Anaesthesia
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A comparison of Rapydan® patch and Ametop® gel for venous cannulation.
Ametop(®) gel (4% tetracaine) is used to provide topical anaesthesia for venous cannulation. Rapydan(®) patch (7% lidocaine and 7% tetracaine) has been developed to provide topical anaesthesia by a different mechanism, that of heat assisted delivery. We compared the topical anaesthetic effect of these agents for venous cannulation. ⋯ Median(IQR[range]) pain scores were not different between groups with 11 (5-20 [0-72]) for Rapydan and 10 (5-24 [0-95]) for Ametop (p = 0.63). Adequate topical anaesthesia was achieved in over 90% of patients in both groups. Rapydan produces topical anaesthesia comparable with Ametop for venous cannulation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Comparison of the GlideScope® videolaryngoscope and the Macintosh laryngoscope for double-lumen tube intubation.
Intubation with a double-lumen tube is important for achieving one-lung ventilation and facilitating thoracic surgery. The GlideScope(®) videolaryngoscope (Verathon Inc., Bothell, WA, USA) is designed to assist tracheal intubation for patients with a difficult airway. We wished to compare the GlideScope and direct laryngoscopy for double-lumen tube intubation. ⋯ There was no difference in the success of the first attempt at intubation (26/30 (87%) and 30/30 (100%) for Macintosh and GlideScope groups, respectively; p = 0.112). The incidence of sore throat and hoarseness was higher in the Macintosh group (18 (60%) and 14 (47%), respectively) than in the GlideScope group (6 (20%) and 4 (13%), respectively; p = 0.003 and 0.004). We conclude that double-lumen tube intubation in patients with predicted normal laryngoscopy is easier using the GlideScope videolaryngoscope than the Macintosh laryngoscope.