Anaesthesia
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Comparative Study
Monitoring of irrigating fluid absorption during transurethral prostatectomy. A study in anaesthetised patients using a 1% ethanol tag solution.
A simple, reliable method to detect absorption of irrigating fluid during transurethral prostatectomy is to tag irrigating fluids with 1% ethanol and monitor expired breath ethanol concentrations. This method correlated well (n = 0.79) with other existing methods of absorption monitoring in 20 anaesthetised patients. ⋯ The technique is non-invasive, repeatable, cheap and gives instant results. It can be used in anaesthetised or awake patients and can detect absorption of as little as 100-150 ml in any 10-minute period.
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Org 9426, a new steroidal non-depolarising muscle relaxant, which is stable in solution, was studied in 30 anaesthetised (thiopentone, fentanyl, nitrous oxide) male patients, ASA 1 or 2. A dose-response curve for Org 9426 was constructed and the ED90, mean (SD), was found to be 0.36 (0.031) mg/kg. ⋯ No signs of histamine release or cardiovascular effects were observed. Org 9426 thus has a faster onset of action than vecuronium bromide or atracurium dibesylate.
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We report three cases of chickenpox pneumonia in adults, all of whom required intermittent positive pressure ventilation. One patient developed a variety of complications, and another, a pregnant woman, required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
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The plasma concentrations of bupivacaine and the latency and duration of anaesthesia after supraclavicular block with 30 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine were measured in 10 patients with chronic renal failure and in 10 patients with normal renal function. No significant difference was found between the two groups in respect of pharmacokinetic parameters, or in block latency or duration.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Wound infiltration of local anaesthetic after lower segment caesarean section.
The analgesic efficacy of subcutaneous wound infiltration with 20 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine after elective lower segment section Caesarean section was studied in 28 patients in a double-blind randomised controlled manner using a patient-controlled analgesia system. The mean 24-hour morphine consumption of the placebo group and the bupivacaine group was similar (76 mg and 68 mg respectively). ⋯ However, on a weight-adjusted basis statistically significant differences in morphine consumption were demonstrated, although these may not be clinically important. Subjective experiences of pain, nausea and drowsiness assessed by linear analogue scoring were similar in both groups.