Middle East journal of anaesthesiology
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Post-operative sore throat is a common minor complication after anesthesia. This paper reviews the factors which influence post-operative sore throat in intubated patients. Two hundred and sixty six intubated patients were investigated to find the incidence of sore throat after elective anesthesia in a middle eastern population. ⋯ Duration of anesthesia of greater than 90 minutes was associated with significant increase in sore throat (p < 0.001). Surgical factors including type of surgery, the use of throat packs and early oral intake did not alter the incidence of sore throat. Nasogastric tube insertion was associated with a significantly increased incidence of sore throat (p < 0.01).
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Middle East J Anaesthesiol · Oct 2000
Clinical TrialA new cut-off point of thyromental distance for prediction of difficult airway.
Difficult intubation, often unexpected, remains a primary concern for the anesthesiologist. None of the bedside tests have proven to be efficacious and highly predictive. The prupose of this study was to correlate the full range of thyromental distance with both the Cormack grade and the Mallampati score. ⋯ Patients with a thyromental distance greater than 4 cm can be easily intubated. In contrast, when the TMD < or = 4 cm, tracheal intubation is difficult in 48% of patients if the Mallampati score is 1,2 and in 79% if the Mallampati score is 3 or 4.
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Middle East J Anaesthesiol · Jun 2000
Comparative StudyCombined sciatic-paravertebral nerve block vs. general anaesthesia for fractured hip of the elderly.
Sixty elderly patients scheduled for surgical hip fracture repair were given the choice of either general isoflurane anaesthesia (n = 30) or a nerve stimulator guided combined sciatic-paravertebral nerve block (n = 30). The incidence of intraoperative hypotension and the need for postoperative admission to the intensive care unit/high dependency unit (ICU/HDU) within 48 hours postoperatively were recorded. ⋯ The length of hospital stay was also found to be shorter for patient in the regional anaesthesia group [mean 6.7 days (SD 2.3) vs. 13.6 days (SD 6.1)]. The described technique appears to be an attractive alternative method to handle proximal fractures of the femur in the elderly, especially in a situation with limited ICU/HDU availability.