British journal of anaesthesia
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Orally administered clonidine significantly reduces pain during injection of propofol.
We examined the analgesic effects of orally administered clonidine on pain induced by injection of propofol (Diprivan; 2,6-diisopropyl phenol). Female patients (n=81) were randomly allocated to one of two groups: oral clonidine (5.5 microg kg(-1)) followed by i.v. propofol and a control group given placebo followed by i.v. propofol. The median pain score in the group receiving clonidine, using a four-point scale (0=no pain, 1=minimal pain, 2=moderate pain, 3=severe pain) was 1 (0-2), significantly lower than in the control group [2 (1-3), median (25-75 percentiles), P<0.001].
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Case Reports
Intramuscular ketamine in a parturient in whom pre-operative intravenous access was not possible.
We describe the management of a 23-yr-old woman with extreme needle and mask phobia, presenting for an emergency Caesarean section for fetal distress. She also suffered from spina bifida cystica with no sensation from mid thigh. Regional anaesthesia, rapid sequence induction, and gaseous induction were not possible. She was managed successfully with i.m. ketamine followed by a more conventional anaesthetic technique.
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Case Reports
Xenon anaesthesia for laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a patient with Eisenmenger's syndrome.
There are few reports on anaesthesia for patients with Eisenmenger's syndrome requiring non-cardiac surgery and none of the use of xenon. We describe the use of xenon with a closed-circuit system in a patient with Eisenmenger's syndrome having a laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
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Oesophageal Doppler monitoring (ODM) has been advocated as a non-invasive means of measuring cardiac output (CO). However, its reliance upon blood flow measurement in the descending aorta to estimate CO is susceptible to error if blood flow is redistributed between the upper and lower body. We hypothesize that lumbar epidural anesthesia (LEA), which causes blood flow redistribution, causes errors in CO estimates. ⋯ ODM measured a greater increase in CO after LEA (delta=+1.71 (1.19) litre min(-1) (mean (SD)) compared with TD (delta=+0.51 (0.70) litre min(-1)). We conclude that following LEA, measurements with the Oesophageal Doppler Monitor II overestimate CO and show unacceptably high variability. Blood flow redistribution may limit the value of ODM.
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Hypertension is the commonest avoidable medical indication for postponing anaesthesia and surgery. There are no universally accepted guidelines stating the arterial pressure values at which anaesthesia should be postponed. The aim of this study was to determine the extent of variation across the South-West region of the UK in the anaesthetic management of patients presenting with stage 2 or stage 3 hypertension. ⋯ The response rate was 58%. We found great variability between anaesthetists as to which patients would be cancelled. Departmental protocols may aid general practitioners and surgeons in the preparation of patients for surgery, but such protocols may be difficult to agree in the light of such a wide variation in practice.