Effect of desquamation of facial skin during surgery.

Aseptic control of organisms in the operating arena has long been a major goal of surgeons. The purpose of this study was to assess the facial skin flora of operating room personnel and its relationship to contamination adjacent to the surgical site. The authors found that, in spite of all attempts at aseptic control, operating room personnel have numerous organisms on the exposed facial areas, and the same organisms appear on the operating room table adjacent to the surgical site of about one in five patients.

Pharmacokinetics of magnesium sulfate in the sheep model.

The pharmacokinetic parameters of MgSO4 were followed in the pregnant sheep model following intravenous dosages of MgSO4 comparable to those used in the therapy of the preeclamptic woman. Hemodynamic parameters, including maternal arterial pressure, central venous pressure, systemic vascular resistance, pulmonary artery pressure, heart rate, cardiac output, cardiac index, rate pressure product, stroke volume, stroke index, blood gases, fetal arterial pressure, heart rate, and blood gases, all remain stable during the infusion of MgSO4. Biochemical changes accompanying MgSO4 infusion in these doses were evaluated.

The maternal and fetal cardiovascular effects of epidural fentanyl in the sheep model.

Since the demonstration of opiate receptors in the spinal cord in the mid-1970s, investigators have been looking for the most effective epidural narcotic. With the use of the chronically catheterized maternal sheep model, we injected two different doses of preservative-free fentanyl (50 and 100 micrograms) into the epidural space. No statistically significant changes were observed, either in maternal or fetal arterial pressure and acid-base status or in maternal central venous pressure, systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance, cardiac output, and intrauterine pressure (p greater than 0.

Placental passage and uterine effects of fentanyl.

Using the chronic maternal-fetal sheep preparation, 27 pregnant ewes were studied to determine the effects of intravenous fentanyl on maternal and fetal physiology, with particular reference to its placental passage, and its effects on uterine blood flow and uterine tone. Three doses of fentanyl were studied--50, 75, and 100 micrograms. Maternal and fetal arterial blood was collected for determination of fentanyl levels.