British journal of anaesthesia
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Intrathecal fentanyl for post-thoracotomy pain.
This double-blind, placebo-controlled study investigated the efficacy of intermittent doses of intrathecal fentanyl in 30 patients undergoing thoracotomy. They were allocated randomly to three groups, two of which had microspinal catheters inserted into the lumbar subarachnoid space at the end of surgery; the third group acted as a control. Intrathecal fentanyl or 0.9% saline was administered through the catheters and all patients received morphine using a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) system. ⋯ Intrathecal fentanyl resulted in a faster onset of analgesia (mean visual analogue scale (VAS) score at 1 h = 0.9 compared with 6.3 (95% confidence intervals for the difference -6.8, -4.0) for the other groups; P < 0.001) and significantly lower pain scores at rest, on cough and on movement. PEFR values were consistently higher in the intrathecal fentanyl group. There were no cases of early or delayed respiratory depression.
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Case Reports
Peripartum cardiomyopathy presenting as a cardiac arrest at induction of anaesthesia for emergency caesarean section.
Peripartum cardiomyopathy is defined as the onset of acute heart failure without demonstrable cause in the last trimester of pregnancy or within the first 6 months after delivery. It occurs in about 1 in 4000 deliveries and is often unrecognized as symptoms of normal pregnancy commonly mimic those of mild heart failure. We describe a previously asymptomatic patient who presented with a cardiac arrest at induction of general anaesthesia for emergency Caesarean section and subsequently developed acute heart failure. This case is unique both in its mode of presentation and the total absence of antecedent symptoms or signs of cardiac disease.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Haemodynamic effects of propofol infusion for sedation after coronary artery surgery.
We have compared the haemodynamic effects of a sedative dose of propofol with placebo (vehicle of propofol) in a randomized, double-blind study in 20 patients immediately after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). During a continuous infusion of a mixture of fentanyl and pancuronium, each patient was given in a crossover design, a loading dose of propofol 0.5 mg kg-1 and vehicle over 5 min followed by a continuous infusion of propofol 20 micrograms kg-1 min-1 and vehicle, respectively, for 55 min. ⋯ These data suggest that, during the recovery phase from CABG surgery, a short-term infusion of a sedative dose of propofol decreases systemic and pulmonary arterial pressure by decreasing systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance, respectively, and cardiac output. The decrease in cardiac output appeared to be caused mainly by a decrease in stroke volume.