British journal of anaesthesia
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Randomized, placebo-controlled trial of combination antiemetic prophylaxis for day-case gynaecological laparoscopic surgery.
In a randomized, double-blind trial, we compared i.v. ondansetron 4 mg (control), i.v. ondansetron 4 mg and cyclizine 50 mg (combination) and i.v. saline 0.9% (placebo), given after induction of standardized anaesthesia, for the prevention of nausea and vomiting (PONV) after day-case gynaecological laparoscopic surgery. Compared with placebo, fewer patients in the control group vomited (9/20 versus 11/59, P = 0.02) or needed rescue antiemetic (7/20 versus 9/59, P = 0.06) before discharge. ⋯ Compared with the control, the combination group had a significantly lower incidence (P = 0.001) and severity (P < 0.001) of nausea after discharge and more patients with no PONV at any time during the study (15/59 versus 27/60, P = 0.03). Unlike the placebo and control groups, no patient receiving combination prophylaxis was admitted overnight for PONV management.
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It is mostly acknowledged that 'normal' or 'healthy' ageing of the cardiovascular system is distinct from the increasing incidence and severity of cardiovascular disease with advancing age (e.g. hypertension, ischaemic heart disease and congestive heart failure). It is also recognized that chronological and biological age may differ considerably. Nevertheless, even in the absence of overt coexisting disease, advanced age is always accompanied by a general decline in organ function, and specifically by alterations in structure and function of the heart and vasculature that will ultimately affect cardiovascular performance. ⋯ On the basis of various clinical studies and observations, it must be concluded that advanced age is an independent predictor of adverse perioperative cardiac outcome. It is to be expected that the aged cardiovascular risk patient carries an even higher perioperative cardiac risk than the younger cardiovascular risk patient. Although knowledge of the physiology of ageing should help reduce age-related complications, successful prophylaxis is hindered by the heterogeneity of age-related changes, unpredictable physiological and pharmacological interactions and diagnostic difficultie
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Epiglottitis in the adult can be fatal and should be treated with the same degree of concern and suspicion in respect of airway patency as in children. We present three cases of adult epiglottitis in which the airway was lost prior to or during the intervention of an anaesthetist. We suggest that an emphasis on conservative management is distracting and belies the serious nature of this disease.
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Xenon has many characteristics of an ideal anaesthetic agent. It is not known whether xenon is a safe alternative to the potent inhalational anaesthetics in patients susceptible to malignant hyperthermia (MH). We investigated the effect of xenon, halothane and caffeine on muscle specimens of 31 individuals, referred to the MH Unit of the University of Ulm, and performed genetic epidemiology. ⋯ Xenon 70% did not cause an increase in baseline tension of any MH-susceptible muscle specimen in contrast to halothane and caffeine. The evoked twitch response increased transiently in MH-susceptible and normal specimens indicating a mechanism independent of MH susceptibility. These results suggest that xenon, in concentrations up to 70% may be a safe anaesthetic for MH-susceptible patients.
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We evaluated prospectively the use of Gram staining of protected pulmonary specimens to allow the early diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), compared with the use of 60 bronchoscopic protected specimen brushes (PSB) and 126 blinded plugged telescopic catheters (PTC) obtained from 134 patients. Gram stains were from Cytospin slides; they were studied for the presence of microorganisms in 10 and 50 fields by two independent observers and classified according to their Gram stain morphology. Quantitative cultures were performed after serial dilution and plating on appropriate culture medium. ⋯ The results obtained by the two observers were similar to each other for both numbers of fields analysed. Gram staining of protected pulmonary specimens performed on 10 fields predicted the presence of VAP and partially identified (using Gram stain morphology) the microorganisms growing at significant concentrations, and could help in the early choice of the treatment of VAP. Increasing the number of fields read or having the Gram stain analysed by two independent individuals did not improve the results.