Masui. The Japanese journal of anesthesiology
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We report a "walking" catheter resulted in failed epidural anesthesia. An 85-year-old woman was scheduled for insertion of a nail in the left humerus. At 10 a.m. on the day of surgery, a Tuohy needle was inserted into the epidural space between the C6 and C7 vertebrae, and then we inserted an epidural catheter for 5 cm. ⋯ We infused 10 milliliters of 1% mepivacaine through the epidural catheter. Hypesthesia was obtained on the right side of her neck, from the C2 to the C5 level, after 10 minutes. Epidurography after surgery showed that the coiled catheter was placed straight into the right side of the epidural space; contrast medium infused through the catheter was found spread only to the right side from the C2 to the C4 level.
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We examined 171 patients who had undergone anterior cervical fusion to determine the frequency and the causes of postoperative respiratory disturbance (PRD). Postoperative tracheal intubation was necessary in 11 patients (6.4%), but only 4 of them (2.3%) required reintubation due to PRD caused by surgical procedures. ⋯ As C 3 was fused in the 4 patients with PRD, requiring reintubation, upper airway obstruction due to serious swelling of the soft tissue surrounding C 3 might be the factor leading to postoperative reintubation. One of the PRD patients who suffered from postoperative unilateral phrenic nerve palsy required controlled ventilation.
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We investigated the relationship between maintenance bolus dose of vecuronium bromide (Vb) and the recovery time measured by TOF Guard in patients anesthetized with isoflurane (1.2-2.0%)-N2O-O2 (GOI group, n = 19) and epidural anesthesia (2% mepivacaine) plus isoflurane (0.5%)-N2O-O2 (EPI group, n = 14). In both groups, anesthesia was induced with propofol 2 mg.kg-1 and Vb 0.1 mg.kg-1 and ventilation was controlled to keep end tidal CO2 between 35-40 mmHg. When the muscle relaxation recovered to 25% of train-of four ratio (TOFR), doses of Vb 0.06, 0.04 or 0.02 mg.kg-1 were administered. ⋯ There were no significant differences in the recovery time between these two groups. In both groups, although the recovery time to TOFR 25% was prolonged significantly in proportion to the increasing doses of Vb, the increase did not correlate with the dose of Vb. We suggest that frequent administration of Vb 0.02 mg.kg-1 decreases the total amount of Vb to keep TOFR within 25%.