British journal of anaesthesia
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An association between intercostal nerve block and the development of a total spinal is rare. Usually, subarachnoid injection is considered to have followed intraneural placement or inadvertent entrance into a dural cuff extending beyond an intervertebral foramen. ⋯ This was a life-threatening event that occurred on two occasions before the definitive diagnosis was made. It is considered likely that the paravertebral catheter entered an intervertebral foramen and the tip perforated the dura.
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Due to the growing importance of quality assurance and cost containment in healthcare, eliciting patients' preferences for post-operative outcomes may be a more economical and reliable method of assessing quality. Three hundred and fifty-five day surgery patients completed a pre-operative written questionnaire to identify patients' preferences for avoiding 10 particular post-operative symptoms: pain, nausea, vomiting, disorientation, shivering, sore throat, drowsiness, gagging on the tracheal tube, thirst and a normal outcome. ⋯ Avoiding post-operative pain, gagging on the tracheal tube and nausea and vomiting are major priorities for day-case patients. Anaesthetists should take patients' preferences into consideration when developing guidelines and planning anaesthetic care.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of relaxant effects of propofol on methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction in dogs with and without vagotomy.
Propofol has been suggested to have in vivo airway relaxant effects, although the mechanism is still unclear. In this study, we determined whether propofol could antagonize methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction and determined whether vagotomy modifies this relaxant effect. Fourteen mongrel dogs anaesthetized with pentobarbital and pancuronium were assigned to a control group (n=7) and a vagotomy group (n=7). ⋯ The two groups did not differ significantly in the maximal inhibitory effect of propofol [control group, 61.1% (46.3-75.9%), vagotomy group, 64.2% (40.1-88.3%)] or pIC50 [control group 5.03 (4.55-5.51), vagotomy group 4.86 (4.49-5.24)]. Therefore, the relaxant effects of propofol on methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction may not be mediated centrally. Propofol may relax airway smooth muscles directly or through the peripheral vagal pathway.
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Differences in the pharmacokinetics of propofol between male and female patients during and after continuous infusion have not been described in detail in patients aged 65 yr and older. To increase our insight into the pharmacokinetics of propofol in this patient population and to obtain pharmacokinetic parameters applicable in target controlled infusion (TCI), the pharmacokinetics of propofol during and after continuous infusion were studied in 31 ASA class 1 and 2 patients, aged 65-91 yr, scheduled for general surgery. Patients received propofol 1.5 mg kg(-1) i.v. in 1 min followed by 7 mg kg(-1) h(-1) until skin closure in the presence of a variable rate infusion of alfentanil during oxygen-air ventilation. ⋯ Gender significantly affected the pharmacokinetics of propofol. V3, Cl1 and Cl2 were significantly different between male and female patients, weight only affected Cl1. The pharmacokinetic parameters were: V1=4.88 litre, V2=24.50 litre, V3 (litre)=115+147 x gender (gender: male=1, female=2), Cl1 (litre min(-1))=-0.29+0.022 x weight+0.22 x gender, Cl2 (litre min(-1))=2.84-0.65 x gender (male=1, female=2), and Cl3=0.788 litre min(-1).