Journal of clinical anesthesia
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Biography Historical Article
Davy comes to America: Woodhouse, Barton, and the nitrous oxide crossing.
In the final decade of the eighteenth century, a new method of medical treatment appeared in England when physician Thomas Beddoes developed a systematic application of Joseph Priestley's "factitious airs", or gases, to treat consumptive patients. Supported by peers such as Erasmus Darwin and using applications designed for him by James Watt and other inventors, Beddoes combined technological innovation and gas inhalation in an attempt to cure his patients. Late in the decade Beddoes hired young Humphry Davy as his assistant; Davy quickly added nitrous oxide to the armamentarium. ⋯ Such intermittent experimentation continued in the United States and Europe until Horace Well's public demonstration of ether inhalation in January 1845. This paper describes how nitrous oxide inhalation survived in America through the work of Woodhouse and Wells. Traveling showmen like Samuel Colt and Gardner Quincy Colton demonstrated the gas' effects at popular lectures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Hyskon, a distension medium composed of dextran 70 in 10% dextrose in water, is often used during hysteroscopic procedures. Coagulopathy and pulmonary edema are the most commonly reported side effects encountered during its use. We present the first case report in which a healthy patient developed pulmonary hemorrhage from Hyskon use. The major side effects of Hyskon are discussed, as are the possible etiologies of the reported complication and the implications for anesthesiologists.
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Arterial misplacement of the Swan-Ganz catheter occurs occasionally and usually can be easily detected. However, in some special clinical settings, the problem may become more complicated. We report a case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in which, because of severe hypoxemia, systemic hypotension, and pulmonary hypertension, conventional methods failed to recognize the misplacement, until confirmed with blood gas analysis.