Anaesthesia
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Etomidate in electroconvulsive therapy. A within-patient comparison with alphaxalone/alphadalone.
In a group of 31 patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy, there was no significant difference between the times of return of eyelash reflex, swallowing and respiration following a single induction dose of 0.2 mg/kg of etomidate as compared with an induction dose of 0.036 ml/kg of alphaxalone/alphadalone. The incidence of involuntary movements and increased muscle tone was significantly greater after etomidate than following alphaxalone/alphadalone; but the involuntary movements were never marked. The overall incidence of pain on injection was 15% after etomidate. There was a low incidence of venous sequelae following either drug.
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A case is reported of the successful resuscitation of a 6-year-old child after 25 minutes' immersion in water at 4 degrees C. The difficulties of evaluating vital functions at low body temperatures, with the accompanying danger of fatal misjudgment, are pointed out. It is concluded that low body temperatures indicate that a considerably longer resuscitation procedure than normal should be undertaken, particularly in children, and that if the body temperature is above 30 degrees C rewarming ought not to take place before satisfactory oxygenation and an efficient circulation have been established.
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Historical Article
Then and now. Anaesthesia thirty years ago (1947) Volume 2.
The year 1947 was a year of consolidation for the specialty of anaesthesia in Britain. The medical profession in the United Kingdom was poised between the old order of the voluntary hospitals and the new order of the National Health Service. ⋯ Volume 2 of Anaesthesia reflects this change. It reviews the past, both political and scientific and looks forward to the future with anticipation tinged with some apprehension.