British journal of anaesthesia
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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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Friedreich's ataxia is a rare hereditary neurodegenerative disease caused by a defect in the gene that encodes a mitochondrial protein called frataxin. We report the use of rocuronium 0.6 mg kg(-1) in two adolescent girls with Friedreich's ataxia undergoing propofol-sufentanil-oxygen-air anaesthesia for spinal surgery. Neuromuscular transmission was monitored using acceleromyography, and onset and recovery times were recorded. The clinical duration of rocuronium was comparable to that of children without neuromuscular disease (25% recovery T(1)=44 and 24 min for patients 1 and 2 respectively).
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Based on previous pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies, we have developed an EEG-controlled closed-loop system for the i.v. hypnotic agent propofol in rats. ⋯ The feedback system presented here may be a useful tool not only for automatic drug control to maintain a defined hypnotic effect but may also be a powerful device in pharmacological studies such as the determination of dose requirements or the assessment of drug-drug interactions.
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Re-expansion pulmonary oedema is a rare complication caused by rapid re-expansion of a chronically collapsed lung. Several cases of pulmonary oedema associated with one-lung ventilation (OLV) have been reported recently. Elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in pulmonary oedema fluid are suggested to play important roles in its development. Activation of cytokines after re-expansion of collapsed lung during OLV has not been thoroughly investigated. Here we investigated the effects of re-expansion of the collapsed lung on pulmonary oedema formation and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. ⋯ Pro-inflammatory cytokines were up-regulated upon re-expansion and ventilation after short-period lung collapse, though no changes were noted in pulmonary capillary permeability.