1/9. Ergot-induced vasospasm of the lower extremities treated with epidural anaesthesia.No reliable treatment to reverse severe ergot-induced vasopasm is available. A case of ergotamine-induced vasospasm of the lower extremities is presented. A combined treatment of vasodilators, infusion of low molecular dextran and high epidural anaesthesia apparently prevented extremity gangrene from occurring.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/9. Spasmodic dysphonia combined with insufficient glottic closure by phonation.The authors describe the case history of a patient who suffered from symptoms deriving from two different origins. The patient's voice was spasmodic dysphonia-like interrupted and pressed. At the same time, his voice was powerless, too. The reason for this was that besides the spasmodic dysphonia caused by hyperkinesis, an incomplete closure of the vocal cords during phonation in the middle third was present. It was caused by the atrophy of the vocal cords. In order to eliminate the symptoms, initially we injected 25 IU Botox into the left vocal cord transcutaneously under the direction of EMG control. It resulted in a fluent, though breathy voice. In order to manage the closing insufficiency during phonation, we performed lipoaugmentation on the left vocal cord under high-frequency jet anaesthesia. The result of the two-step procedure was a fluent and clear voice. The speech without interruption lasted for 5 months, until the drug was eliminated. Of course, to prolong the result, the Botox injection should be repeated.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.2keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/9. 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 = 0.8keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/9. Severe hypertension during postpartum haemorrhage after i.v. administration of prostaglandin E2.Severe hypertension with arterial spasm was observed after i.v. administration of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) during uterine exploration under general anaesthesia for control of postpartum haemorrhage. This hypertension was exceptional because PGE2 is known to cause a decrease in systemic arterial pressure. Different hypotheses for this paradoxical hypertensive crisis after PGE2 administration are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.2keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/9. williams syndrome: masseter spasm during anaesthesia.A 4-year-old boy with williams syndrome developed masseter spasm after halothane and suxamethonium. He did not develop malignant hyperthermia; the surgery was accomplished with a nontriggering anaesthetic and no further problems.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.8keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/9. 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 = 1keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/9. Painful muscle spasms complicating algodystrophy: central or peripheral disease?A 21 year old female patient developed Sudeck's atrophy of the right foot secondary to a chronic Achilles tendinitis. The condition was complicated by the occurrence of painful muscle spasms in the right leg and incontinence of urine. The spasms had characteristics of both a tonic ambulatory foot response and a spinal flexor reflex. The movements disappeared during sleep. Regional anaesthesia of the right leg made the spasms disappear both in and outside the region of anaesthesia. Backaveraging of the EEG showed the involuntary spasms to be preceded by a cortical potential similar to a readiness potential, indicating a cortical potential similar to a readiness potential, indicating a cortical component in the pathophysiology of the muscle spasms complicating Sudeck's atrophy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.4keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/9. Duchenne muscular dystrophy and malignant hyperthermia--two case reports.The case histories are presented including the anaesthetic and postoperative management, of two children, a two-year-old with undiagnosed Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and a three-year-old with known DMD. The child with undiagnosed DMD had no symptoms of DMD and had received halothane twice before, without succinylcholine, with no apparent difficulty. Following an uneventful induction of anaesthesia with halothane, nitrous oxide and O2, succinylcholine resulted in bilateral masseter muscle spasm and then, in rapid sequence, ventricular tachycardia and cardiac arrest. resuscitation was difficult, prolonged and associated with hyperkalaemia (K = 12.57 mEq X L-1), severe metabolic and respiratory acidosis, high peripheral venous pressure and massive hepatosplenomegaly, but not hyperthermia. The patient was finally resuscitated but died two days later. Skeletal muscle biopsy results were consistent with malignant hyperthermia. The second patient was known to have DMD but did not receive prophylactic or intraoperative dantrolene nor have his anaesthetic machine flushed with oxygen for an extended period prior to induction of anaesthesia. This child was anaesthetized with fentanyl and N2O and, with the exception of a high intraoperative heart rate (155-160 beats X min-1), had an uncomplicated anaesthetic and operation (intraoperative axillary temperatures ranged between 36.8-37.9 degrees C). Postoperatively his temperature rapidly increased to 38.8 degrees C and then 40.3 degrees C and he became metabolically acidotic. Intravenous administration of dantrolene for 48 hours reduced the temperature and allowed normal recovery and discharge. A postoperative muscle biopsy was consistent with DMD.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.4keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/9. Opisthotonos following propofol: a nonepileptic perspective and treatment strategy.In this report of opisthotonos during recovery from propofol anaesthesia, we relate clinical observations with scientific considerations, and propose a strategy for treatment of this rare side effect. Following a brief operative procedure, a healthy 29-yr-old woman developed recurrent opisthotonos while recovering from anaesthesia with alfentanil, propofol, and nitrous oxide. In contrast to accumulating reports, the patient remained conscious during each episode of back extension and retrocollis. The preservation of consciousness and similarities to strychnine-induced opisthotonos suggest to us that the mechanism may have a brainstem and spinal origin. Recent investigations show that propofol potentiates the inhibitory transmitters glycine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) which would enhance spinal inhibition during anaesthesia. Postanaesthetic opisthotonos, however, may be due to a propofol-induced tolerance to inhibitory transmitters. This rebound phenomenon would lead to an acute, enduring refractoriness in inhibitory pathways of the brainstem and spinal cord, resulting in increased activity of extensor motoneurons. We recommend a therapeutic strategy that restores inhibition by glycine and GABA at multiple sites; the preferred therapeutic agents would be diazepam and physostigmine. The episodes are usually short-lived, but two of the reviewed 17 patients developed recurrent retrocollis for four and 23 days following antiepileptic drug therapy. Since high doses of phenytoin and carbamazepine can result in opisthotonos, we recommend that anticonvulsants be reserved for postanaesthetic patients with electroencephalographic evidence of seizure activity.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.6keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |