Pestivirus infection in sheep and goats in West Austria.

Blood samples from 3112 sheep (185 flocks) and 1196 goats (163 flocks) from the Western region of Austria were tested for pestivirus-specific RNA. In this area, communal Alpine pasturing of sheep, cattle and goats is an important part of farming. The prevalence of sheep persistently-infected (PI) with pestivirus was 0.

[Nalbuphine as compared with pethidine for postoperative pain therapy].

Nalbuphine is a new partly agonistic antagonistic opioid, that may offer some advantages especially in postoperative pain relief. We compared meperidine (1 mg kg-1) in 100 patients and nalbuphine (0.3 mg kg-1) in 70 patients, administering both agents intravenously after gynaecological operations.

Safe use of propofol in a patient with acute intermittent porphyria.

On two occasions a patient suffering from acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) was anaesthetized with propofol as the sole agent. The concentrations of urinary porphobilinogen, porphyrins and porphyrin precursors did not exceed preoperative values, and no exacerbation of the disease was noted.

[Lesion of the brachial plexus, caused by wrong positioning during surgery].

We report three patients, which showed plexus palsies after routine operations. Compression and stretch of the nerves despite pads leaded to nerve injury in patient A. Abduction of the arm, fixed wrist, hypotension in steep Trendelenburg position and a preexisting shoulder-arm-syndrome were the causes in patient B.