Der Anaesthesist
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
[30 degree trunk elevation of the patient and quality of lumbar epidural anesthesia. Effects of elevation in operations on the lower extremities].
The spread and intensity of lumbar epidural anaesthesia are unpredictable. Moreover, segments L5 and S1 are frequently missed. In this study the effect of 30 degrees trunk elevation on the spread and intensity of lumbar epidural sensory and motor blockade and on the cardiovascular system were studied. ⋯ Patients in the hammock position had a clinically insignificant drop in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. In contrast to the young and healthy patients in this study, more severe cardiovascular changes might result in geriatric and/or ill patients subjected to a hammock position. For this reason, use of the technique in geriatric and/or ill patients requires special attention.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
[Postoperative pain therapy. The efficacy of a serotonin antagonist (GR 38032F;ondansetron) and the prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor lysin acetylsalicylate (Aspisol)].
Serotonin is one of the many neurotransmitters involved in nociception. Serotonin antagonists may therefore reduce postoperative pain. In the present study we examined whether the new 5-HT3 receptor antagonist GR 38032F (ondansetron) reduced postoperative pain after minor surgery and compared its effectiveness with that of lysin acetyl salicylate (Aspisol). ⋯ For 42 out of 100 patients no analgesics were needed within the first 3 h after end of surgery. Ondansetron was no more effective than placebo in reducing postoperative pain. Lysin acetylsalicylate, however, may be an effective alternative to opioids for the treatment of postoperative pain.
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Rocuronium bromide (Org 9426) is a new, non-depolarising steroidal muscle relaxant that is currently undergoing extensive clinical trials worldwide. Since it is expected to be introduced into clinical practice in the near future, the purpose of this review is to give a summary of the currently available information on this promising new compound. The search for the so-called ideal muscle relaxant [34] in the last years was focused on a non-depolarising compound that could replace succinylcholine for rapid intubation. ⋯ In initial clinical studies [13, 42] its most impressive features appeared to be rapid onset time and, more importantly, the rapid development of good intubating conditions. Thirty to 90 s after the injection of 0.6 mg/kg (2 x ED90), rocuronium provided intubating conditions that were equal to those observed after succinylcholine [9, 17, 31, 38]. Although the onset time of rocuronium at the adductor pollicis muscle is slower than that of succinylcholine, intubation with this compound can be performed faster than with any other non-depolarising agent.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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The Christiansen-Douglas-Haldane effect describes the reduced CO2 binding capacity of oxygenated compared to deoxygenated haemoglobin. Under the condition of a "closed system", for example hyperoxic apnoea after adequate preoxygenation (continuous O2 uptake with lack of CO2 delivery), specific effects on the arterial and mixed venous blood gas status, due to the Haldane effect, are seen: within 30 s after onset of apnoea, "paradoxical pCO2" (paCO2 exceeds pvCO2) and "pH reversal" (pHa falls under pHv) can be observed. It was the aim of this study to demonstrate how fast arterial and mixed venous pCO2 and pH normalize when a change from apnoea ("closed system") to controlled ventilation ("open system") takes place. ⋯ Considering the expected decrease of paO2 during hyperoxic apnoea, insufficient pulmonary N2 elimination prior to the onset of apnoea, as well as direct N2 delivery into the alveoli, due to the so-called a ventilatory mass flow, will limit unrestricted pulmonary O2 uptake. The continuing decrease of the paCO2 after the onset of controlled ventilation can be regarded as indirect proof of a ventilatory mass flow. The course of pCO2 and pH after the onset of controlled ventilation shows that normalization in arterial and mixed-venous blood gas status takes place in about 18.2 s after the cessation of apnoea.
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The paravertebral approach is the most common technique for local anaesthetic and neurolytic lumbar sympathetic blocks. However, guidelines on the site of needle insertion differ. As there have been several case reports on accidental trauma to the ureter and the kidney, this study was undertaken to evaluate the site of paravertebral needle insertion and the fluoroscopic landmarks for lumbar sympathetic blocks by computed tomographic puncture simulation. ⋯ However, a paravertebral approach of less than 6 cm may cause a lateral and ventral deviation of the needle from the sympathetic chain. Under fluoroscopy a correct needle position is obtained at an average distance of 0.5-0.8 cm dorsal to the anterior vertebral border, advancing the needle to the ventral border may cause an accidental puncture of the vena cava in more than 20% of patients undergoing nerve block of the right sympathetic chain. Furthermore, at the level of L2 inadvertent placement of the needle tip within the vertebral insertion of the diaphragm must be considered as a reason for atypical spread of contrast medium.