British journal of anaesthesia
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
I.V. APD421 (amisulpride) prevents postoperative nausea and vomiting: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial.
Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) remain significant clinical problems for patients, especially nausea. The D2-antagonist droperidol was popular for prophylaxis until safety concerns limited its use. In early testing, APD421 (amisulpride for i.v. injection), a D2/D3-antagonist, has shown promising antiemetic efficacy at very low doses. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, dose-finding study to investigate APD421 in PONV prophylaxis. ⋯ APD421 given i.v. before surgery is safe and effective at reducing PONV in moderate/high-risk adult surgical patients. The optimal dose tested was 5 mg.
-
Blood flow patterns are important modifiers of platelet interactions with plasma coagulation factors. However, it is not feasible to evaluate rheological effects of haemodilution on coagulation using conventional coagulation testing. ⋯ Blood flow affects thrombus formation after haemodilution and subsequent haemostatic component interventions, with differential effects at low and high flow.
-
Multicenter Study
Sevoflurane therapy for life-threatening asthma in children.
Asthma is a common disease in children and often develops early in life. This multicentre retrospective case series describe the use and effectiveness of sevoflurane inhalation therapy in a series of children with severe asthma in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). ⋯ Sevoflurane inhalation corrects high levels of Pco2 and provides clinical improvement in mechanically ventilated children with life-threatening asthma who fail to respond to conventional treatment.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Double-lumen tube tracheal intubation using a rigid video-stylet: a randomized controlled comparison with the Macintosh laryngoscope.
Despite an increasing need, there is limited experience of double-lumen endobronchial tube (DLT) placement using video laryngoscope. We evaluated DLT intubation using an OptiScope, a rigid video-stylet with a malleable tip derived from the Clarus Video System, in comparison with a Macintosh laryngoscope. ⋯ The OptiScope® provides faster tracheal intubation and a higher success rate for the first intubation with less trauma and a better vocal cord view than the Macintosh laryngoscope.
-
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) has become a major public health concern as its incidence and severity have increased in tandem with the obesity epidemic. In children, OSA is now recognized as a common disorder and can be associated with significant morbidity. OSA belongs to a spectrum of diagnoses known as sleep-related breathing disorders in which the airway is completely (apnoea) or partially (hypopnoea) occluded during sleep despite continued respiratory efforts. ⋯ A thorough understanding of the pathophysiology of OSA, careful and complete preoperative assessment, meticulous intraoperative and postoperative management, and early recognition of potential perioperative complications are essential to optimization of outcomes. The safe anaesthetic management of a child with OSA requires an anaesthetic technique tailored to the underlying aetiology and severity of OSA and the surgical procedure. This review focuses on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and diagnosis of OSA, and the state-of-the-art and future directions in the perioperative management of children with OSA.