British journal of anaesthesia
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The "K-type" designation is used to describe a patient being investigated for malignant hyperthermia (MH) when concurrent administration of caffeine and halothane induces muscle contracture (rigidity, spasm) in vitro, but when halothane and caffeine given separately produce a normal response. It is accepted in some centres that K-type individuals are susceptible to malignant hyperthermia (MHS). In this paper, the K-type is shown not to correlate with the MH susceptible (MHS) status as accepted by the European MH group.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Cricoid pressure may prevent insertion of the laryngeal mask airway.
We have studied 42 female patients undergoing elective day-case surgery allocated randomly to two groups. After induction of anaesthesia an attempt was made to insert a laryngeal mask airway after application of cricoid pressure in one group or with no cricoid pressure in the other. ⋯ The laryngeal mask airway was then inserted successfully in all 17 patients after removal of cricoid pressure. The implications of having to remove cricoid pressure if a laryngeal mask airway is to be inserted are discussed.
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We have studied the immediate and long term (up to 28 days) effects of short and long bevelled needle impalement of the rat sciatic nerve. Three techniques were used to assess neural trauma and its consequences: stained longitudinal nerve sections were assessed by light microscopy and scored for injury; the extravasation of Evan's Blue dye, after antidromic electrical nerve stimulation, was used as a test of unmyelinated fibre function; the flexion withdrawal times from a noxious stimulus were measured. ⋯ Nerve injury induced by short bevelled needles was associated with persisting signs of injury 28 days after the injury. These results suggest that the current practice of using short bevelled needles to prevent nerve injury complicating regional anaesthesia be reassessed.
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A patient is described in whom breakthrough of pain occurred from uterine rupture during effective extradural analgesia, demonstrating the hypothesis of the "extradural sieve". Subsequent abolition of this pain by addition of fentanyl to bupivacaine 0.25% raises the question whether or not this combination should be avoided in women with a scarred uterus undergoing "trial of labour".