A comparison of nasogastric tube insertion techniques without using other instruments in anesthetized and intubated patients.

Background And Objectives: Several techniques are available to facilitate nasogastric (NG) tube insertion with or without using other instruments to guide the NG tube to the stomach. This study aimed to determine the success rate and time required for inserting NG tube by 2 non-instrumental methods of NG tube insertion and compare the findings with the common method of NG tube insertion.

Design And Settings: A prospective randomized, controlled clinical trial carried out at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan.

Anesthetic management of a repeat cesarean section in a parturient with severe peripartum cardiomyopathy requiring ECMO in a previous pregnancy: a case report.

The number of pregnant women with cardiac disease is increasing with improvements in technology. In addition, more people are part of the national health insurance plan. However, there are few reports concerning the best method for anesthesia and mode of delivery in these high-risk patients.

Ultrasonic cardiac output monitor provides accurate measurement of cardiac output in recipients after liver transplantation.

Background: The ultrasonic cardiac output monitor (USCOM; USCOM Pty. Ltd., Sydney, NSW, Australia) has been accepted as a noninvasive device for measuring cardiac function in various clinical conditions.

Myocardial infarction masked by high level spinal anesthesia in a patient undergoing herniorrhaphy.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the leading causes of perioperative morbidity. Although evidence to prove significant reduction of perioperative MI with regional anesthesia is lacking, anesthesiologists still prefer this technique over general anesthesia for surgery involving the lower abdomen or lower extremities, especially in patients with cardiac risks. However, high level of sensory block during spinal anesthesia may obscure the referred pain from MI, which could contribute to the delay of diagnosis and treatment of an acute perioperative attack.

Efficacy of ultrasound-guided axillary brachial plexus block: a comparative study with nerve stimulator-guided method.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of axillary brachial plexus block using an ultrasound-guided method with the nerve stimulator-guided method. We also compared the efficacy of ultrasound-guided single-injection with those of double-injection for the quality of the block.

Methods: Ninety patients scheduled for surgery of the forearm or hand were randomly allocated into three groups (n = 30 per group), i.

Paraplegia by acute cervical disc protrusion after lumbar spine surgery.

Non-traumatic paraplegia caused by herniation of the cervical intervertebral disc is an uncommon postoperative complication. A patient with claudication and radiculopathy was scheduled for lumbar laminectomy due to spinal stenosis. Postoperatively, numbness below T6 was found in his both legs of the patient.

Ultrasound-guided axillary brachial plexus block in patients with chronic renal failure: report of sixteen cases.

In this report, 16 patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing forearm arteriovenous shunt surgery were subjected to an ultrasound-guided axillary approach for brachial plexus nerve block. Two doses of 15 ml lidocaine 1.5% were injected using a double-shot technique The spread of the solution within the plexus sheath could be visualized using a high-resolution 12-MHz imaging probe.

High frequency jet ventilation in exploration of tracheostomy--a case report.

Exploration of tracheostomy is not uncommon, however, in case a patient with a facial reconstruction flap, trouble may arise because of difficulty in intubation. We hereby report a patient who had a fresh facial reconstruction flap after radical resection of buccal carcinoma, sustained bleeding around the tracheostomy and was scheduled for exploration of tracheostomy. Fiberoptic oral intubation was failed because of profuse secretion and edematous oral mucosa; high frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) was thus applied and made possible with a suction catheter put through the tracheostomy tube.

Anesthetic management of Boerhaave's syndrome.

Boerhaave's syndrome or spontaneous esophageal perforation is a life threatening condition which demands early diagnosis and urgent management. Although very selective patients can be treated nonoperatively, in most patients, better overall results can only be attained with early aggressive surgery. Clinical data and accounts of anesthetic management of this condition scarely appear in medical literature.

Chemical burn caused by povidone-iodine alcohol solution--a case report.

Burns associated with chemical disinfectants for skin preparation are rare. Skin irritation and maceration associated with pressure factors may contribute to its occurrence. We report a 24-year-old female with thyroid tumor who was admitted for subtotal thyroidectomy.

Vascular injury during a lumbar laminectomy.

A lumbar laminectomy is a common and routine operation. Damage to abdominal vascular structures during surgery is a relatively infrequent complication; however, when it does occur, it is sudden and life-threatening. We herein report on 2 cases of abdominal vascular injury which occurred during lumbar microdiscectomies.

Red Man's syndrome following administration of vancomycin in a patient under spinal anesthesia--a case report.

Prophylactic antibiotics are frequently administered during anesthesia to reduce the incidence of infection. The most common organisms revealed in wound infections are staphylococci. Vancomycin is the antibiotic of choice for resistant staphylococcal infections and bacterial endocarditis in patient allergic to penicillin.