Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · May 1990
Carotid endarterectomy under cervical plexus block--a prospective clinical audit.
One hundred and twenty-eight patients having carotid endarterectomy under superficial and deep cervical plexus blocks were prospectively audited. The aim of the audit was to determine the incidence of intra-operative and postoperative neurological and cardiovascular complications and to establish patient acceptance of the technique. Twenty-seven patients who had intra-operative neurological changes following carotid artery clamping responded to shunt insertion. ⋯ Tachycardia (55%) and hypertension (67%) were the most common intra-operative cardiovascular changes and there was one clinical postoperative myocardial infarction. Ninety-two per cent of patients who could be adequately assessed preferred to have the same method of anaesthesia for future carotid endarterectomy. The authors concluded that carotid endarterectomy under superficial and deep cervical plexus blocks was associated with a high patient acceptance, low neurological complication rate and an acceptable rate of cardiovascular complications.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · May 1990
Steroids in croup: do they increase the incidence of successful extubation?
Between January 1983 and July 1988, 2623 patients with croup were admitted to the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. A total of 416 patients (16%) were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and 176 of these patients required intubation. Of these patients 117 patients were successfully extubated at the first attempt and 59 needed reintubation. ⋯ Only one patient who had received steroids failed extubation. Of those who did not receive steroids 59% required reintubation. In patients with croup who fail the first extubation the results of this study suggest that steroids significantly increase the success of subsequent extubations.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · May 1990
Biography Historical ArticleThe fifty-sixth Bancroft Oration. "A transient popularity". Queensland's early anaesthetists.