European journal of anaesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Perioperative myocardial ischaemia in patients undergoing surgery for fractured hip randomized to incremental spinal, single-dose spinal or general anaesthesia.
Quantitative assessment of myocardial ischaemia during incremental spinal, single-dose spinal and general anaesthesia may provide guidelines for the choice of anaesthetic technique for osteosynthesis of hip fractures in the elderly atherosclerotic individual. Forty-three patients with coronary artery disease were allocated to receive either incremental spinal anaesthesia (bupivacaine 0.5% plain) (A), single-dose spinal anaesthesia (2.5 mL of bupivacaine 0.5% plain) (B) or general anaesthesia (fentanyl, thiopentone, atracurium, enflurane, N2O/O2) (C) for hip surgery. ST segment monitoring was performed from the induction of anaesthesia and for the following 48 h, and perioperative hypotension, blood loss and fluid therapy were recorded. ⋯ In (A), 1.6 mL of 0.5% bupivacaine were used as opposed to the fixed 2.5 mL dose in (B) (P < 0.001). In the first post-operative week, mortality was higher in (B) (P < 0.05) but, after 1 month, there was no significant difference in mortality between the three groups. The incidence of hypotension and myocardial ischaemia was lowest in the group receiving incremental spinal anaesthesia.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Tropisetron or ondansetron compared with placebo for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting.
In a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study, the efficacy of prophylactic tropisetron (2 mg) or ondansetron (4 mg) for the prevention of post-operative nausea and vomiting after abdominal or non-abdominal surgery with general balanced anaesthesia was studied in 842 ASA I-III patients. In patients undergoing abdominal surgery, ondansetron and tropisetron reduced the frequency of emetic episodes compared with the placebo (29%, 30% vs. 42% respectively). ⋯ However, neither tropisetron nor ondansetron was significantly different from the placebo in this patient subgroup. In conclusion, for patients at increased risk of post-operative nausea and vomiting, a prophylactic therapy at the lowest effective dose with tropisetron or ondansetron may be useful.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Lignocaine plus morphine in bolus patient-controlled intravenous analgesia lacks post-operative morphine-sparing effect.
Lignocaine has been used successfully to treat burn pain and neuropathic pain. We have conducted a randomized, double-blind trial to assess the morphine-sparing effect of intravenous lignocaine in patients with acute pain. After major abdominal surgery, patients were treated with post-operative patient-controlled intravenous analgesia in two groups: group M (n = 25, morphine 0.2 mg mL-1) and group ML (n = 25, morphine 0.2 mg mL-1 plus lignocaine 3.2 mg mL-1). ⋯ However, the sedation scores in group ML patients during the first post-operative day were significantly greater than those in group M. The incidence of lignocaine-related lightheadedness and dry mouth was also significantly greater in group ML than in group M. It was concluded that the addition of lignocaine 3.2 mg mL-1 to morphine 0.2 mg mL-1 given via patient-controlled analgesia system does not provide a post-operative morphine-sparing analgesic effect.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Tracheal intubating conditions after induction with propofol, remifentanil and lignocaine.
We have studied the intubating conditions in 60 ASA I or II patients, after induction of anaesthesia with propofol 2 mg kg-1, allocated to one of the following three groups: group 1, remifentanil 1 microgram kg-1; group 2, remifentanil 1 microgram kg-1 and lignocaine 1 mg kg-1; group 3, remifentanil 2 micrograms kg-1. No neuromuscular blocking agents were administered. ⋯ There was a statistically significant drop in blood pressure after induction in groups 2 and 3, and two patients in each group required ephedrine 6 mg i.v. boluses, as dictated by the intervention criteria (mean arterial pressure fall > 25% from baseline). Similarly, there was a drop in heart rate in groups 2 and 3, but this did not reach statistical or clinical significance, and no patient required atropine.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The tracheal tube with a high-volume, low-pressure cuff at various airway inflation pressures.
When the tracheal tube with a high-volume, low-pressure cuff is used, the pressure exerted by the cuff on the tracheal wall is similar to the intracuff pressure, and the pressure is claimed to be lower than the capillary perfusion pressure; however, it is not known if this is the case when a high airway pressure is required. In a randomized, cross-over design, we studied 61 patients (31 men) and measured the intracuff pressures of the tracheal tube at various airway pressures. ⋯ Intracuff pressures [median (range)] at airway pressures of 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 cm H2O were 8 (0-20), 15 (4-20), 22 (6-32), 26 (11-52) and 31 (16-54) cm H2O, respectively, for men and 6 (0-20), 11 (0-20), 15 (0-24), 21 (0-32) and 25 (1-41) cm H2O, respectively, for women. Therefore, we conclude that the pressure exerted by the cuff of the tracheal tube on the tracheal wall is unlikely to exceed the capillary perfusion pressure (arbitrarily defined as 25 mmHg or 34 cm H2O) when the airway pressure is 25 cm H2O or less, but it may exceed the capillary perfusion pressure when the airway pressure is greater than 25 cm H2O.