Journal of perianesthesia nursing : official journal of the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses
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J. Perianesth. Nurs. · Oct 2011
Use of ephedrine for the short-term treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting: a case report.
Ephedrine, a well-known sympathomimetic agent, is used in the perioperative setting to treat acute hypotension, especially hypotension related to anesthetic events. Ephedrine's unlabeled use as an antiemetic agent is less well known despite its efficacy and safety profile for short-term and/or prophylactic treatment. The following case report describes the benefits of using ephedrine to mitigate postoperative nausea and vomiting and associated dizziness while waiting for longer lasting therapy to take effect and/or use as a secondary agent.
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Delirium occurs in 14% to 56% of postoperative, hospitalized elderly persons, making it one of the most common postoperative complications for the older patient. The aim of this study was to determine factors associated with recovery of delirium from postoperative day one (POD 1) to postoperative day two (POD 2). The hypothesis was that those with less pain are more likely to recover from delirium by POD 2. ⋯ Patients with lower pain levels (NRS ≤4) were also more likely to recover from delirium on POD 2. The type of postoperative pain therapy (the use or nonuse of patient-controlled analgesia) was not related to delirium recovery. The results suggest that aggressive pain management in the first 48 hours postoperatively may be important in promoting recovery from postoperative delirium.
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J. Perianesth. Nurs. · Jun 2011
Esophageal, tympanic, rectal, and skin temperatures in children undergoing surgery with general anesthesia.
The purpose of this study was to determine the degrees of agreement between various sites of temperature measurement and examine the trend of body temperature in children during surgery under general anaesthesia. Thirty-six consecutive children who underwent surgery with general anaesthesia, had temperatures measured at the oesophagus, skin, ear canal and rectum at baseline, every 15 minutes for the first hour and every 30 minutes thereafter. Spearman correlation and Bland-Altman analyses were used to compare data and trends of mean differences assessed by line graphs. ⋯ Bland-Altman plots showed that the least difference (bias) at baseline (0.3°C) was between the oesophageal and tympanic temperatures while at 1 hour (0.13°C ) was between the oesophageal and rectal temperatures. The oesophageal site was the closest to rectal for monitoring core temperature while the skin was the least reliable site in the study population. In the situation where oesophageal probe is not routine or functioning, rectal or tympanic temperatures may be used.