Nurse anesthesia
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Over the last 15 years a rapid growth has occurred in the number of pediatric patients that are encountered in the operating room. A developing sophistication on the part of both children and parents, coupled with a rapidly expanding recognition of the need to minimize the amount of physical and psychological trauma that a child has to experience, has led to a growing use of premedication agents for children. A review of the premedication agents currently in use, their various routes of administration, as well as their associated benefits and risks, is presented.
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The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of intraoperative steroids was effective in decreasing the incidence of postanesthetic nausea and vomiting and whether or not those complications were gender related. This retrospective study involved a chart review of 208 patients undergoing lumbar laminectomy at a large metropolitan hospital during a 10-month period in 1989-1990. Sixty-one patients met inclusion criteria and were accepted into the study. ⋯ Results demonstrated that those patients who received intraoperative steroids were less likely to experience problems of nausea and vomiting than those who did not receive the drug. Requirements for postoperative pain medication were also reduced in the steroid group. Female patients in both groups were shown to have a greater incidence of nausea and vomiting than male patients.