Articles: general-anesthesia.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Incidence and clinical importance of perioperative histamine release: randomised study of volume loading and antihistamines after induction of anaesthesia. Trial Group Mainz/Marburg.
Although histamine release is recognised as a common event during anaesthesia and surgery, few clinicians judge the resultant cardiorespiratory disturbances serious enough to warrant prophylaxis with antihistamines. We have assessed the incidence and importance of histamine release in a randomised 2 x 2 factorial study. 240 patients representing a routine throughput of major general surgery were studied during a standardised induction of anaesthesia and preoperative loading of the circulation with either Ringer solution or Haemaccel-35, with or without antihistamine prophylaxis with dimetindene (H1) plus cimetidine (H2). Cardiorespiratory disturbances were graded as detectable, clinically relevant, or life-threatening from observers' records of the anaesthesia and the actions taken by the anaesthetists. ⋯ The histamine-related disturbances under anaesthesia were remarkable for their severity (even with small rises in histamine concentrations), for the prevalence of bradycardia, and for the absence of skin signs. Their likelihood and severity were increased in patients with tumours. The results of the trial make a case for routine prophylaxis with antihistamines as part of anaesthetic management.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Delayed ACTH response to human corticotropin releasing hormone during cardiopulmonary bypass under diazepam-high dose fentanyl anaesthesia.
The inhibitory effect of high dose fentanyl (0.1 mg.kg-1) and diazepam (0.5 mg.kg-1) anaesthesia on the pituitary-adrenal response to coronary artery surgery during cardiopulmonary bypass was assessed by comparison of the adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol responses to intravenous boluses of either 0.1 mg (n = 14) or 0.2 mg (n = 14) human corticotropin releasing hormone administered 5 min after starting cardiopulmonary bypass, with the responses obtained in a control group (n = 14). Blood samples were taken before inducing anaesthesia, just before cardiopulmonary bypass and at 5, 20, 35, 50, 65 and 80 min thereafter. ⋯ Plasma cortisol concentrations did not vary between the three groups at any sampling time. During cardiopulmonary bypass the early adrenocorticotropic responses to human corticotropin releasing hormone are blunted but later there is a good response, suggesting that the inhibitory effect of high dose fentanyl and diazepam anaesthesia takes place in the hypothalamus.