Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Nov 1990
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialEffect of epidurally administered bupivacaine on atracurium-induced neuromuscular blockade.
The effect of epidurally administered bupivacaine on duration, intensity and reversal characteristics of atracurium-induced neuromuscular blockade was studied in 30 healthy patients anaesthetized with thiopentone, fentanyl, midazolam and nitrous oxide. Fifteen patients received, in addition, epidural anaesthesia with bupivacaine. The remaining patients served as controls. ⋯ Post-tetanic count (PTC) after 20 min was also significantly lower in the epidural group (P less than 0.05). It is therefore concluded that epidurally administered bupivacaine prolongs atracurium-induced neuromuscular blockade. The clinical implication of the modest prolongation is, however, limited.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Nov 1990
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialClonidine premedication: a useful adjunct in producing deliberate hypotension.
The effect of clonidine on the dose requirements of labetalol and isoflurane for hypotension was studied in 20 adult patients undergoing middle-ear surgery. Group I (10 patients) received as premedication only pethidine 1 mg.kg-1 i.m., and Group II (10 patients) clonidine 4-5 micrograms.kg-1 p.o. in addition to pethidine. Fentanyl was used for analgesia and d-tubocurarine for muscle relaxation. ⋯ Urine flow rates (UF) were lower in Group II (0.23 +/- 0.04 ml.min-1) than in Group I (0.68 +/- 0.16 ml.min-1) before hypotension (P less than 0.05) and during hypotension (0.08 +/- 0.02 ml.min-1 vs. 0.68 +/- 0.32 ml.min-1, P less than 0.05). After anaesthesia, there was no difference in UF between the groups. The results indicate that clonidine can be used for deliberate hypotension to decrease the dose requirements of labetalol and isoflurane.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Nov 1990
Pressure pain thresholds in volunteers and herniorrhaphy patients.
Pressure algometry is a method to estimate pressure pain sensitivity in tissues. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the reproducibility of pressure pain thresholds (PPT) in the abdominal integument and to evaluate the use of pressure algometry as a measure of wound tenderness following surgery. PPT was determined in 20 healthy volunteers on two separate examinations, and in 14 patients at the incisional site before and following inguinal herniotomy. ⋯ In surgical patients a significant decrease in PPT was observed following operation. Morphine 0.07 mg/kg caused a slight but significant increase in PPT. Pressure algometry may be useful to study nociceptive mechanisms and the dynamics of wound pain in surgical patients.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Nov 1990
Negative effect of insufflation on cardiac output and pulmonary blood volume.
In 14 anaesthetized young pigs the changes in pulmonary blood flow and pulmonary blood volume (Qp) during mechanical ventilation were quantified. Ventilation was performed at 10 cycles per min and tidal volume (VT) was adjusted to an arterial PCO2 of about 40 mmHg (5.3 kPa). In 4 animals, 7 ventilatory cycles with an inspiratory pause (IP) of 7.2 s but different tidal volumes were inserted at intervals of 5 min to determine the decrease in Qp (delta Qp) from the differences between right ventricular (Qs,rv) and left ventricular (Qs,lv) stroke volume, and to relate delta Qp to VT. ⋯ Stroke volumes were derived from the EM-flow curves. In the other 10 experiments, Qs,lv was derived from the aortic pulse contour. Beat-to-beat analyses of Qs,rv and Qs,lv and blood pressures during the normal ventilatory cycles and those with an IP revealed the following: 1) The end-expiratory RV output and LV output were constant and were defined as baseline values. 2) The accumulated decrease in Qs,rv during insufflation caused a mean deficit in cardiac output of 10.3 +/- 3.2% (s.d.), n = 135; the same was found for Qs,lv, indicating the pulse contour as a useful method to estimate the variations in cardiac output during a ventilatory cycle.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Nov 1990
The use of a laryngeal mask airway in spontaneously breathing patients.
The Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) is a new type of oropharyngeal airway that provides an alternative to endotracheal intubation and standard mask anaesthesia in certain cases. Once the patient is adequately anaesthetised, it can be inserted blindly, without recourse to laryngoscopy or muscle relaxants. ⋯ Postoperative problems were minimal and 97.6% of our patients said that they would prefer a similar anaesthetic in future. LMA does not guarantee against the risk of aspiration and it is not recommended for use in patients who may have a full stomach.