Der Anaesthesist
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
[NO inhalation in heart surgery procedures: relevance for right heart function?].
The right ventricle is more jeopardized by a cardiopulmonary bypass than the left one. Impaired right ventricular performance may profit from an afterload reduction. A selective reduction in pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) or pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) without impairment of the systemic circulation seems to be possible by inhalation of nitric oxide (NO). Therefore in the present study we looked for influences of NO inhalation on PAP, PVR and right heart parameters immediately after weaning from the bypass. The dependence of endothelial function on age, preoperative heart function and extracorporeal circulation is well established. The relevance of such parameters on NO inhalation was also investigated. ⋯ Patients with moderate pulmonary hypertension did not profit from NO inhalation immediately after weaning from the cardiopulmonary bypass. The decreases in PAP and PVR found in the NO or control group did not improve right-heart function. When the NO and control group were compared, specific effects of NO inhalation on PAP and PVR must be questioned. This could perhaps be explained by data from animal experiments, which found high endogenous NO levels in situations with elevated cytokine levels. Cytokines are increased after extracorporeal circulation. Oxygenation was not impaired by inhalation of relatively high concentrations of NO. For all investigations with NO inhalation not preceded by steady-state conditions, a control group is recommended.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
[Patient acceptance of patient-controlled intranasal analgesia (PCINA)].
Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (i.v.-PCA) represents the gold standard in the management of acute postoperative pain. However, in many countries i.v.-PCA is rarely used. Recent clinical studies demonstrated that intranasal fentanyl titration provides a rapid and safe form and pain management. In the present study we investigated patients' acceptance and assessment of patient-controlled intranasal analgesia (PCINA) and compared it to intravenous PCA and the customarily prescribed pain therapy. ⋯ The results demonstrate that the patients' satisfaction with PCINA is comparable to that with i.v.-PCA. Both PCINA and i.v.-PCA were assessed as superior to the customarily prescribed pain management (P = 0.0001). Patients' acceptance of a given form of pain management is mainly related to its efficiency. However, side effects such as pain on injection with i.v.-PCA, or frequent opioid administration with PCINA, must be considered when assessing a method of pain control. Patients' global assessment includes both efficiency and side effects. PCINA represents an interesting alternative non-invasive method for postoperative pain management.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
[Transdermal scopolamine for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting. No clinically relevant result in spite of reduced postoperative vomiting in general surgical and gynecologic patients].
In a prospective double-blind trial, transdermal scopolamine (TS) was compared to placebo (P) in the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) within a 48-h interval. After stratification for gender and surgical procedure, patients were randomly chosen to receive either TS or placebo. ⋯ The routine administration of TS for gynaecological and surgical patients cannot be recommended because of the lack of effect on postoperative nausea and only marginal benefit concerning postoperative vomiting.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
[Hemodynamic effects of three different dosages of the induction hypnotic, eltanolone, in coronary surgery patients].
Eltanolone is a new steroid anaesthetic agent that is 5-beta reduced derivative of progesterone. In the present study we investigated the haemodynamic effects of eltanolone or thiopentone in patients scheduled for coronary artery bypass grafting. ⋯ Mean arterial pressure reduction induced by eltanolone is most likely the result of the combination of a decrease in cardiac contractility and peripheral vasodilatation. In contrast, mean arterial pressure reduction in the case of thiopentone seems to be exclusively related to the negative inotropic properties of the drug. Results of a dosage finding study [5] with eltanolone revealed an AD50 of 0.33 mg/kg. In our study 0.5 mg/kg eltanolone brought all the patients to sleep within 2 minutes. The haemodynamic results do not show any significant difference up to twofold dosage. Therefore, the therapeutic margin seems to be large. Because of considerable interindividual variability additional studies in larger collectives are required for definitive evaluation of the drug.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
[10 years of spinal anesthesia in infants and children for orthopedic surgery. Our clinical experience].
Over a period of 10 years various orthopaedic-paediatric operations were performed under hyperbaric spinal anaesthesia. ⋯ The duration of spinal anaesthesia in infants is shorter than in adult patients. Spinal anaesthesia is a suitable anaesthetic technique for paediatric surgery. This method of anaesthesia may avoid the increased incidence of postoperative respiratory complications associated with general anaesthesia. Special anatomical and pharmacological considerations for infants under 1 year of age include the fact that the spinal cord may end as low as L3 in the neonate. Our results show that spinal anaesthesia can be safely and reliably performed in these infants. Hyperbaric bupivacaine 0.5% as a spinal anaesthetic agent in infants has been investigated extensively and produces consistently good operating conditions. The technique has not resulted in hypotension or bradycardia, and no complications have occurred. We did not use atropine in any patient. However, the superiority of spinal anaesthesia over other forms of anaesthesia in this group of patients remains to be demonstrated. Continuous training and critical analysis are needed for good results.