Surgical management of patients with severe anaemia due to acute blood loss: a case for withholding perioperative blood transfusion.

Twenty one consecutive patients who had an average packed cell volume (PCV) of 16.2% (range 13-25) due to acute blood loss were treated surgically without perioperative blood transfusion. All the surgical procedures were carried out under intravenous ketamine hydrochloride.

Chest complications of amoebic liver abscess: a report of six cases from Nigeria.

During a seven year period, six patients with intra-thoracic rupture of amoebic liver abscesses required surgical intervention. Of the six cases, three ruptured into the right pleural space, two into the right lower lobe and one into the pericardium. Definitive surgical procedures performed were decortication and repair of the diaphragm in three, segmental lung resection and repair of the diaphragm in two cases and continuous subxyphoid catheter drainage of the pericardium in the remaining case.

Anaemia and wound healing. A clinical observation in 38 patients.

In a six year period, 38 patients who had an average packed cell volume of 17.9% (range 14-25%) were treated surgically and their anaemia was corrected with oral haematinics post-operatively. Twenty one of the patients had emergency while 17 had elective surgical procedures under spinal (N = 30), ketamine hydrochloride (N = 6) and local infiltrating (N = 2) anaesthesia.