1/10. Neurological deficit following spinal anaesthesia: MRI and CT evidence of spinal cord gas embolism.A 62-year-old diabetic woman developed permanent neurological deficits in the legs following spinal anaesthesia. MRI showed oedema in the spinal cord and a small intramedullary focus of signal void at the T10 level, with negative density at CT. Intramedullary gas bubbles have not been reported previously among the possible neurological complications of spinal anaesthesia; a combined ischaemic/embolic mechanism is hypothesised.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/10. Combined spinal-epidural anaesthesia for Caesarean section in a paraplegic woman: difficulty in obtaining the expected level of block.We describe the satisfactory use of combined spinal epidural (CSE) anaesthesia in the management of a 29-year-old paraplegic woman, with a spinal cord lesion at the T7 level, suffering from episodes of autonomic hyper-reflexia, during elective Caesarean section.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.83333333333333keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/10. Obstetrical anaesthesia and analgesia in chronic spinal cord-injured women.Improved acute and rehabilitative care and emphasis on integrating patients into society after spinal cord injury is likely to result in increasing numbers of cord-injured women presenting for obstetrical care. Anaesthetists providing care to these women should be familiar with the complications resulting from chronic cord injury and aware that many may be aggravated by the physiological changes of normal pregnancy. These complications include reduced respiratory volumes and reserve, decreased blood pressure and an increased incidence of thromboembolic phenomena, anaemia and recurrent urinary tract infections. patients with cord lesions above the T5 spinal level are at risk for the life-threatening complication of autonomic hyperreflexia (AH) which results from the loss of central regulation of the sympathetic nervous system below the level of the lesion. Sympathetic hyperactivity and hypertension result in response to noxious stimuli entering the cord below the level of the lesion. Labour appears to be a particularly noxious stimulus and patients with injuries above T5 are at risk for AH during labour even if they have not had previous AH episodes. morbidity is related to the degree of hypertension and intracranial haemorrhage has been reported during labour and attributed to AH. We report our experience in providing care to three parturients with spinal cord injuries. Two patients had high cervical lesions, one of whom experienced AH during labour and was treated with an epidural block. The second was at risk for AH having had episodes in the past and received an epidural block to provide prophylaxis for AH. In both cases epidural blockade provided effective treatment and prophylaxis for AH.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.66666666666667keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/10. Sinus arrest induced by trivial nasal stimulation during alfentanil-nitrous oxide anaesthesia.A case is reported of bradycardia and sinus arrest induced by insertion of a nasal temperature probe. Other possible causes of bradycardia and sinus arrest under anaesthesia are reviewed briefly. Evidence for the neurological basis of a nasocardiac reflex, similar to the oculocardiac reflex, is presented. A minor, trivial stimulus may elicit this reflex.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.83333333333333keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/10. Opisthotonus and other unusual neurological sequelae after outpatient anaesthesia.Four patients who developed unusual neurological sequelae after outpatient anaesthesia are described. propofol is strongly implicated as the cause. All four patients were female with no previous history of psychiatric disorder or neurological disease, unpremedicated, and had procedures of duration less than 20 minutes. Hyperreflexia and hypertonicity were present postoperatively and the reactions appeared to be triggered by an external stimulus. Three patients were examined by a neurologist and had a normal electroencephalograph. Two patients were on the same operating list; quality control was carried out on the anaesthetic agents used, and blood samples sent for toxicology showed no abnormalities. Mechanisms underlying these reactions are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.83333333333333keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/10. Perioperative autonomic hyperreflexia in high spinal cord lesions: a case report.We report the case of a 20-year-old man with serious perioperative attacks of autonomic hyperreflexia starting during urological surgery 14 months after a complete C6-C7 spinal cord injury. The intraoperative attacks were controlled by deepening the level of anaesthesia, while the postoperative attacks were treated with emepronium bromide. A brief discussion of the pathophysiology and treatment is given.