British journal of anaesthesia
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Case Reports
Ipsilateral thoraco-lumbar anaesthesia and paravertebral spread after low thoracic paravertebral injection.
We report ipsilateral thoraco-lumbar anaesthesia and paravertebral spread of contrast after injection through a thoracic paravertebral catheter that was placed at the right T8-9 spinal level for pain management in a patient with multiple fractured ribs. We review the literature and describe the subendothoracic fascial communication between the thoracic paravertebral space and the retroperitoneal lumbar paravertebral region, which we propose, is the anatomical basis for ipsilateral thoraco-lumbar anaesthesia and paravertebral spread of contrast in our patient.
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The effect of sepsis on the minimum alveolar concentration of desflurane (MAC(DES)) in humans and other animals has not been reported previously. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that sepsis might alter MAC(DES) in a normotensive septic porcine model. Twenty-four young healthy pigs were premedicated with ketamine 10 mg kg(-1 )i.m and then anaesthesia was established with propofol 3 mg kg(-1) and the trachea was intubated. ⋯ Significant increases in heart rate, cardiac output, mean pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance occurred in the sepsis group. MAC(DES) was 9.2% (95% confidence interval (CI) 6.8-10.6%) for the saline group and 6.7% (95% CI: 4.7-10.4) for the sepsis group (P<0.05). These data indicate that MAC(DES) is significantly decreased in this normotensive hyperkinetic septic porcine model.
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We describe the case of a 28-week pregnant woman presenting with severe primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH). She had an elective Caesarean section under general anaesthesia at 32 weeks gestation. Pulmonary artery pressures (PAP) measured from a pulmonary artery catheter before anaesthesia were in excess of 100 mm Hg. ⋯ Seven days later she was discharged from intensive care taking an oral calcium antagonist and warfarin. She developed intractable right heart failure and died 14 days after delivery. Despite increasing experience in the use of drugs to reduce PAP, the clinical course of pregnancy complicated by severe PPH is usually fatal.