British journal of anaesthesia
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It is important to be able to accurately monitor cardiac output (CO) during high-risk surgery and in critically ill patients. The invasiveness of the pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) limits its use, and therefore, new minimally invasive methods for CO monitoring are needed. A potential method is estimation of CO from endogenous carbon dioxide measurements, using a differentiated Fick's principle to determine effective pulmonary blood flow (EPBF). In this study, we aimed to validate a novel capnodynamic method (COEPBF) in a wide range of clinically relevant haemodynamic conditions. ⋯ COEPBF showed reliable trending abilities, equivalent to COPAC. COEPBF and COPAC also showed low bias but high percentage errors. Further studies in animal models of lung injury and in high-risk surgery patients are warranted.
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Awareness during general anaesthesia for Caesarean section (C/S), although uncommon, remains a concern for anaesthesiologists. We examined the relationship between the bispectral index (BIS) and responses to the isolated forearm technique (IFT) to evaluate the adequacy of general anaesthesia in C/S and determine a suitable cut-off point for BIS values based on IFT results. ⋯ The BIS is not reliable for monitoring anaesthesia depth in C/S. Lower than previously recommended values are needed to avoid IFT test responses during laryngoscopy, intubation, and skin incision.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Nitrous oxide does not produce a clinically important sparing effect during closed-loop delivered propofol-remifentanil anaesthesia guided by the bispectral index: a randomized multicentre study.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) offers both hypnotic and analgesic characteristics. We therefore tested the hypothesis that N2O administration decreases the amount of propofol and remifentanil given by a closed-loop automated controller to maintain a similar bispectral index (BIS). ⋯ With automated drug administration titrated to comparable BIS, N2O only slightly reduced propofol consumption and did not reduce remifentanil consumption. There was a minor gender dependence, but not by a clinically important amount. Clinical trial registration This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00547209.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Dexmedetomidine vs remifentanil intravenous anaesthesia and spontaneous ventilation for airway foreign body removal in children.
To compare the safety and efficacy of dexmedetomidine/propofol (DP)-total i.v. anaesthesia (TIVA) vs remifentanil/propofol (RP)-TIVA, both with spontaneous breathing, during airway foreign body (FB) removal in children. ⋯ Compared with RP-TIVA, DP-TIVA provided more stable respiratory and haemodynamic profiles, but required a longer recovery time. Clinical trial registration China Clinical Research Information Service, ChiCTR-TRC-13003018.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Peri-partum reference ranges for ROTEM(R) thromboelastometry.
Post-partum haemorrhage (PPH) causes rapidly developing deficiencies in clotting factors and contributes to substantial maternal morbidity and mortality. Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM(®)) is increasingly used as a point of care coagulation monitoring device in patients with massive haemorrhage; however, there are limited data on reference ranges in the peri-partum period. These are required due to the haemostatic changes in pregnancy. ⋯ Reference values for ROTEM(®) parameters are reported. The previously published correlation between FIBTEM parameters and plasma fibrinogen levels by the Clauss method is confirmed. Further research is needed to define threshold values for haemostatic therapy in the course of PPH. Clinical trial registration NTR 2515 (http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctview.asp?TC=2515).