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/10. Autonomic hyperreflexia during labour.We present two cases of automatic hyperreflexia (AH) during labour in women with spinal cord damage, in whom AH developed before and after delivery. The AH was successfully controlled using epidural anaesthesia in Case #1, but failed in Case #2. The blood pressure was controlled with nicardipine. However, overdose of nicardipine produces vasodilation and its side effects include headache, flushing and palpitation similar to AH. Considering these effects, we recommend epidural anaesthesia to control AH, because epidural anaesthesia does not only reduce BP, but also blocks the noxious stimuli and relieves the symptoms of AH. Our experience suggests that the epidural catheter can be placed two to three weeks before the date of predicted childbirth, because the onset of labour in a patient with spinal cord damage is difficult to predict and can proceed very rapidly. Also, the epidural catheter is available after the delivery. We recommended the epidural catheter is maintained for 24-48 hr postpartum.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/10. Lumbosacral plexopathy from iliopsoas haematoma after combined general-epidural anaesthesia for abdominal aneurysmectomy.PURPOSE: To report a case of iliopsoas haematoma after resection of an abdominal aortic aneurysm which resulted in a lumbosacral plexopathy. CLINICAL FEATURES: An 81-yr-old man presented with an abdominal aortic aneurysm for aneurysmectomy and tube grafting. An epidural catheter was placed at the L1-2 spinal level and combined epidural-general anaesthesia was provided for surgery. The surgery was complex and a suprarenal clamp was necessary to obtain proximal control. A continuous infusion of demerol through the epidural catheter was prescribed for postoperative analgesia. On the first postoperative day, examination revealed a paretic, pulseless right leg and he was returned to the operating room for femoral-femoral bypass. By the following day, the motor and sensory impairment had progressed to complete paralysis with loss of all deep tendon reflexes and absent sensation below L1, despite palpable pulses in the leg. A CT of the abdomen demonstrated a right iliopsoas haematoma. There was no evidence of either disc herniation or an epidural haematoma. A diagnosis of lumbosacral plexopathy secondary to a iliopsoas haematoma was made. CONCLUSION: Iliopsoas haematoma is a rare cause of postoperative neurological deficit following aortic vascular surgery. The haematoma results in compression of the lumbosacral neural elements and typically presents as a femoral neuropathy. The diagnosis is clinical and can be readily validated with computed tomography.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.83333333333333keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/10. Response to atracurium and mivacurium in a patient with charcot-marie-tooth disease.PURPOSE: We studied the neuromuscular effects of both atracurium and mivacurium in a patient with charcot-marie-tooth disease (CMTD) during nitrous oxide-oxygen-alfentanil-propofol anaesthesia. neuromuscular blockade was monitored electromyographically. Train-of-four stimulation (2 Hz @ 20 sec intervals) was delivered to the ulnar nerve throughout the period of observation. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 17-yr-old man with the diagnosis of CMTD was presented twice for two different orthopaedic surgical procedures. The CMTD had been diagnosed since childhood. Neurological examination revealed distal wasting of the upper and lower limbs, generalised absence of reflexes and decreased sensation in a stocking distribution. In both anaesthetics, induction was carried out with alfentanil and propofol, and anaesthesia was maintained with nitrous oxide in oxygen, alfentanil and propofol infusion. The patient demonstrated a normal response to both atracurium and mivacurium. Onset time and the maximum block attained after atracurium and mivacurium were 240 and 210 sec, and 97% and 99% inhibition of T1 (the first twitch of TOF stimulation), respectively. Recovery of T1 to 10% of the control value occurred 30 and 11.5 min after the administration of atracurium and mivacurium, respectively. The patient made uneventful recoveries after both anaesthetics. CONCLUSION: There was no evidence of prolonged response to atracurium and mivacurium in our patient with CMTD.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/10. Anaesthesia and mitochondrial disease.mitochondrial diseases, or encephalomyopathies, are an uncommon, heterogeneous group of disorders with variable clinical course and presentation. Many of these patients present for surgery, or undergo anaesthesia in the course of investigation of their illness. Unfortunately, little information exists on their management in anaesthetic texts and the literature. We report on the anaesthetic management of a paediatric patient with mitochondrial disease, and briefly discuss the pathophysiology and anaesthetic implications of these disorders.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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