Dan Med Bull
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Surgical wound dressing in outpatient paediatric surgery. A randomised study.
A comparison of two different wound dressings was carried out in a series of 88 paediatric patients. The patients were randomised to either Steristrip plus Cutiplast, a conventional absorbent wound dressing, or to DuoDERM, an occlusive adhesive dressing. The study, set up to show which was the most convenient dressing for minor outpatient surgery, focused on the psychological aspects of operative treatment of infants and children. ⋯ Significantly less pain was experienced on removal of the wound dressing in the DuoDERM group. When dressed with DuoDERM, children could be bathed in the immediate postoperative period without complication. In conclusion, an occlusive wound dressing (DuoDERM) seems to minimize the physical and psychological trauma to the infant or child and reduce the disruption to the child's and the parents' daily routines.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Albumin administration and acute phase proteins in abdominal vascular surgery. A randomised study.
Previous studies suggest that supplementary exogenous albumin may adversely affect hepatic protein synthesis. To test this, 18 patients undergoing elective abdominal aortic surgery were studied. Based on randomisation, nine patients received an average of 53.3 g albumin as part of blood replacement therapy, followed by 20 g albumin daily for the first three postoperative days. ⋯ All protein fractions other than albumin showed identical curve sequences and peak concentrations. The significant decrease (p less than 0.01) in concentration of all proteins except albumin of the albumin group was quantitatively explained by unreplaced plasma loss. The study rules out consequences of clinical importance of albumin supplementation on hepatic protein synthesis.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Postoperative pain relief and respiratory performance after thoracotomy: a controlled trial comparing the effect of epidural morphine and subcutaneous nicomorphine.
Twenty patients scheduled for lateral thoracotomy were randomly allocated to receive either epidural morphine at regular intervals or subcutaneous nicomorphine on demand for postoperative pain relief. The daily dose of opiate administered was greater in the group receiving subcutaneous nicomorphine than in the epidural group although four patients in the latter needed additional subcutaneous injections of opiate. ⋯ No significant difference could be demonstrated between the group;s. The conclusion is that epidural morphine may produce sufficient pain relief after thoracotomy, but compared with conventional pain treatment the benefits are limited.