Middle East journal of anaesthesiology
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Middle East J Anaesthesiol · Feb 2007
ReviewManagement of the patient at high risk for postoperative nausea and vomiting.
Postoperative nausea and vomiting continue to be problematic areas in anesthesia as evidenced by frequent reports of therapies in the literature. No single therapy has been proven curative for all cases, in part because of the several emetic centers, all of which may be blocked by different classes of drugs and the diverse risk factors which act alone or in combination to cause vomiting. Identification of the patient most at risk allows for cost effective prophylactic management. An appropriate anesthetic technique can be planned that, relying on evidence based medicine, will decrease if not prevent the incidence of this most troubling complication.
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Middle East J Anaesthesiol · Jun 2006
ReviewMedico-legal aspects in anesthesia: how to lead a happy life.
This article discusses medico-legal aspects in anesthesia. It underlines the standards of care by which anesthesiologists should abide by, as well as define malpractice, its causes, and ways to avoid it. The role of the expert witness is explained and the ethical guidelines to follow are outlined.
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Auto-positive end expiratory pressure (auto-PEEP) is a physiologic event that is common to mechanically ventilated patients. Auto-PEEP is commonly found in acute severe asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or patients receiving inverse ratio ventilation. Factors predisposing to auto-PEEP include a reduction in expiratory time by increasing the respiratory rate, tidal volume or inspiratory time. ⋯ The work of breathing can be decreased by providing external PEEP to 75-80% of auto-PEEP in patients who are spontaneously breathing during mechanical ventilation but there is no evidence such external PEEP would be useful during controlled mechanical ventilation when there is no patient inspiratory effort. Ventilator setting should aim for a prolonged expiratory time by reducing the respiratory rate rather than increasing inspiratory flow. Routine monitoring for auto-PEEP in patients receiving controlled ventilation is recommended.
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Middle East J Anaesthesiol · Jun 2004
Review Comparative StudyDesflurane vs. sevoflurane--a review.