International journal of obstetric anesthesia
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Jul 2005
ReviewIntraoperative nausea and vomiting during cesarean section under regional anesthesia.
Nausea and vomiting during regional anesthesia for cesarean section are very common and unpleasant events. They cause significant distress to the patient and also interfere with the surgical procedure. They have multiple etiologies, which include hypotension, vagal hyperactivity, visceral pain, i.v. opioid supplementation, uterotonic agents and motion. ⋯ Intraoperative nausea and vomiting can be best prevented by controlling hypotension, optimizing the use of neuraxial and i.v. opioids, improving the quality of block, minimizing surgical stimuli and judicious administration of uterotonic agents. Although prophylactic antiemetics have been advocated during cesarean sections, strict adherence to these practices can effectively lower the incidence of intraoperative nausea and vomiting without the requirement of antiemetic agents. Antiemetics, therefore, should be reserved for the prevention of intraoperative nausea and vomiting in high-risk patients and for the treatment of nausea and vomiting not responding to routine measures.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Jul 2005
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialA comparison of epidural ropivacaine 0.75% and bupivacaine 0.5% with fentanyl for elective caesarean section.
Early studies suggested that ropivacaine had clinical advantages over bupivacaine with respect to cardiotoxicity and motor block, and that it was suitable for epidural caesarean section. This study was set up to compare epidural 0.75% ropivacaine with a popular bupivacaine/fentanyl mixture for elective caesarean section. ⋯ This study suggests that epidural 0.75% ropivacaine without opioid may be used as an alternative to bupivacaine 0.5% with fentanyl for elective caesarean section, but it does not induce anaesthesia any faster and may result in a denser, more prolonged, motor block.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Jul 2005
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialA randomized comparison of a five-minute versus fifteen-minute lockout interval for PCEA during labor.
The best combination of bolus size and lockout interval for patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) is not known. This study compared a 5-min with a 15-min lockout interval. ⋯ The 5-min lockout interval appears the more efficient and has been used safely in our practice for 15,000 parturients, although a larger study is required to confirm the relative efficacy, efficiency and safety of this regimen.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Jul 2005
Predicting prolonged fetal heart rate deceleration following intrathecal fentanyl/bupivacaine.
Intrathecal opioids for labor analgesia are occasionally associated with fetal heart rate abnormalities. We wanted to identify risk factors for this occurrence. ⋯ This case-control study suggests that if the fetal head is not engaged or if the fetus is experiencing variable decelerations, there is an increased risk of prolonged fetal heart rate deceleration following intrathecal fentanyl/bupivacaine. This finding must now be confirmed in a cohort study.