Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Oct 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialEpinephrine added to a lumbar epidural infusion of a small-dose ropivacaine-fentanyl mixture after arterial bypass surgery of the lower extremities.
The addition of epinephrine (2 micro g.ml-1) to a thoracic epidural infusion of an opioid-local anesthetic mixture improves analgesia. Here, we studied whether epinephrine could improve analgesia also at lumbar level, when added to an epidural infusion of a low-dose ropivacaine-fentanyl mixture after arterial bypass surgery of the legs. ⋯ In the dosage used here, epinephrine did not improve epidural lumbar analgesia. Different distances from the epidural application site to the alpha2-adrenergic receptors of the spinal cord, and differing epinephrine dose requirements may explain why epinephrine as an additive improves epidural analgesia at thoracic, but not at lumbar level.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Oct 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialSeizure duration with remifentanil/methohexital vs. methohexital alone in middle-aged patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy.
The object of this study was to test whether substituting part of the methohexital dose with the short-acting opioid remifentanil would prolong seizure duration in middle-aged patients while providing a similar depth of anesthesia as with methohexital alone. This has been reported for the combined use of methohexital and remifentanil in elderly patients, but has not been investigated in middle-aged patients likely to require a higher total dose of methohexital for inducing anesthesia. ⋯ Substituting part of the methohexital dose with remifentanil is a useful anesthetic technique to prolong seizure duration in middle-aged patients requiring a 1.5-fold higher induction dose of methohexital than elderly patients, the only population studied to date for the combined use of methohexital and remifentanil in ECT.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Oct 2003
Neither vasopressin nor amiodarone improve CPR outcome in an animal model of hypothermic cardiac arrest.
Aim of this experimental animal study was to investigate the influence of vasopressin and amiodarone on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) outcome in a pig model of hypothermic cardiac arrest. ⋯ Data from this experimental animal model suggest that vasopressin and amiodarone may not be beneficial for treatment of ventricular fibrillation associated with severe hypothermia when concomitant measures at core rewarming are not applied.