Anaesthesia
-
Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Self-administered nalbuphine, morphine and pethidine. Comparison, by intravenous route, following cholecystectomy.
In a double-blind clinical trial of 48 patients, nalbuphine, morphine, and pethidine were compared by on-demand intravenous analgesia during the first 24 hours after cholecystectomy. Overall pain relief (visual analogue score) was recorded by the patients as 50 (SEM 4) for nalbuphine, 44 (SEM 4) for morphine and 53 (SEM 5) for pethidine. These scores were not significantly different. ⋯ The incidence of side effects was similar with each drug. Nalbuphine is a useful postoperative analgesic, as effective as pethidine. Nalbuphine 15 mg is apparently equipotent with morphine 10 mg or pethidine 120 mg by this mode of administration.
-
An inexpensive, portable nerve stimulator is described which is easily constructed and may be used to enhance the ease and effectiveness of peripheral nerve blockade.
-
A patient who exhibited a severe reaction to an intravenous agent on one occasion was given a similar anaesthetic on a subsequent occasion without incident. Intradermal testing was carried out and the results are tabulated and discussed.
-
The practice of warming blood for transfusion by immersion in a water bath has been studied. Blood, 3 days after collection, with CPD-adenine anticoagulant, was warmed at 25 degrees C, 37 degrees C and 45 degrees C for up to 2 hours. ⋯ Within these limits, immersion warming of blood appears to be a reasonable alternative to using a blood-warming coil. Other aspects of immersion warming are discussed.