Anaesthesia
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The use of a low-power nerve stimulator to aid nerve location during the performance of sciatic nerve block was compared with a conventional anatomically based technique. The success rate, both in terms of the production of an effective block and the duration of postoperative analgesia, was significantly higher in the stimulator groups than in the non-stimulator groups. The implications of the study for both clinical and teaching practice are discussed.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Magill versus Mallinckrodt tracheal tubes. A comparative study of postoperative sore throat.
An attempt to assess the relative merits of Magill and Mallinckrodt tracheal tubes is described. One hundred patients scheduled for routine gynaecological operations were randomly allocated to one of two groups of 50; in one, Magill red rubber tubes were used and in the other, Mallinckrodt tubes. ⋯ Fifty percent of those intubated with Magill tubes suffered sore throats, compared with 28% with Mallinckrodt (p less than 0.05). In both groups, sore throat was more frequent in younger patients undergoing short operations: smokers intubated with Magill tubes had significantly more sore throat than smokers in whom Mallinckrodt tubes were used.
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An historically prospective study of the rates of early retirement due to permanent ill health, early retirement between 60 and 64 years of age for other reasons, and deaths while in post, among consultant anaesthetists in England was carried out. The control group comprised consultants in four other hospital specialty groups. Approximately two-thirds of all consultants employed in the five specialties at National Health Service hospitals in England during 1966-83 were included in the study. ⋯ The number of deaths in post was also raised. For the smaller group of female anaesthetists there was not a statistically significant excess of ill-health retirements, but the number of early retirements between 60 and 64 was significantly greater than expected (p less than 0.005), as was the number of deaths in post (p less than 0.001). Possible causes of these excesses are discussed.