Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Sep 2011
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudySingle level paravertebral versus caudal block in paediatric inguinal surgery.
Paravertebral block (PVB) has been used for postoperative analgesia in children since 1992. There are no prospective randomised studies comparing the use of PVB versus caudal block (CB) for outpatient inguinal hernia repair surgery. The hypothesis of this study is that a single level, single injection PVB can provide a longer duration of analgesia and less requirement for supplemental analgesia than single shot CB for children undergoing inguinal surgery. ⋯ FLACC scores were the same in the both groups. Parental satisfaction was significantly higher in the PVB group compared to the CB group (74.3 vs 40%, P = 0.01). This study has demonstrated that a single level single injection paravertebral block provides superior intraoperative and postoperative analgesia when compared to a caudal block for unilateral inguinal hernia repair.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Sep 2011
Comparative StudyCerebrospinal fluid cytology in patients undergoing combined spinal epidural versus spinal anaesthesia without an introducer.
The problem of tissue coring exists despite the availability of smaller gauge spinal needles with special tip designs. The aim of the study was to test the hypotheses that a) subarachnoid block given as a part of a combined spinal epidural intervention by needle-through-needle technique introduces a lesser number of epithelial cells into the subarachnoid space compared to isolated subarachnoid block, and b) after lumbar puncture, the initial few drops of cerebrospinal fluid from the spinal needle will have a higher number of epithelial cells than the subsequent sample. One hundred and seven patients of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I to III undergoing infra-umbilical surgery were enrolled. ⋯ The median (interquartile range) number of cells in group A, for samples 1 and 2 was 6 (3 to 12.5) and 6 (3 to 10); and in group B, 3.5 (1 to 10) and 4 (1 to 8) respectively. Significant tissue coring was observed with both techniques. Discarding eight to 12 drops of cerebrospinal fluid did not help in reducing the epithelial cell load.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Sep 2011
Optimum bolus dose of propofol for tracheal intubation during sevoflurane induction without neuromuscular blockade in children.
The purpose of this study was to determine the optimum bolus dose of propofol required to provide excellent conditions for tracheal intubation following inhalational induction of anaesthesia using 5% sevoflurane without neuromuscular blockade. Twenty-eight children, aged three to seven years, requiring anaesthesia for short duration surgery were recruited. Two minutes after beginning the inhalational induction with 5% sevoflurane and 60% nitrous oxide, a predetermined dose of propofol was injected over 10 seconds. ⋯ Laryngoscopy was performed 50 seconds after propofol injection. The optimum dose of propofol required for excellent intubating conditions was 1.39 +/- 0.37 mg/kg in 50% of children during inhalation induction using 5% sevoflurane and 60% nitrous oxide in the absence of neuromuscular blocking agents. From probit analysis, the 95% effective dose of propofol was 2.33 mg/kg (95% confidence interval 1.78 to 6.21 mg/kg).
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Sep 2011
Modification of Diamedica drawover anaesthetic equipment to facilitate introduction to an Australian teaching hospital.
We wanted to provide training in the use of drawover techniques and apparatus at an Australian teaching hospital. Equipment based on the Diamedica vaporiser was selected as it is suitable for use with sevoflurane. ⋯ Two systems were purchased, the Diamedica Portable Anaesthesia System and a Glostavent anaesthetic machine. Changes made to the equipment to increase its safety and to comply with Australian standards are described.