Effects of epidural anesthesia on postoperative nausea and vomiting in laparoscopic gynecological surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: Patients undergoing laparoscopic gynecological surgery are susceptible to postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). We hypothesized that a combination of epidural and general anesthesia to minimize intraoperative opioid administration would reduce the incidence of PONV following laparoscopic gynecological surgery.

Methods: Women undergoing elective laparoscopic gynecological surgery were randomly assigned to receive general anesthesia alone (group G, n = 45) or general anesthesia with epidural anesthesia (group GE, n = 45).

Reversal with sugammadex in the absence of monitoring did not preclude residual neuromuscular block.

Background: In Japan, routine clinical care does not normally involve the use of a monitoring device to guide the administration of neuromuscular blocking drugs or their antagonists. Although most previous reports demonstrate that sugammadex offers more rapid and reliable antagonism from rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade, this advantage has not been confirmed in clinical settings when no neuromuscular monitoring is used. In this multicenter observational study, we sought to determine whether sugammadex reduces the incidence of postoperative residual weakness compared with neostigmine when the administration of rocuronium and its antagonists is not guided by neuromuscular monitoring.

Retrospective evaluation of intravenous fentanyl patient-controlled analgesia during labor.

Purpose: Because the safety of intravenous fentanyl patient-controlled analgesia (iv-PCA) administered during labor remains unclear, we retrospectively examined the labor records from January 2005 to December 2007 in our institution, with a focus on both maternal and neonatal outcomes, as compared to no analgesia.

Methods: Parturients over 35 weeks of gestational age who received fentanyl iv-PCA (iv-PCA group) or no analgesia (control group) during labor were enrolled. The former group received iv-PCA through a pump programmed to give a loading dose of 0.

[Dibucaine for spinal anesthesia is a probable risk for cauda equina syndrome].

A 64-year-old man was scheduled for transure thral resection of the prostate. The patient's medical history showed borderline diabetic state and two uncomplicated surgeries under spinal anesthesia. Spinal anesthesia was performed at the L 3/4 interspace using hyperbaric 0.

Changes in heart rate variability in sevoflurane and nitrous oxide anesthesia: effects of respiration and depth of anesthesia.

Study Objective: To quantify the effects of sevoflurane on autonomic nerve function by analyzing changes in heart rate (HR) variability in sevoflurane anesthesia; and to investigate the effects of anesthetic depth and apnea on HR variability.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Operating room (OR) of a university medical center.