Effect of Weight Loss on Postural Changes in Pulmonary Function in Obese Subjects: A Longitudinal Study.

Background: Postural changes are known to affect normal lung volumes. A reduction in sitting to supine functional residual capacity (FRC) is well-described in non-obese subjects adopting a supine position. However, postural changes in lung volumes in the obese require further exploration.

Predicting peripheral venous access difficulty in the emergency department using body mass index and a clinical evaluation of venous accessibility.

Background: Peripheral venous (PV) cannulation, one of the most common technical procedures in Emergency Medicine, may prove challenging, even to experienced Emergency Department (ED) staff. Morbid obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 40) has been reported as a risk factor for PV access failure in the operating room.

Objectives: We investigated PV access difficulty in the ED, across BMI categories, focusing on patient-related predicting factors.

Breath analyzer screening of emergency department patients suspected of alcohol intoxication.

Background: Acute alcohol intoxication is a frequent cause of emergency department (ED) visits. Evaluating a patient's alcohol intoxication is commonly based on both a physical examination and determination of blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

Objective: To demonstrate the feasibility and usefulness of using a last-generation infrared breath analyzer as a non-invasive and rapid screening tool for alcohol intoxication in the ED.

[Flexible laryngeal mask airway use during surgical burn management with head mobilisation: a feasibility study].

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and reliability of the flexible laryngeal mask airway (LMA flexible) use during scalp skin harvesting for surgical reparation of burn sequella.

Study Design: Observational prospective descriptive study.

Patients And Methods: Following local ethic committee approval, 26 patients were included in the study during their preanaesthesia visit.

Fatal and non fatal cardiac arrests related to anesthesia.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the incidence and causes of cardiac arrests related to anesthesia.

Methods: All patients undergoing anesthesia over a six year period were included in a prospective study. The cardiac arrests encountered during anesthesia and the first twelve postoperative hours in the PACU or ICU were analysed.

Effects of perioperative analgesic technique on the surgical outcome and duration of rehabilitation after major knee surgery.

Background: Continuous passive motion after major knee surgery optimizes the functional prognosis but causes severe pain. The authors tested the hypothesis that postoperative analgesic techniques influence surgical outcome and the duration of convalescence.

Methods: Before standardized general anesthesia, 56 adult scheduled for major knee surgery were randomly assigned to one of three groups, each to receive a different postoperative analgesic technique for 72 h: continuous epidural infusion, continuous femoral block, or intravenous patient-controlled morphine (dose, 1 mg; lockout interval, 7 min; maximum dose, 30 mg/4 h).

Bilateral continuous 3-in-1 nerve blockade for postoperative pain relief after bilateral femoral shaft surgery.

We tested the effectiveness of bilateral continuous paravascular femoral nerve blocks in a patient following bilateral femoral shaft surgery in whom other analgesic regimens were considered contraindicated or of limited effectiveness. Bilateral continuous femoral paravascular nerve blocks were performed using a previously described technique. General anesthesia was subsequently used to facilitate surgery, which was a bilateral osteosynthesis using dynamic hip screws for osteolytic metastases of the proximal extremities of both femurs.

Causes and prediction of maldistribution during continuous spinal anesthesia with isobaric or hyperbaric bupivacaine.

Background: Many cases of cauda equina syndrome after maldistribution of local anesthetics during continuous spinal anesthesia have been reported. In experiments, a caudad route of catheter travel and the use of hyperbaric agents have been shown to induce these limited blocks. The aim of this clinical study was to verify this hypothesis and seek a predictive factor for the maldistribution of bupivacaine.

Comparison of the three-in-one and fascia iliaca compartment blocks in adults: clinical and radiographic analysis.

Unlabelled: The 3-in-1 (Group 1) and fascia iliaca compartment (Group 2) blocks, two single-injection, anterior approach procedures used to simultaneously block the femoral, obturator, and lateral femoral cutaneous (LFC) nerves, were compared in 100 adults after lower limb surgery. Pain control, sensory and motor blockades, and radiographically visualized spread of local anesthetic solution were studied prospectively. Both approaches provided efficient pain control using 30 mL of 2% lidocaine with 1:200,000 epinephrine and 0.

The effects of cervical epidural anesthesia with bupivacaine on pulmonary function in conscious patients.

Unlabelled: Cervical epidural anesthesia (CEA) can affect diaphragmatic function. We investigated the effects of CEA on the diaphragm muscle performance, breathing pattern, and respiratory drive of 10 healthy patients undergoing hand surgery before and after the administration of 0.25% and 0.

Aprotinin decreases blood loss and homologous transfusions in patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery.

Background: Major orthopedic surgery can be associated with dramatic blood loss, thereby requiring high-volume homologous transfusions in patients unable to benefit from blood salvage techniques. The effect of aprotinin on blood loss and transfusion requirements during orthopedic surgery for either the resection of malignancies of the removal of infected hardware was prospectively studied.

Methods: Twenty-three patients scheduled for orthopedic surgery of the hip, femur, or pelvis for sepsis or malignant tumors, all under general anesthesia, were randomly allocated to receive during operation, in a blinded manner, either aprotinin administered as a bolus of 1.