Saudi journal of anaesthesia
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Neuraxial labor analgesia using new local anesthetics such as levobupivacaine has become very popular by virtue of the safety and lesser motor blockade caused by these agents. Combined spinal-epidural analgesia (CSEA) has become the preferred method for labor analgesia as it combines benefits of both spinal analgesia and flexibility of the epidural catheter. Adding opioids to local anesthetic drugs provide rapid onset and prolonged analgesia but may be associated with several maternal and fetal adverse effects. The purpose of this study is to compare fentanyl and tramadol used in CSEA in terms of duration of analgesia and frequency of the adverse fetomaternal outcome. ⋯ Adding tramadol to local anesthetic provides prolonged analgesia with minimal side effects. Fentanyl, when used as adjuvant to local anesthetic, has a rapid onset of analgesia but has certain fetomaternal side-effects.
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Recent reports of increased intracranial pressure (ICP) due to steep Trendelenburg (ST) position causing neurological deterioration, decreased regional cerebral oxygen saturation and postoperative visual loss after robotic urological and gynecological surgeries led us to consider a simple technique of ICP monitoring. Ours is one of the first instances reported of quantitative noninvasive measurement of increase in ICP with ST position by serial measurement of binocular optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) in patients undergoing robot assisted urological and gynecological oncosurgery. We tested whether ONSD values rose to above the upper limits of normal and for what length of time they remained elevated. ⋯ ONSD evaluation is a simple, quick, safe, readily available, reliable, cost effective, noninvasive, potential standard of care for screening and monitoring of patients undergoing robotic surgery in ST position.
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Some nonsurgical steps have been introduced to remove an entrapped catheter. But occasionally, the majority of them fail, and we are forced to extract the catheter through an invasive procedure. This article depicts our team's experience on the issue. ⋯ The intact catheter was removed easily in this stage. The authors believe, in this process, it would have been better if they had tried pulling the catheter in a prone position as a preliminary step. Furthermore, pulling the catheter in a prone position after injecting a muscle relaxant appeared to be more effective and saved the patient from the scheduled surgery.
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Traditionally propofol has been used for providing sedation in dilatation and curettage (D and C). Recently, dexmedetomidine has been tried, but very little evidence exists to support its use. ⋯ Dexmedetomidine provide better hemodynamic and recovery profile than propofol. It can be a superior alternative for short surgical day care procedures.
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Traumatic cervical lesions compressing the spinal cord pose a significant risk of exacerbating the existing neurological condition during tracheal intubation and subsequent positioning. Preexisting ankylosing spondylitis with spinal column involvement renders the spinal column more rigid and introduces difficulty in airway management of the patient with traumatic cervical spinal cord. To improve ease and success, and reduce cervical spine movement, awake fibreoptic intubation (FOI) is considered the gold standard technique for airway management in such cases. ⋯ To prevent neurological injury to the spinal cord and preserve spinal cord function, minimizing movement during intubation and attaining appropriate position was of prime concern. Optimal sedation with self-positioning by the patient in a comfortable posture is quite imperative and assures both airway as well as neurological protection in such expected difficult situations. We report the use of dexmedetomidine for self-positioning and awake FOI in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis having traumatic cervical spine who was otherwise neither able to co-operative nor able to give appropriate position for FOI.