British journal of anaesthesia
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There is little experience of anaesthesia for patients with Huntington's chorea. These patients have an increased risk of intraoperative complications such as pulmonary aspiration. We present the successful anaesthetic management of a 17-yr-old patient suffering from Huntington's chorea requiring urgent appendectomy. ⋯ For maintenance of neuromuscular blockade mivacurium 10 mg was administered and repeated 15 min later. Except for a short episode of postoperative shivering, the perioperative course was uneventful. Sevoflurane and mivacurium were used safely and effectively in this patient.
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Dry lime causes a loss of volatile anaesthetics by degrading and adsorbing them. Degradation produces toxic substances and heat. Rehydration of lime stops degradation. ⋯ Humidity increased steeper with fresh lime, whereas absorbent weight increased more with dried lime; halothane increased both variables (F + H: 99%, 8 g; F - H: 93%, 6 g; D + H: 58%, 17 g; D - H: 24%, 15 g). Surprisingly, temperature remained constant, probably because of the high gas flow (70 litres min-1) generated inside the Physioflex. These findings indicate rehydration of dried lime by humid gases and a rapid cessation of the loss of halothane in the PhysioFlex.