Anaesthesia
-
A complication in two female patients after spinal anaesthesia for Caesarean section is outlined. Both patients acquired permanent visual disturbances caused by pericentral ring scotomata, a condition not described before.
-
Dreaming under anaesthesia was investigated in a prospective study of 120 day case paediatric patients, aged 5-17 years, who underwent a variety of surgical procedures. Patients were anaesthetised using the 'Liverpool technique' of paediatric anaesthesia (nitrous oxide-oxygen-relaxant). ⋯ Analysis of the data revealed that the choice of muscle relaxant, (nondepolarising or depolarising) had a statistically significant effect on the incidence of dreaming (p less than 0.05). It is suggested that the technique of intermittent intravenous suxamethonium may result in increased muscle spindle discharge and cause cerebral arousal and an increased incidence of dreaming.
-
A variety of methods are currently available for the management of the diabetic patient in the peri-operative period. A questionnaire about current clinical practice was sent to all anaesthetists in the Oxford region. ⋯ Most anaesthetists aimed for blood glucose levels of 7-13 mmol/litre in the peri-operative period. The literature is also reviewed.