Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Jan 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialComparison of granisetron and granisetron plus dexamethasone for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomies are associated with an appreciably high rate of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of granisetron plus dexamethasone with granisetron alone for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. ⋯ The combination (granisetron plus dexamethasone) further increases the chance of complete response than granisetron alone. Therefore, the combination might be considered clinically relevant in a high risk setting.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Jan 2003
Comparative StudyComparison of forced-air warming systems with lower body blankets using a copper manikin of the human body.
Forced-air warming has gained high acceptance as a measure for the prevention of intraoperative hypothermia. However, data on heat transfer with lower body blankets are not yet available. This study was conducted to determine the heat transfer efficacy of six complete lower body warming systems. ⋯ No relevant differences in heat transfer of lower body blankets were found between the different forced-air warming systems tested. Heat transfer was lower than heat transfer by upper body blankets tested in a previous study. However, forced-air warming systems with lower body blankets are still more effective than forced-air warming systems with upper body blankets in the prevention of perioperative hypothermia, because they cover a larger area of the body surface.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Jan 2003
Clinical TrialPreoperative emotional states in patients with breast cancer and postoperative pain.
The present study examined the relationship between psychological variables, including anxiety, depression, and patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) use in patients who underwent radical mastectomy. ⋯ Patients with higher anxiety and depression levels had higher postoperative pain and analgesic requirements in this study.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Jan 2003
Clinical TrialDecrease in the incidence of post-dural puncture headache: maintaining CSF volume.
The incidence of epidural needle-induced post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) in parturients following dural puncture with a large bore (18-gauge) needle has been reported to range 76-85%. We describe seven cases in which the performance of epidural anesthesia in parturients was complicated by an unintentional dural puncture with an 18-gauge epidural needle. In all seven cases, the unintentional dural puncture was followed by (i) injection of the CSF in the glass syringe back into the subarachnoid space through the epidural needle, (ii) insertion of a epidural catheter into the subarachnoid space (now referred to as an intrathecal catheter), (iii) injection of a small amount of preservative free saline (3-5 ml) into the subarachnoid space through the intrathecal catheter, (iv) administration of bolus and then continuous intrathecal labor analgesia through the intrathecal catheter and then (v) leaving the intrathecal catheter in-situ for a total of 12-20 h. PDPH occurred in only one of these cases (14%).