Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Aug 1998
Comment Letter Case ReportsInhalational induction with sevoflurane in central airway obstruction.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Aug 1998
Multicenter Study Clinical TrialTracheal intubation through the intubating laryngeal mask airway (LMA-Fastrach) in patients with difficult airways.
The intubating laryngeal mask airway was used in 31 adult patients in whom tracheal intubation was known or suspected to be difficult. The intubating laryngeal mask airway was successfully inserted in 30 patients and provided a clinically patent airway. ⋯ Tracheal intubation through the device was successful in 28 of 30 patients (93%). These results suggest that the intubating laryngeal mask airway has a potential role for tracheal intubation in adult patients with difficult airways.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Aug 1998
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialLack of efficacy of propofol in the treatment of early postoperative nausea and vomiting.
The anti-nauseant efficacy of low-dose propofol was investigated in a blinded, randomized trial. Patients who complained of nausea and/or vomiting following laparoscopic gynaecological surgery and who requested antiemetic were randomly assigned to receive placebo, propofol 3 mg, propofol 9 mg or propofol 27 mg by intravenous injection. Nausea, vomiting and sedation were recorded by a blinded observer for 90 minutes following administration of the test drug, prior to discharge, and 24 hours following surgery. ⋯ Numbers of patients receiving rescue antiemetic were similar in the four treatment groups. In the first 10 minutes following test drug administration, sedation scores were increased by propofol in a dose-related manner. We conclude that, in the dose range studied, propofol is ineffective for the treatment of nausea and vomiting occurring soon after laparoscopic gynaecological surgery.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Aug 1998
The third five-year survey of fellows (by examination) of the Faculty of Intensive Care, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists.
A questionnaire was sent to 126 Fellows who had passed the Fellowship Examination in Intensive Care up to and including the examination of October, 1995. The major objectives were to assess the continuing involvement of Fellows in Intensive Care and obtain feedback on training and the examinations. Only six Fellows failed to respond. ⋯ Although there was considerable individual variation, the Fellows had not changed their median amount of Intensive Care practice over time. The responders provided feedback on their work patterns in the public and private systems, and their training and examinations. Overall, the training/examination system appears to satisfy Fellows although some fine tuning is required.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Aug 1998
Comparative StudyScreening tests for predicting difficult intubation. A clinical assessment in Turkish patients.
Three methods of predicting difficult intubation were compared prospectively. Mallampati test, Wilson risk-sum and thyromental distance were determined preoperatively and laryngeal views were graded in 500 patients. The sensitivities, specificities, positive and negative predictive values of each test were calculated. ⋯ Among the different specificities, the only significant difference was observed between the Wilson risk-sum and the thyromental distance (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the positive and negative predictive values of the three screening tests (P > 0.05). In conclusion, the Wilson risk-sum was the most sensitive test and the thyromental distance has the highest positive predictive value for difficult intubation.