Anaesthesia
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Ventilator-associated pneumonia is common, difficult to diagnose, affects the most vulnerable of patients and carries a high mortality. During prolonged mechanical ventilation the oropharynx, sinuses, dentition and stomach of critically ill patients become colonised with pathogenic bacteria. Colonised secretions pool in the oropharynx and subglottic space. ⋯ The inflammatory response is characterised by capillary congestion, leucocyte and macrophage infiltration and fibrinous exudation into the alveolar spaces. If this inflammatory response occurs more than 48 h after intubation, it is called ventilator-associated pneumonia. Prevention depends on reducing upper airway and gastrointestinal reservoirs of bacteria, reducing or abolishing aspiration of these bacteria past the tracheal tube cuff and enhancing bacterial clearance from the lower airways.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Extending low-dose epidural analgesia for emergency Caesarean section. A comparison of three solutions.
We conducted a prospective double-blind randomised trial to compare bupivacaine 0.5%; a 50 : 50 mixture of bupivacaine 0.5%/lignocaine 2% with 1 : 200 000 adrenaline (final concentration); and lignocaine 2% with 1 : 200 000 adrenaline for converting a low-dose labour epidural into a block adequate for emergency Caesarean section. Ninety patients were studied, 30 in each group. ⋯ Onset time was unaffected by the existing sensory level pre-Caesarean section top-up; the number of low-dose top-ups in labour; the total dose of bupivacaine in labour; or maternal weight or height. Three patients in the lignocaine with adrenaline group had blocks that reached the cervical dermatomes and three in the same group required general anaesthesia for inadequate anaesthesia, compared with none in the other groups (both p = 0.04).
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Preliminary UK experience of dexmedetomidine, a novel agent for postoperative sedation in the intensive care unit.
Dexmedetomidine, a highly selective and potent alpha2-adrenergic agonist, has a potentially useful role as a sedative agent in patients requiring intensive care. As part of a larger European multicentre trial, a total of 119 postoperative cardiac and general surgical patients requiring ventilation and sedation in an intensive care unit were enrolled in four centres in the United Kingdom. ⋯ Cardiovascular effects and adverse events could be predicted from the known properties of alpha-2 agonists. In conclusion, dexmedetomidine is a useful agent for the provision of postoperative analgesia and sedation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A comparison of the effect of rocuronium and vecuronium on heart rate during gynaecological laparoscopy.
The effect on intra-operative heart rate of two nondepolarising muscle relaxants, rocuronium and vecuronium, was compared in 116 fit out-patients undergoing gynaecological laparoscopic procedures. Both groups received an anaesthetic technique which differed only in the choice of muscle relaxant. ⋯ Profound bradycardias (heart rate < 30 beat.min-1) did not occur in any of the patients in the rocuronium study group, whereas 5% of patients receiving vecuronium had a period of transient asystole. We conclude that, at the doses stated, rocuronium results in significantly fewer episodes of bradycardia than vecuronium when used as a muscle relaxant for laparoscopic gynaecological procedures.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The effect of pre-emptive acupuncture treatment on analgesic requirements after day-case knee arthroscopy.
The role of acupuncture analgesia in the management of postoperative pain is yet to be clearly evaluated. We conducted a prospective, double-blind, randomised controlled study to evaluate the effect of acupuncture pretreatment on the analgesic requirement after knee arthroscopy. ⋯ There was no significant difference between the two groups in any of the outcome measures. We conclude that acupuncture analgesia has no additional effect when given under anaesthesia to patients undergoing knee arthroscopy.