British journal of anaesthesia
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Comment Letter Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Opioid-induced pruritus: repeated vs single dose ondansetron administration in preventing pruritus after intrathecal morphine.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Dexamethasone reduces nausea and vomiting after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
We have evaluated the antiemetic effect of i.v. dexamethasone compared with saline in the prevention of nausea and vomiting after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. We studied 90 patients requiring general anaesthesia for laparoscopic cholecystectomy, in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The dexamethasone group (n = 45) received dexamethasone 8 mg i.v. and the saline group received saline 2 ml i.v. at induction of anaesthesia. ⋯ We found that 10% of patients in the dexamethasone group compared with 34% in the saline group reported vomiting (P < 0.05). Of note, the total incidence of nausea and vomiting was 23% in the dexamethasone group and 63% in the saline group (P < 0.001). We conclude that dexamethasone 8 mg significantly decreased the incidence of nausea and vomiting after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparison of low-dose epidural with combined spinal-epidural analgesia for labour.
We have performed a randomized comparison of two low-dose epidural regimens for analgesia in labour, differing only in the manner in which initial analgesia was established. In the epidural (EPI) group, 484 women received a loading dose of 20 ml of 0.1% bupivacaine with fentanyl 2 micrograms ml-1. In the combined spinal-epidural (CSE) group, 524 women received a spinal injection of plain bupivacaine 2.5 mg with fentanyl 25 micrograms. ⋯ Other comparisons between groups revealed no differences. These findings may have been affected by an uneven distribution of multiparous women between the groups (25% in the EPI group and 34.2% in the CSE group; P = 0.002). However, subgroup analysis of primiparous and multiparous women did not alter the results.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Evaluation of pressure changes in a new design tracheal tube cuff, the Portex Soft Seal, during nitrous oxide anaesthesia.
We have measured pressure changes in a newly designed tracheal tube cuff, the Portex Soft Seal, during nitrous oxide anaesthesia compared with a Mallinckrodt Lo-Contour tube and a Portex Profile tube. The pressure increases in both control groups were significantly greater than those with the new design (P < 0.0001 in each case). The mean increase in pressure in the Mallinckrodt Lo-Contour tube cuff was 9.9 (SD 3.4) mm Hg compared with 10.3 (1.8) mm Hg in the Portex Profile tube cuff and 2.1 (1.5) mm Hg in the Portex Soft Seal tube cuff. We conclude that the Portex Soft Seal cuff prevented a significant increase in intracuff pressure during nitrous oxide anaesthesia.