Anaesthesia
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This study aimed to establish whether it was practical to perform sciatic nerve block by the anterior approach in a group of children of different ages and weights. A total of 82 blocks were performed of which 78 (95.2%) were judged to have been successful. ⋯ There were no immediate or late complications associated with this block in any of the patients. It is concluded that the block is easy to perform and can produce reliable postoperative analgesia for most common operations on the foot and ankle in paediatric practice.
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Three possible factors predisposing to Althesin hypersensitivity, namely total dose, method of administration, either by bolus dose or infusion, and pregnancy have been studied in patients receiving the drug for the first time. Of 137 patients given Althesin, four exhibited clinical signs of mild hypersensitivity, while C3 conversion alone, indicative of a subclinical reaction, was seen in a further six patients. No reactions were observed in two control groups in whom anaesthesia was induced with thiopentone. Neither the total dose nor method of administration appeared consistently to influence the incidence of reactions, but eight of the ten patients producing an altered response to Althesin were pregnant.
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Changes in cuff pressure and volume of tracheal tubes were studied in 60 patients undergoing lower abdominal surgery under general anaesthesia with nitrous oxide and oxygen as the anaesthetic gas mixture. The cuffs were inflated with either anaesthetic gas mixture or air. ⋯ The pressure in the air filled cuffs increased steadily throughout the procedure and reached level high enough to impede microcirculation in the tracheal mucosa within one hour. We conclude that filling the cuff with anaesthetic gas mixture is a simple and reliable way to achieve stable cuff pressure during anaesthesia.