each patient had been considered by his anaesthetist to have adequate neuromuscular function on the basis of clinical signs and tactile or visual evaluation of responses to TOF stimulation. ⋯ This study indicates that residual curarization may be commonly encountered following long-acting relaxants despite qualitative intraoperative TOF monitoring. The present incidence, detected at a current of 20 mA, is consistent with previous reports which employed supramaximal TOF stimulation. We conclude that despite intraoperative monitoring, residual curarization following long-acting nondepolarizing agents is common and that it may be detected with TOF at a low stimulating current (20 mA).
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Neostigmine 0.06 mg.kg-1 or edrophonium 1 mg.kg-1 were administered to two groups of 15 patients each for antagonism of pipecuronium-induced neuromuscular block at 20% spontaneous recovery of the first twitch (T1) of the train-of-four (TOF) stimulation. The mean onset of action (+/-SEM) of edrophonium (18.1 +/- 2.4 sec) was significantly more rapid (P less than 0.01) than that of neostigmine (47.6 +/- 4 sec), as were the times taken to attain a TOF ratio of 0.25 and 0.5. Nevertheless, the reversal time (time taken from the end of injection of the antagonist until TOF ratio value had reached 0.75) was significantly shorter (P less than 0.01) in the neostigmine than in the edrophonium group (499.3 +/- 62 vs 767 +/- 52 sec respectively). ⋯ Administration of one additional dose (one-third of the initial dose) of the same antagonist resulted in adequate antagonism in the remaining five patients in the neostigmine group and in nine patients in the edrophonium group. Two such doses were required in the remaining three patients in the latter group. The mean total dose of neostigmine and edrophonium employed in this study was 0.067 +/- 0.002 and 1.3 +/- 0.05 mg.kg-1, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Paediatric microstomia may occur congenitally in the whistling face syndrome but is more often acquired after accidental thermal injuries such as biting an electrical extension cord or ingesting household lye. The surgical correction of microstomia includes separation and cosmetic reconstruction of the fused lips and postoperative oral splinting. ⋯ We report a case of paediatric microstomia after lye ingestion in which conventional direct laryngoscopy, flexible fibreoptic laryngoscopy, and multiple blind nasal approaches to tracheal intubation were unsuccessful. However, tracheostomy was avoided and successful tracheal intubation was accomplished using a new rigid tubular pharyngolaryngoscope.
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The effect of increasing the concentration of sevoflurane anaesthesia on diaphragmatic function was investigated in six mechanically ventilated dogs. Diaphragmatic function was assessed by measuring the transdiaphragmatic pressure (Pdi) generated during bilateral supramaximal stimulation of the cervical phrenic nerves at frequencies of 0.5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 Hz under quasi-isometric conditions. Measurements were performed at 1, 1.5 and 2 MAC concentrations after maintaining stable conditions for one hour. ⋯ In addition, no change in Pdi during 10, 20, 50 Hz stimulation was noted at any of the three levels of anaesthesia. By contrast, Pdi with 100 Hz stimulation during 2 MAC sevoflurane exposure (28.1 +/- 5.0 cmH2O) decreased below Pdi levels seen at 1 and 1.5 MAC (35.3 +/- 4.3 cmH2O and 31.5 +/- 4.3 cmH2O, respectively) (P less than 0.05). From these results, we conclude that sevoflurane impairs diaphragmatic function in deep anaesthesia.