South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Hydroxyzine premedication--does it provide better anxiolysis than a placebo?
To determine how effective hydroxyzine is compared with a placebo in providing pre-operative anxiolysis in our hospital population, and to assess the anxiolytic effect of our pre-operative visit. ⋯ Hydroxyzine, in the dose administered and after an appropriate premedication-induction interval, provided no better anxiolysis than a placebo in the pre-operative period. No significant anxiolytic effect was demonstrated by our routine premedication visit.
-
The severity of acute pulmonary hypertension (APHT) in acute respiratory distress syndrome was examined in 20 patients. All patients had significant APHT (mean pressure 40.6 +/- 6.3 mmHg) on admission to the intensive care unit. ⋯ The RV afterload, i.e. pulmonary artery elastance (Ea = stroke volume/peak pulmonary artery pressure), was raised. Stroke volume could not be predicted from Ea or RVSWI alone, but regression analysis indicated that the ratio of RVSWI/Ea (i.e. ventriculo-arterial coupling) could account for 88% of the stroke volume.