Annales françaises d'anesthèsie et de rèanimation
-
Sevoflurane, a methylethylether halogenated solely with fluorine, is characterized by a low blood/gas solubility (blood/gas partition coefficient = 0.65). This feature allows in a more rapid uptake and elimination than with more soluble agents. MAC is about 2 vol% in young adults and 2.5 vol% in children of more than 6 months of age. ⋯ In adults, recovery is more rapid than with isoflurane. In children, sevoflurane seems a promising agent owing to its good acceptance for mask induction, as well as its favourable haemodynamic profile. However due to its rapid elimination, analgesic drugs should be administered early enough to decrease the incidence of postoperative pain.
-
Ann Fr Anesth Reanim · Jan 1995
Review[Effects of anesthesia on postoperative micturition and urinary retention].
Postoperative micturition difficulties, considered as minor complications, have a high incidence. Acute urinary retention can follow all types of anaesthetics or operations. Surgical trauma to the pelvic nerves or to the bladder, postoperative oedema around the bladder neck, and pain-induced reflex spasm of the external and internal urethral sphincters may play a role in the development of urinary retention. ⋯ They should be encouraged to seat, stand or ambulate as early as possible. The alpha 1 adrenergic receptor blocking agents have been used for treatment of organic or functional urinary retention. It is essential to make sure the bladder empties regularly in the postoperative period, especially in day-case surgery or in patients receiving opioid analgesia or after epidural anaesthesia.
-
Ann Fr Anesth Reanim · Jan 1995
Review[High frequency jet ventilation combined with conventional mechanical ventilation in the treatment of adult respiratory distress syndrome].
Better understanding of the physiopathology of ventilatory mechanisms associated with ARDS and the recent re-evaluation of the iatrogenic potential of mechanical ventilation (MV) brings us closer to the best suited ventilatory mode for these patients. In severely ill ARDS patients, only a small lung volume is ventilated, and remains available for the totality of the gas exchanges (baby lung concept). The goal of MV is to restore and maintain an optimal exchange volume while limiting mechanical agression of the lung tissue. ⋯ Though HFV alone can maintain lung volumes oscillating around a mean value, it cannot re-expand atelectatic areas. The small VT's used are insufficient to overcome these area's elevated opening pressures. Volume recruitment by periodic hyperinflations, or sighs, though generally considered useless in conventional MV, have been shown to be of great benefit in HFV.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
-
The abdominal pressure is a hydrostatic one, which can be measured in the bladder, the rectum and the stomach. In physiologic conditions, the abdominal pressure is variable, with peaks as high as 100 to 200 mmHg at the time of defecation, cough. The increase in abdominal pressure elicited by abdominal distension or compression acts directly on the abdominal compartment, indirectly on the thoracic compartment, and modifies the circulation and the ventilation. ⋯ The risk of regurgitation associated with an increased abdominal pressure must also be kept in mind. The abdominal pressure plays an important role in anaesthesia as well as in surgery. Therefore its measurement, which is easy, should become a routine.
-
Ann Fr Anesth Reanim · Jan 1994
Review[Antibiotic prophylaxis of penetrating injuries of the abdomen].
Antibiotic prophylaxis for a penetrating injury of the abdomen has a distinctive feature as contamination occurs before administration of antibiotics and because important blood loss can modify the pharmacokinetics of antibiotics. Due to the rate and severity of infectious complications, no controlled study has been undertaken. ⋯ Various antibiotic regimens have been administered, but it seems that those using an antibiotic active against anaerobes are more efficient to prevent postoperative infectious complications than without them. There is no benefit to administer antibiotics for more than 24 hours.