AANA journal
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A comparison of the recovery times of desflurane and isoflurane in outpatient anesthesia.
The low solubility of desflurane has been shown to contribute to faster awakening from anesthesia when compared with other anesthetics in common use. However, research has failed to consistently demonstrate faster discharge times from the postanesthesia care unit following the use of desflurane. This study was undertaken to compare the recovery and discharge times of outpatients undergoing procedures greater than 2 hours in length. ⋯ The results demonstrated no differences between the emergence or discharge times following desflurane or isoflurane. In addition, measured parameters, such as intraoperative vital signs and postoperative emesis and opioid requirements, were not different between the groups. The use of desflurane as part of a balanced anesthetic technique did not speed the emergence or discharge time when compared with isoflurane.
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The goal of mechanical ventilation is to maintain adequate gas exchange by opening and stabilizing alveolar units with minimal detriment to the pulmonary and circulatory systems. The optimal ventilatory strategy may be difficult to achieve, especially in patients with respiratory failure. Total liquid ventilation is a process whereby a liquid perfluorocarbon (PFC) replaces both the functional residual capacity and the tidal volume within the lung. ⋯ In PLV, a functional residual capacity of PFC liquid is maintained in the lung, and the patient is ventilated with a conventional gas mechanical ventilator. Studies of the acute respiratory distress syndrome in animal models and in human series have demonstrated encouraging results using PLV and PFC. The high density, low surface tension, and other qualities of PFC in the setting of PLV may offer a highly innovative approach that can be directed toward the management of patients in respiratory failure.
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Comparative Study
The effect of epidural analgesia on the second stage of labor.
A retrospective review of 202 randomly selected records of parturient labors examined the relationship between cervical dilation at epidural analgesia administration and length of the second stage of labor. The epidural group received bupivacaine 0.11% or 0.125% with sufentanil 1 to 2 micrograms/mL using a Bard Patient Controlled Anesthesia II pump. Labor management and outcomes were compared with a nonepidural group who chose unmedicated childbirth, intravenous narcotics, or pudendal block. ⋯ The epidural group experienced a significantly longer mean length of the second stage. Labors in the epidural group were 3.5 times more likely to have oxytocin induction or augmentation and 4.5 times more likely to experience instrument-assisted delivery. There were no significant differences in Apgar scores between the two infant groups.
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Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a progressive, chronic illness that is enigmatic because the mechanisms for its pathogenesis have yet to be determined. Syndromes synonymous with CRPS are reflex sympathetic dystrophy, reflex neurovascular dystrophy, causalgia, algoneurodystrophy, sympathetically maintained pain, clenched fist syndrome, and Sudek's syndrome. The diagnosis of CRPS is categorized into three stages: acute, dystrophic, and atrophic. ⋯ Patients suffering from CRPS may be limited in their ability to function in a self-directed, independent fashion. A longitudinal study of CRPS on 1,348 patients revealed that 96% of the study subjects still suffer some pain and disability regardless of the duration of the disease or course of treatment. Although the primary etiology for CRPS is not clearly understood, key progress has been made in terms of establishing a psychological as well as therapeutic treatment plan once the diagnosis has been made.
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Providing analgesia in the latent phase of labor can be challenging. Many obstetricians and nurse midwives believe that epidural analgesia initiated too early in the course of labor can prolong labor and result in fetal malpresentation, thus increasing the need for instrumentation. Many practitioners therefore use the combined spinal-epidural technique with intrathecal opioids during the early portion of first stage labor and initiate epidural analgesia only in the active phase of labor. ⋯ An intrathecal dose of 15 micrograms of sufentanil was given with a dilute concentration of bupivacaine at the initiation of analgesia. Analgesia was provided for approximately 5 hours before epidural analgesia was required. The patient delivered by spontaneous vaginal delivery without instrumentation or adverse sequelae to mother or infant.