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Queen Victoria writing in her journal, reflecting on the birth of Prince Leopold with chloroform:
Dr Snow gave that blessed chloroform and the effect was soothing, quieting and delightful beyond measure.
Caton D. John Snow's practice of obstetric anesthesia. Anesthesiology. 2000 Jan 1;92(1):247-52.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
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Harrington rods are not a contraindication to epidural analgesia but do increase insertion difficulty, technique failure and complications, particularly dural puncture and subdural placement.
Ho AM, Ngan WD, Chung DC. Should laboring parturients with Harrington rods receive lumbar epidural analgesia? Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 1999 Oct 1;67(1):41-3.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
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Neuraxial analgesia early in labor does not increase the risk of cesarean delivery or increase the duration of labor compared with analgesia later in labor.
Wong CA, Scavone BM, Peaceman AM et al. The risk of cesarean delivery with neuraxial analgesia given early versus late in labor. N. Engl. J. Med. 2005 Feb 17;352(7):655-65.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
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Low-concentration bupivacaine epidurals for labor analgesia result in a lower-incidence of instrumental delivery than 'traditional' high-dose bupivacaine epidurals.
Comparative Obstetric Mobile Epidural Trial (COMET) Study Group UK. Effect of low-dose mobile versus traditional epidural techniques on mode of delivery: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2001 Jul 7;358(9275):19-23.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
1
Upper airway complications are no different with desflurane than for sevoflurane, isoflurane or propofol anesthesia when using an LMA.
Stevanovic A, Rossaint R, Fritz HG et al. Airway reactions and emergence times in general laryngeal mask airway anaesthesia: A meta-analysis. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2015 Feb 1; 32 (2): 106-16.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
1
In patients with atrial fibrillation requiring cessation of warfarin for surgery, bridging anticoagulation does not change the incidence of thromboembolism, although does increase major bleeding.
Douketis JD, Spyropoulos AC, Kaatz S et al. Perioperative Bridging Anticoagulation in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation. N. Engl. J. Med. 2015 Aug 27;373(9):823-33.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
2
The fewest airway complications occur when a pediatric LMA is removed deep and in the lateral position.
Thomas-Kattappurathu G, Kasisomayajula A, Short J. Best position and depth of anaesthesia for laryngeal mask airway removal in children: A prospective randomised controlled trial. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2015 Sep 1; 32 (9): 624-30.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
1
Intrapartum fetal ECG monitoring and ST-segment analysis does not lead to better fetal or delivery outcomes compared with standard FHR and CTG monitoring.
Belfort MA, Saade GR, Thom E et al. A Randomized Trial of Intrapartum Fetal ECG ST-Segment Analysis. N. Engl. J. Med. 2015 Aug 13; 373 (7): 632641632-41.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
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Regional anesthesia and analgesia confers no oncological-outcome benefit compared with general anesthesia for radical prostatectomy.
Sprung J, Scavonetto F, Yeng T et al. Outcomes After Radical Prostatectomy for Cancer: A Comparison Between General Anesthesia and Epidural Anesthesia with Fentanyl Analgesia: A Matched Cohort Study. Anesth. Analg. 2014 Oct 1;119(4):859-66.
  Daniel Jolley
pearl
1
Methods used to assess the height of spinal block before caesarean section vary widely across literature, textbooks and individual anaesthesia practice.
Hoyle J Yentis SM. Assessing the height of block for caesarean section over the past three decades: trends from the literature. Anaesthesia. 2015 Apr 1;70(4):421-8.
  Daniel Jolley