Anaesthesia and intensive care
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The oxygen saturations of 152 children were studied for the first 30 minutes following general anaesthesia with a pulse oximeter. Thirty-six patients (24%) recorded oxygen saturations of less than 90% while breathing room air and in all cases this occurred during the first ten minutes. ⋯ There was no significant correlation with age, weight, procedure, time to wakening, or use of opiates. Clinical signs correlated poorly with hypoxaemia and it is recommended that all children should receive supplementary oxygen during transport to recovery wards and for at least the first ten minutes in recovery following general anaesthesia.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · May 1988
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialEpidural anaesthesia for caesarean section: a comparison of 0.5% bupivacaine and 2% lignocaine both with adrenaline.
Thirty-eight women having caesarean section under epidural anaesthesia received either lignocaine 2% or bupivacaine 0.5% both with adrenaline 1:200,000 in a double-blind, randomised study. The time to establish satisfactory surgical anaesthesia, the volume required and the quality of analgesia as assessed by the anaesthetist, patient pain and discomfort scales and patient approval, were not significantly different. ⋯ Neonatal outcomes were uniformly good. Both local anaesthetics provided satisfactory epidural anaesthesia and neither proved to have a distinct advantage in the clinical setting of this study.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · May 1988
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialThe prevention of gastric inflation--a neglected benefit of cricoid pressure.
The ability of cricoid pressure to prevent inflation of the stomach during mask ventilation of a patient was studied. Fifty patients were randomly allocated to either have or not have cricoid pressure applied during a three-minute period of standardised mask ventilation. ⋯ However, in a subgroup of patients considered difficult to ventilate, cricoid pressure seemed less successful in preventing gastric inflation. Cricoid pressure is a useful technique for reducing gastric inflation during mask ventilation, particularly in patients who are relatively easy to ventilate.