British journal of anaesthesia
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Although the POSSUM (Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enumeration of Mortality and Morbidity) score can be used to calculate operative risk, its complexity makes its use unfeasible in the immediate clinical setting. The aim of this study was to create a new model, based on ASA status, to predict mortality. ⋯ This new, ASA status-based model is simple to use and can be performed routinely in the operating room to predict operative risk for both elective and emergency surgery.
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Haemostatic deficiencies, common among cirrhotic patients, may deteriorate further after hepatectomy, increasing the bleeding risk associated with the use of thoracic epidural analgesia. We describe two patients who enjoyed immediate post-operative tracheal extubation and satisfactory analgesia using mainly right thoracic paravertebral analgesia after right lobe hepatectomy.
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Opioid-induced hyperalgesia has been demonstrated in awake animals. We observed an increased haemodynamic reactivity in response to noxious stimuli in rats under sevoflurane anaesthesia treated with a very low dose of sufentanil. The aim of this investigation was to determine whether the two phenomena share a common origin: an opioid-induced excitatory reaction. To address this, we administered several drugs with proven efficacy in opioid hyperalgesia to rats presenting with haemodynamic hyper-reactivity. ⋯ We have demonstrated that low-dose sufentanil-induced haemodynamic hyper-reactivity is an excitatory micro -opiate-related phenomenon. This effect is reversed by drugs effective in treating opiate-induced hyperalgesia.
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Comparative Study
Comparative effects of thiopental and propofol on atrial vulnerability: electrophysiological study in a porcine model including acute alcoholic intoxication.
Atrial tachyarrhythmias (AT) frequently complicate the perioperative period. Alcohol intoxication is a recognized causative factor for dysrrhythmias. We studied the effects of propofol and thiopental on atrial electrophysiology and vulnerability to AT in a closed-chest porcine model in which AT are facilitated by ethanol. ⋯ Propofol in this model was more arrhythmogenic than thiopental, as manifested by a longer duration of induced arrhythmias, particularly AFI.