British journal of anaesthesia
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Spinal anaesthesia with ropivacaine 5 mg ml(-1) in glucose 10 mg ml(-1) or 50 mg ml(-1).
Forty patients undergoing spinal anaesthesia for a variety of surgical procedures were randomly allocated to receive 3 ml of ropivacaine 5 mg ml(-1) in glucose 10 mg ml(-1) or 50 mg ml(-1). Onset of sensory block to T10 was significantly faster (P=0.03) with the glucose 50 mg ml(-1) solution (median 5 min, range 2-20 min) than with the 10 mg ml(-1) solution (median 10 min, range 2-25 min). ⋯ Complete motor block was produced in the majority of patients (10 mg ml(-1) 90%; 50 mg ml(-1) 85%) and the time to complete regression was the same in both groups (median 120 min, range 90-210 min). A block adequate for the projected surgery was achieved in all patients.
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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).
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Intrathecal sufentanil and morphine for post-thoracotomy pain relief.
In this double-blind randomized study we compared a group of 15 patients undergoing thoracotomy who received a spinal injection of sufentanil 20 microg combined with morphine (200 microg) after induction of general anaesthesia with a control group of the same size. Post-operative pain was rated on a visual analogue scale (VAS) and a verbal rating scale at rest and with a VAS on coughing. In the recovery room, patients received titrated i.v. morphine until the VAS score was <30, and were followed by patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) for 72 h. ⋯ There were no differences after this time. Spirometric data (peak expiratory flow, forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in 1 s) were similar in the two groups. We conclude that the combination of intrathecal sufentanil and morphine produces analgesia of rapid onset and with a duration of 24 h.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Psychomotor recovery in very old patients after total intravenous or balanced anaesthesia for cataract surgery.
We compared psychomotor recovery after total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) with remifentanil/propofol and balanced anaesthesia (BAL) with etomidate/fentanyl/isoflurane in 40 patients, ASA I-III, aged > or =80 yr undergoing elective cataract surgery. Recovery times were recorded and psychomotor recovery was assessed according to simple reaction time, critical flicker fusion frequency (CFF) and short-term memory 30 min, 2 h and 1 day after surgery. Physical characteristics of patients in the two groups (19 in the TIVA group and 21 in the BAL group) were comparable. ⋯ Only performance in the CFF test remained below baseline at this point. No deficits in psychomotor performance were noted on the first day after surgery. We conclude that there is only a minor deficit in psychomotor function in elderly patients 2 h after cataract surgery under general anaesthesia and that psychomotor function recovers completely by 24 h after surgery.