Anaesthesia
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Initial experiences with medicinal extracts of cannabis for chronic pain: results from 34 'N of 1' studies.
Three Cannabis Based Medicinal Extracts (CBMEs) for sublingual use became available in 2000. A total of 34 'N of 1' studies were undertaken using this novel therapy for patients with chronic, mainly neuropathic, pain and associated symptoms to explore efficacy, tolerability, safety and dosages. Three CBMEs (Delta9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), Cannabidiol (CBD) and a 1:1 mixture of them both) were given over a 12-week period. ⋯ Side-effects were common, reflecting a learning curve for both patient and study team. These were generally acceptable and little different to those seen when other psycho-active agents are used for chronic pain. These initial experiences with CBME open the way to more detailed and extensive studies.
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The classical 'cascade/waterfall' hypothesis formulated to explain in vitro coagulation organised the amplification processes into the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. Recent molecular biology and clinical data indicate that tissue factor/factor-VII interaction is the primary cellular initiator of coagulation in vivo. ⋯ Tissue factor is also a signalling receptor. Recent evidence has shown that blood-borne tissue factor has an important procoagulant function in sepsis, atherosclerosis and cancer, and other functions beyond haemostasis such as immune function and metastases.
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In the United Kingdom, cricoid force is central to upper airway management in obstetric and emergency anaesthesia. A reduction in oesophageal barrier pressure (OBP) in these patients may increase regurgitation risk. This study investigated whether the application of cricoid force to anaesthetised patients reduced lower oesophageal sphincter pressure (LOSP) and consequently OBP. ⋯ Oesophageal barrier pressure was calculated as the difference between LOSP and gastric pressure. Application of cricoid force significantly reduced OBP without influencing gastric pressure (p < 0.001). The use of cricoid force may increase the risk of gastroesophageal reflux in anaesthetised patients.
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We developed evidence-based recommendations for the minimisation of errors in intravenous drug administration in anaesthesia from a systematic review of the literature that identified 98 relevant references (14 with experimental designs or incident reports and 19 with reports of cases or case series). We validated the recommendations using reports of drug errors collected in a previous study. One general and five specific strong recommendations were generated: systematic countermeasures should be used to decrease the number of drug administration errors in anaesthesia; the label on any drug ampoule or syringe should be read carefully before a drug is drawn up or injected; the legibility and contents of labels on ampoules and syringes should be optimised according to agreed standards; syringes should (almost) always be labelled; formal organisation of drug drawers and workspaces should be used; labels should be checked with a second person or a device before a drug is drawn up or administered.