Heparin/N-acetylcysteine: an adjuvant in the management of burn inhalation injury: a study of different doses.

Purpose: Nebulized heparin may reduce fibrin cast formation and reduce the degree of airway obstruction in burn inhalation injury.

Methods: Twenty-nine patients admitted to burn intensive care unit (ICU) within 24 hours of burn inhalation injury were included in this prospective double-blinded randomized study. Group H5 received nebulized heparin sulfate 5,000 IU, and group H10 received nebulized heparin sulfate 10,000 IU.

Intraarticular injection of magnesium sulphate and/or bupivacaine for postoperative analgesia after arthroscopic knee surgery.

Background: Intraarticular bupivacaine is often used for prevention of pain after arthroscopic knee surgery. Intraarticular magnesium, a N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor blocker, would be of particular interest in either producing postoperative analgesia or enhancing the analgesic effect of intraarticular bupivacaine. We designed this study to determine whether intraarticular magnesium sulfate or bupivacaine results in a decrease in visual analog scale (VAS) score followed by a decrease in analgesic requirement and whether their combination would provide more reduction in VAS, and subsequently less analgesic requirement, than either drug alone.

Pulsed steroid therapy is an effective treatment for intractable hyperemesis gravidarum.

Objective: Intractable hyperemesis gravidarum remains a serious cause of morbidity among pregnant women. If not controlled, hyperemesis gravidarum can lead to severe disability, electrolyte and acid base imbalance, and even various organ system dysfunctions. From the successful use of steroids for chemotherapy-induced emesis, corticosteroids might prove useful in hyperemesis gravidarum.