Dexamethasone alone does not prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting in women undergoing dilatation and curettage: a comparison with droperidol and saline.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prophylactic effect of dexamethasone on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in women undergoing dilatation and curettage. Droperidol and saline were served as control.

Methods: One hundred and sixty women (n = 40 in each group) undergoing dilatation and curettage under intravenous anesthesia were enrolled in this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study.

Postoperative pain relief: lumbar and thoracic epidural morphine in thoracotomy.

Twenty-two patients undergoing thoracotomy were enrolled in a controlled, randomized trial to compare the effects of thoracic (group T) or lumbar (group L) epidural morphine in relieving postoperative pain. Epidural morphine was given as the patient first complained of pain in the recovery room. The effect of epidural morphine on pain relief was assessed by visual analogue scale and subjective grade.

[The effects of intravenous and intraperitoneal dexamethasone treatment on vecuronium in the anesthetized rat].

It is fairly widespread clinical practice to administer large doses of corticosteroids to patients in cases of shock; doses of hydrocortisone as high as 50 mg/kg given intravenously have been proposed and used; especially in cases of Myasthenia Gravis. Its effects on neuromuscular transmission is not yet fully understood. In order to determine the mechanism of this interaction, we undertook this investigation.