S Afr J Surg
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Adequate treatment of pain after surgery is central to the care of postoperative patients. Preventing pain or reducing its impact makes subsequent pain management easier. The establishment of 'acute pain relief services' will improve relief offered. Recent pharmacological, psychological and technical advances in this field are briefly discussed.
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Management of the patient with a full stomach ideally requires an anaesthetist with many hands--to cope with laryngoscopy, suction and intubation. The design of a standard McIntosh laryngoscope blade was modified to include a suction port. ⋯ The prototype was found to provide inadequate suction and was further modified. The final model proved to be very effective for intubation in situations where visualisation of the larynx was obscured by secretions.
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Comparative Study
Effect of two different syringes on syringe driver function.
A laboratory investigation into the effect of two different syringes on the performance of a syringe driver was undertaken in order to assess accuracy of delivery, occlusion-alarm delay time and the effect of incorrectly coding the device for the syringe in use. Results indicated that accuracy of delivery was of the order of -1%/h for both syringe types at an infusion rate of 5 ml/h. Clinically and statistically significant differences in the occlusion-to-alarm time were found between syringes and between infusion rates. ⋯ Incorrect coding of the driver for the syringe in use, resulted in a significant change in the accuracy of delivery at an infusion rate of 5 ml/h. Similarly, incorrect coding resulted in changes in the occlusion-alarm time. These results carry significant pharmacological implications for the clinical situation.