Anaesthesia
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
The effect of music on anaesthetists' psychomotor performance.
Music is frequently played in operating theatres, but may prove distracting to anaesthetists. We undertook a laboratory-based study of the effects of music on the psychomotor performance of 12 anaesthetic trainees. Using part of the computer-based PsychE psychomotor evaluation programme, we were unable to demonstrate any effect of self-chosen music, silence, white noise or classical music on their performance in these tests.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
A new gas jet method for the assessment of sensory block after spinal anaesthesia.
We evaluated a new method of assessing sensory block after spinal anaesthesia using a fine gas jet and compared it with other established methods. The gas jet method was used to test the block before and after surgery and was found to compare favourably with pin-prick (median difference 0 and 0 dermatomes) and ethyl chloride (median difference 0.5 and 1.0 dermatomes) but less well with cotton wool (median difference -2.0 and -2.0 dermatomes).
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Timing of removal of the laryngeal mask airway.
Previous studies reported that complications associated with removal of the laryngeal mask were more frequent in awake patients than in anaesthetised patients; however, these studies did not comply with the method described in the manufacturer's instruction manual. The reported incidences of regurgitation during the use of the laryngeal mask also differ considerably between studies. We studied these factors in 66 patients in whom the method described in the manual was used. ⋯ No apparent regurgitation occurred in any patient during operation, but one patient in the anaesthetised group regurgitated immediately after removal of the mask. The incidence of complications during or after removal of the laryngeal mask was significantly greater in the anaesthetised group than that in the awake group (p < 0.001; difference [95% CI]: 48.5 [30.5-66.5]%). Therefore, the laryngeal mask can be safely left in place until the patient has regained consciousness after emergence from anaesthesia.