Effect of intrathecal sufentanil on isoflurane requirements during lower abdominal surgery.

Study Objective: To determine the effect of intrathecal sufentanil on volatile anesthetic requirements during lower abdominal surgery.

Design: Randomized, double-blind study.

Setting: Military tertiary care hospital.

Early extubation after cardiac surgery using combined intrathecal sufentanil and morphine.

The records of 10 patients who had well-preserved respiratory and ventricular function and had received 50 micrograms of sufentanil and 0.5 mg of morphine intrathecally before induction of anesthesia for cardiopulmonary bypass surgery were reviewed. Anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane and no patient received intravenous narcotics intraoperatively.

A comparison of patient controlled epidural analgesia with sufentanil by the lumbar versus thoracic route after thoracotomy.

To compare the efficacy of patient-controlled lumbar and thoracic epidural sufentanil, 22 patients scheduled for elective thoracotomy were assigned randomly to receive sufentanil via either a lumbar or a thoracic epidural catheter. For 24 h postoperatively, the patients received analgesia only by patient-controlled epidural sufentanil. There were no significant differences in the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain between the two groups at 8 and 24 h postoperatively.

A comparison of propofol and etomidate for cardioversion.

Bolus doses of propofol in patients for cardioversion often produce hypotension and apnea. Etomidate provides cardiovascular stability in these patients, but myoclonus may interfere with electrocardiographic interpretation. This study was designed to demonstrate whether propofol, when given as a low-dose infusion, can attain etomidate's hemodynamic stability without its attendant side effects.