Paediatric anaesthesia
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Jun 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialComparison of patient-controlled analgesia with and without a background infusion after appendicectomy in children.
There have been many studies using patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) and opioids for postoperative analgesia in children. In this study, we investigated the efficacy, usefulness and analgesic consumption of two different PCA programmes [bolus dose alone (BD) or bolus dose with background infusion (BD + BI)] to evaluate postoperative analgesia for children after emergency appendicectomy. ⋯ We demonstrated that both these PCA programmes were effective and reliable for postoperative pain relief in children. We believe that giving information about PCA to the children and their parents is useful during the preoperative period. However, the background infusion with lower bolus dose in PCA did not increase pethidine consumption.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Jun 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialComparison between instillation of bupivacaine versus caudal analgesia for postoperative analgesia following inguinal herniotomy in children.
In this study we compare the postoperative pain relief for inguinal herniotomy in children provided by instillation of bupivacaine into the wound with that provided by a caudal block. ⋯ Instillation of bupivacaine into a wound provides postoperative pain relief following hernia repair, which is as effective as that provided by a postoperative caudal block.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Jun 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialDouble-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial of the effect of ketamine on postoperative morphine consumption in children following appendicectomy.
Ketamine has an opioid sparing effect following surgery in adults. This study investigated whether a similar effect is seen following appendicectomy in paediatric patients. ⋯ In this paediatric population intravenous ketamine did not have a morphine sparing effect. The increased incidence of side-effects, especially hallucinations, reported by patients given a ketamine infusion may limit the further use of postoperative ketamine in children.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Jun 2003
Case ReportsDouble trouble: prolapsing epiglottis and unexpected dual pathology in an infant.
A 3-week-old full-term female neonate was admitted with a 4-day history of episodic stridor, desaturations and difficult feeding. Initial assessment using fluoroscopy suggested distal tracheomalacia. Inhalational induction for examination under anaesthesia of the upper airway at 4 weeks of age caused almost complete airway obstruction due to severe anterior, or epiglottic, laryngomalacia. ⋯ A ventilation perfusion scan subsequently revealed multiple pulmonary arteriovenous malformations, unsuitable for embolization and requiring nocturnal home oxygen therapy. Review at 3 months of age found a thriving infant with no airway obstruction and good epiglottic positioning on examination under anaesthesia. Although the patient's oxygen requirements had diminished, the long-term outcome remains uncertain.