Articles: anesthetics.
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The adverse reactions to i.v. anaesthetics which occurred during a 3-yr period in one hospital were investigated. Sixteen reactions were reported; 13 of these occurred in a total of 7906 administrations of Althesin, two in 45 546 administrations of thiopentone and one in 630 administrations of methohexitone. The pathological process was identified in 10 patients. Most reactions were caused by activation of the alternate pathway for complement conversion.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 1981
Comparative StudyCauses of death among anesthesiologists: 1930-1946.
The causes of death among anesthesiologists from 1930 through 1946 were determined and compared to the causes of death for contemporaneous physicians as well as anesthesiologists in later eras. Names of US white male anesthesiologists listed in the annual Directories of Anesthetists compiled by the International Anesthesia Research Society were searched for in the death files of the American Medical Association. Among those listed in the Directories 274 deaths were located. ⋯ Anesthesiologists practicing in the earlier part of this century had lower death rates and they were less likely to die of malignant neoplasms than contemporaneous white men. The death rates for these anesthesiologists were similar to those for anesthesiologists during 1947-1956, but greater than rates observed for anesthesiologists during 1957-1971. This suggests that exposure to the fluorinated anesthetic agents introduced in the mid-1950s may not be an important health hazard.
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A case of methemoglobinemia secondary to topical local anesthetic agents is reported. A 28-year-old, 80-kg white man was admitted to a hospital for respiratory distress two days after an accident. During intubation, Cetacaine (benzocaine, butamben, and tetracaine) spray and Americaine (benzocaine) ointment were used topically for local anesthesia. ⋯ Abnormal hemoglobin variants and NADH-methemoglobin reductase deficiency were ruled out as sources of methemoglobinemia. A discussion of methemoglobinemia, including biochemistry, pathogenesis, symptomatology, and management, is presented. If cyanosis occurs following application of local anesthetics, methemoglobinemia secondary to these drugs should be considered in the differential diagnosis.