Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthésie
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To study the detrimental effects of operating room noise, noise levels in operating rooms were first measured and the average noise level was calculated in Decibels, which was 77.32 dB(A). An audiocassette of 90 min duration was prepared recording the operating room noise. The same audiocassette was used later to expose the 20 anaesthesia residents to the operating room noise in the acoustically treated rooms of audiology department. ⋯ The mean pre-exposure scores for the Trail Making Test, Digit Symbol Test and Benton Visual Retention Test were 22.9 +/- 1.94, 83 +/- 2.62 and 9.55 +/- 0.51 respectively. The mean during-exposure scores were 16.35 +/- 1.39, 74.05 +/- 3.46 and 5.8 +/- 0.41 respectively (P < 0.05). In conclusion, we observed that operating room noise reduced the mental efficiency and short-term memory of anaesthesia residents.
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Comparative Study
Mivacurium infusion requirements following vecuronium: different response between adults and children.
The mivacurium infusion requirements following vecuronium were evaluated in 15 adults and 15 children in an open prospective clinical study. This study was undertaken to elucidate whether potentiation of effect occurred when a mivacurium infusion was administered after vecuronium was used for the facilitation of tracheal intubation. The adult patients were anaesthetized with N2O:02, propofol and fentanyl, the children with halothane (1%) N2O:O2. ⋯ Mivacurium infusion requirements following vecuronium are higher in children than adults. Potentiation of the effects of mivacurium were seen when vecuronium preceded mivacurium. This potentiation of effect lasted longer in adults than in children.
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Case Reports
Caudal epidural blood patch for the treatment of a paediatric subarachnoid-cutaneous fistula.
This clinical report describes the performance of an epidural blood patch in a four-year-old child with acute lymphocytic leukaemia, who developed a subarachnoid-cutaneous fistula from repeated lumbar punctures for chemotherapy. The epidural blood patch was performed using an #18-gauge epidural catheter threaded through a #16-gauge intravenous catheter via the caudal approach. This approach was successful in a child whose lumbar epidural anatomy was distorted due to a collection of subcutaneous cerebrospinal fluid making identification of the epidural space by the usual lumbar approach very difficult. This report demonstrates an alternative technique for the performance of an epidural blood patch.