Anaesthesia
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A complication in two female patients after spinal anaesthesia for Caesarean section is outlined. Both patients acquired permanent visual disturbances caused by pericentral ring scotomata, a condition not described before.
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A variety of methods are currently available for the management of the diabetic patient in the peri-operative period. A questionnaire about current clinical practice was sent to all anaesthetists in the Oxford region. ⋯ Most anaesthetists aimed for blood glucose levels of 7-13 mmol/litre in the peri-operative period. The literature is also reviewed.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Postoperative sore throat related to the use of a Guedel airway.
Eighty-eight patients in ASA classes 1 or 2 and aged between 18-65 years, who were to undergo anaesthesia, were allocated randomly to a group with or without an airway. Methohexitone, nitrous oxide, alfentanil and enflurane were used, with the patients breathing spontaneously. This study showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups in the incidence of sore throat, or any other related symptom, and concludes that the use of an oropharyngeal airway does not increase morbidity among nonintubated patients.
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Dreaming under anaesthesia was investigated in a prospective study of 120 day case paediatric patients, aged 5-17 years, who underwent a variety of surgical procedures. Patients were anaesthetised using the 'Liverpool technique' of paediatric anaesthesia (nitrous oxide-oxygen-relaxant). ⋯ Analysis of the data revealed that the choice of muscle relaxant, (nondepolarising or depolarising) had a statistically significant effect on the incidence of dreaming (p less than 0.05). It is suggested that the technique of intermittent intravenous suxamethonium may result in increased muscle spindle discharge and cause cerebral arousal and an increased incidence of dreaming.