Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Oct 1993
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialHydroxyethyl starch as a prime for cardiopulmonary bypass: effects of two different solutions on haemostasis.
Hydroxyethyl starch (HES) is efficacious as a volume expander in cardiac surgical patients, but it may impair the haemostatic mechanisms. However, this latter effect may be less conspicuous with low molecular weight (LMW) solutions than with high molecular weight (HMW) solutions. Therefore, LMW- and HMW-HES solutions were evaluated as priming solutions for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) with respect to their effect on haemostasis. ⋯ Plasma levels of von Willebrand factor antigen and factor VIII procoagulant activity were significantly more depressed after CPB in both HES-groups as compared with the crystalloid prime group. In addition, APTT was more prolonged and the maximal amplitude of thromboelastographic tracing was more decreased in the HES-groups. It is concluded that it may be advisable to avoid HES solutions in the CPB prime, especially in patients with an increased risk for bleeding after cardiac operations.
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The pathogenesis of persistent postoperative hiccups is not known. Hiccups can present as a symptom of a subphrenic abscess of gastric distention, and metabolic alterations may also cause hiccups. The hiccups may develop because of increased activity in neural reflex pathways not yet fully defined. ⋯ Valproate has proven effective in two trials investigating persistent non-surgical hiccups. The simple application of a nasogastric tube may successfully treat the hiccups, possibly because of an alteration of the activity in the reflex neural pathways involved. The available literature on the treatment of persistent hiccups is reviewed, and a treatment protocol for persistent postoperative hiccups is provided.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Oct 1993
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialPatient-controlled analgesia (PCA) leads to more postoperative pain relief, but also to more fatigue and less vigour.
This investigation evaluated patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) for subjective well-being and mood in the postoperative period in comparison with the intramuscular (im) administration of morphine given on demand. Patients scheduled for elective upper abdominal surgery were assigned at random to either PCA (n = 17) or im morphine (n = 14). ⋯ The PCA patients suffered from more fatigue and showed less vigour than the im group. Neither preoperative trait anxiety nor locus of control was associated with postoperative pain in either of the groups.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Oct 1993
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialA comparison between vecuronium and atracurium in myasthenia gravis.
We evaluated the effect of vecuronium bromide and atracurium besylate on the train-of-four response in the management of muscle relaxation in 20 patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) who were undergoing thymectomy. We confirmed the safe use of these two non-depolarizing muscle relaxants in MG patients. ⋯ The recovery time for vecuronium patients was shorter than that for atracurium patients (22 +/- 18 vs 38 +/- 18 min), but the time until onset of neuromuscular blockade was longer with vecuronium (246 +/- 105 vs 107 +/- 103 s). During spontaneous recovery from neuromuscular relaxation, at T1/C of 25% and 100%, the train-of-four fade with vecuronium was significantly greater than that with atracurium (0.04 +/- 0.02, 0.16 +/- 0.03 vs 0.17 +/- 0.01, 0.83 +/- 0.03), suggesting that vecuronium had a greater prejunctional effect than did atracurium.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Oct 1993
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialEfficacy of epidural blood patch for postdural puncture headache.
This prospective investigation was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of different volumes of epidural blood patch (EBP) for treatment of postdural puncture headache (PDPH) in 81 consecutive patients. In the first part of the investigation (Study part I), 10 ml of blood was injected for EBP in 28 patients. In the second randomized part of the investigation (Study part II), the patients were allocated to receive for EBP either 10 ml (27 patients) or 10-15 ml (26 patients), according to the height of the patient. ⋯ There were no statistically significant differences between the groups. The results indicate that a larger, height-adjusted volume of blood for EBP in adults does not produce a better effect on PDPH compared to a standard 10-ml volume. Despite the excellent initial effect (91%) seen in our patients, a permanent effect of the blood patch was only achieved in 61%.