Ann Acad Med Singap
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Ann Acad Med Singap · Sep 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialIntravenous regional anaesthesia using lignocaine and tramadol.
This prospective, randomised, double-blind study was designed to assess if the addition of 50 mg tramadol to 30 mL 0.5% lignocaine would improve the efficacy of intravenous regional anaesthesia. ⋯ There is a positive trend that tramadol might improve the quality of intravenous regional anaesthesia.
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Because the use of procalcitonin (PCT) as a marker of bacterial infection has been advocated, this study was carried out to determine the usefulness of plasma PCT in the early diagnosis and differentiation of patients with non-infectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) from those with sepsis, and the relationship between plasma PCT level and severity of organ failure. ⋯ CRP is increased by inflammatory disease as well as infection and is therefore not a good indicator of infection in patients with severe SIRS. On the other hand, PCT is a good indicator of severity of sepsis and organ failure in patients with severe SIRS since PCT levels correlated with sepsis and SOFA scores. PCT level is useful for diagnosis of sepsis and as an indicator of severity of organ failure in patients with SIRS.
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Abdominal complications after cardiac surgery are associated with a high mortality rate. Due to the absence of early specific clinical signs, diagnosis is often delayed. The present study seeks to determine predictive risk factors for subsequent gastrointestinal complications after cardiosurgical procedures. ⋯ A number of predictive factors has been described to contribute to the development of abdominal complications subsequently after cardiac surgery on cardiopulmonary bypass. Knowledge of these factors may lead to earlier identification of patients at increased risk and may allow for more efficient and earlier interventions.
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Ann Acad Med Singap · May 2001
The practice of foregoing life support in the critically ill "old old": a Singapore perspective.
To study the practice of foregoing life support (FLS) therapy between the young old and the old old. ⋯ Illness severity, as reflected by the APACHE II(M) score and the presence of a high-risk diagnosis, rather than age, predicted FLS orders.
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Ann Acad Med Singap · May 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialEffect of different endotracheal suctioning systems on cardiorespiratory parameters of ventilated patients.
We conducted this prospective randomised cross-over study to evaluate the effect of closed system (CS) versus open system (OS) endotracheal suctioning on heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), respiratory rate (RR), oxygen saturation (SpO2) and electrocardiogram (ECG) rhythm of patients on mechanical ventilation. ⋯ Our study shows that OS suctioning results in more adverse changes in cardiorespiratory parameters compared to CS suctioning.