Der Anaesthesist
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Exact and quick measurements of basic laboratory parameters are important in selected patients in the perioperative period. Depending on the capabilities of a hospital's central laboratory, the anaesthesiologist may only obtain such laboratory tests after unacceptable delays. This problem may be overcome by a new bedside measurement device that has become available from i-STAT Corporation, Princeton, USA. The hand-held, battery-driven analyser accepts blood specimens that are injected into a disposable cartridge (EG7+) and measures acidity, blood gas tensions, haematocrit, and electrolytes. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of such measurements by comparing them with measurements obtained by conventional laboratory test methods. ⋯ This analyser is easy to use, reliable, and portable, and therefore suitable for the operating room, for analyses during emergencies, on peripheral wards, for preclinical screening, or at times when availability of lab tests is time-consuming or limited. The test accuracy for electrolytes, blood gases, and Hb is high enough to justify routine use of the i-STAT analyser in clinical practice. That the nationally required quality standards for Ca, pH, and Hb were not met is not of importance because the measured deviation was too small to have clinical relevance. When analysing diluted blood with a low Hct and low oncotic pressure, it is important to activate the analyser's correction algorithm "CPB", because the obtained results will then comply with the required accuracy.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
[Determination of core body temperature. A comparison of esophageal, bladder, and rectal temperature during postoperative rewarming].
The data of 60 postoperatively sedated and ventilated patients were studied for analysis of oesophageal, bladder, and rectal temperatures. The purpose of the investigation was to clarify whether changes of oesophageal temperature are adequately reflected by bladder and rectal temperatures and whether the rate of rewarming has an influence on the accuracy of the latter two sites. ⋯ Bladder and rectal temperatures can accurately indicate the oesophageal temperature with a very small bias in postoperatively sedated and ventilated patients. Since the rate of rewarming influences the accuracy of rectal temperature readings, monitoring of bladder temperature seems to be more favourable in the postoperative period.
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Clinical Trial
[Interscalene brachial plexus catheter for anesthesia and postoperative pain therapy. Experience with a modified technique].
This study was conducted to evaluate a modified technique of interskalene brachial plexus anaesthesia (ISB) and postoperative catheter analgesia for shoulder surgery. The original method described by Winnie bears some rare but life-threatening complications (inadvertent subarachnoid or intra-arterial injection, pneumothorax). ⋯ We consider the modified ISB with catheter a safe and effective procedure for anaesthesia and postoperative pain management of open and closed shoulder surgery.
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Clinical Trial
[Workplace contamination from sevoflurane. Concentration measurement during bronchosopy in children].
General anaesthetic agents are frequently used for paediatric bronchoscopy. A disadvantage of open-system anaesthesia is the contamination of the working environment. The aim of this study was to determine the exposure of the anaesthesiologist and endoscopist during paediatric bronchoscopy under general anaesthesia in different working environments and to compare these measurements to the currently valid international threshold limits. ⋯ The main finding of the present study is that under inhalation anaesthesia with sevoflurane for paediatric bronchoscopy, occupational exposure is higher than all known health regulation guidelines permit. Therefore, the use of total intravenous anaesthesia is advocated even in very small infants.