Anaesthesia
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The anti-emetic efficacy of a combination of ondansetron and droperidol.
The anti-emetic efficacy of a combination of ondansetron 8 mg with either droperidol 0.75 mg or 1.25 mg given prophylactically was studied in a randomised blinded trial of 94 female inpatients with a previous history of postoperative nausea and vomiting and scheduled to have laparoscopic surgery. A standardised general anaesthetic technique was used for all patients. The mean estimated risk of postoperative sickness according to predictive patient characteristics was 65% for both treatment groups. ⋯ No serious adverse events were observed. Ondansetron in combination with droperidol 0.75 mg resulted in less drowsiness than in combination with 1.25 mg (p = 0.03). In conclusion, a prophylactic combination treatment of ondansetron 8 mg with a small dose of droperidol was clinically effective and well tolerated for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting after laparoscopic surgery in patients with a high probability of nausea and vomiting.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
The addition of opioids to local anaesthetics in brachial plexus block: the comparative effects of morphine, buprenorphine and sufentanil.
We compared the duration of analgesia produced by a mixture of lignocaine and bupivacaine, either alone or combined with morphine (75 micrograms.kg-1), buprenorphine (3 micrograms.kg-1) or sufentanil (0.2 microgram.kg-1) in 80 patients after brachial plexus block for orthopaedic surgery of the upper limb. The characteristics of analgesia were evaluated hourly using a visual analogue scale. ⋯ The median duration (range) of satisfactory analgesia was: 11.5 (8-15) h without an opioid, 21 (9-27) h with morphine, 20 (14-34) h with buprenorphine and 24.5 (11-38) h with sufentanil. We conclude that the addition of an opioid to a local anaesthetic mixture lengthens the duration of analgesia.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Addition of adrenaline to pethidine for epidural analgesia after caesarean section.
We have investigated the addition of adrenaline to epidural pethidine for postoperative analgesia in 40 patients after Caesarean section. In a randomised, double-blind study, patients received pethidine 25 mg with adrenaline 50 micrograms (adrenaline group, n = 20) or pethidine 25 mg without adrenaline (plain group, n = 18) epidurally at the first request for postoperative analgesia. ⋯ Visual analogue scale pain scores in the first 30 min after injection and onset of analgesia, defined by the time for pain scores to decrease by 50%, were similar between groups. Addition of adrenaline to epidural pethidine has advantages for analgesia after Caesarean section.