Anesthesiology
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Postoperative analgesia after radical retropubic prostatectomy: a double-blind comparison between low thoracic epidural and patient-controlled intravenous analgesia.
Postoperative pain after radical retropubic prostatectomy can be severe unless adequately treated. Low thoracic epidural analgesia and patient-controlled intravenous analgesia were compared in this double-blind, randomized study. ⋯ The authors found evidence for better pain relief and improved expiratory muscle function in patients receiving low thoracic epidural analgesia compared with patient-controlled analgesia for radical retropubic prostatectomy. Low thoracic epidural analgesia can be recommended as a good method for postoperative analgesia after abdominal surgery.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Recurrent hypoxemia in children is associated with increased analgesic sensitivity to opiates.
Postsurgical administration of opiates in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has recently been linked to an increased risk for respiratory complications. The authors have attributed this association to an effect of recurrent oxygen desaturation accompanying OSA on endogenous opioid mechanisms that, in turn, alter responsiveness to subsequent administration of exogenous opiates. In a retrospective study, the authors have shown that oxygen desaturation and young age in children with OSA are correlated with a reduced opiate requirement for postoperative analgesia. ⋯ Previous recurrent hypoxemia in OSA is associated with increased analgesic sensitivity to subsequent morphine administration. Therefore, opiate dosing in children with OSA must take into account a history of recurrent hypoxemia.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Alfentanil dosage when inserting the classic laryngeal mask airway.
The purpose of this study was to determine an optimum dose of alfentanil, coadministered with 2.5 mg/kg propofol, when inserting a classic laryngeal mask airway. ⋯ The optimum dose for alfentanil, when coadministered with 2.5 mg/kg propofol, was 10 microg/kg.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Airway management with endotracheal tube versus Combitube during parabolic flights.
Training of National Aeronautics and Space Administration space shuttle astronauts revealed difficult airway management with endotracheal tubes (ETTs) under microgravity conditions. The authors performed a randomized comparative study of ETT and Combitube (ETC; Tyco Healthcare, Pleasanton, CA). The aim of the study was to evaluate ease, time of insertion, and success rates during normogravity and parabolic flights using mannequins. ⋯ Both the ETC and ETT perform comparably well. Slight differences could be found with respect to time of insertion in favor of the ETC. Because this is the first experiment using the ETC on the KC-135, it is shown that there is enough time to perform the insertion procedure. Because the ETC airway requires less training and is easier to insert than an ETT, it is recommended for further study as an alternative airway to what is currently on the shuttle.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Short-term cardiorespiratory effects of proportional assist and pressure-support ventilation in patients with acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Recent data indicate that assisted modes of mechanical ventilation improve pulmonary gas exchange in patients with acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Proportional assist ventilation (PAV) is a new mode of support that amplifies the ventilatory output of the patient effort and improves patient-ventilator synchrony. It is not known whether this mode may be used in patients with ALI/ARDS. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of PAV and pressure-support ventilation on breathing pattern, hemodynamics, and gas exchange in a homogenous group of patients with ALI/ARDS due to sepsis. ⋯ In patients with ALI/ARDS due to sepsis, PAV and pressure-support ventilation both have clinically comparable short-term effects on gas exchange and hemodynamics.