British journal of anaesthesia
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Review Meta Analysis
Hypertension, hypertensive heart disease and perioperative cardiac risk.
The evidence for an association between hypertensive disease, elevated admission arterial pressure, and perioperative cardiac outcome is reviewed. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 30 observational studies demonstrated an odds ratio for the association between hypertensive disease and perioperative cardiac outcomes of 1.35 (1.17-1.56). This association is statistically but not clinically significant. ⋯ As a result, attention should be paid to the presence of target organ damage, such as coronary artery disease, and this should be taken into account in preoperative risk evaluation. The anaesthetist should be aware of the potential errors in arterial pressure measurements and the impact of white coat hypertension on them. A number of measurements of arterial pressure, obtained by competent staff (ideally nursing staff), may be required to obtain an estimate of the "true" preoperative arterial pressure.
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Spread of intrathecal local anaesthetics is determined principally by baricity and position of the patient. Hypobaric solutions of bupivacaine are characterized by an unpredictable spread of sensory block whereas addition of dextrose 80 g ml(-1) provides a predictable spread but to high thoracic levels. In contrast, dextrose concentrations between 8 and 30 g ml(-1) have shown reliable and consistent spread for surgery. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the density of bupivacaine, levobupivacaine, and ropivacaine with and without dextrose at both 23 and 37 degrees C before embarking on clinical studies. ⋯ The density of local anaesthetics decreases with increasing temperature and increases in a linear fashion with the addition of dextrose. Levobupivacaine 5 g ml(-1) has a significantly higher density compared with bupivacaine 5 g ml(-1) and ropivacaine 5 g ml(-1) at 23 and 37 degrees C both with and without dextrose. Levobupivacaine 7.5 g ml(-1) is an isobaric solution within all patient groups at 37 degrees C [corrected]
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Sore throat and hoarseness are common complications, but these have not been studied after total i.v. anaesthesia. ⋯ Knowledge of these factors may reduce postoperative throat complications, and improve patient satisfaction.
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Glass bottles are used for the storage of local anaesthetics in the US and are recyclable. Recycling would result in hospital solid waste reduction. ⋯ The recycling of glass is good for the environment through waste reduction and results in small savings to the hospital.