Making endotracheal intubation easy and successful, particularly in unexpected difficult airway.

Background: Difficult intubation, most often due to poor view of the vocal cords on laryngoscopy is an intermittent and often challenging problem for clinically practicing anesthesiologists, maxillofacial surgeons, ear nose, and throat (ENT), emergency, and critical care physicians. Purpose: We present a new approach for facilitating difficult intubation and evaluate its efficacy in a retrospective observational study. Settings and Design: Operating room, emergency department, intensive care unit (ICU), retrospective observational study. Materials and Methods: A semirigid 5.6 Rusch tracheal tube introducer (bougie) with its soft tip protruding at least 6 cm (=4 digits) beyond the distal end…

Acupuncture: its neurophysiological basis: an anaesthetist's foreword.

A new approach using high volume blood patch for prevention of post-dural puncture headache following intrathecal catheter pump exchange.

Background: In an observational study, complications of intrathecal catheter pumps necessitating surgical exchange were analyzed. Also the use of a high-volume prophylactic epidural blood patch (EBP) during surgery for preventing post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) with a follow-up for 1 year is described. Materials and Methods: In 22 patients with refractory chronic pain of cancer/noncancer origin or severe spasticity, who were receiving intrathecal morphine including adjuvants or baclofen for symptom relief, catheter exchange with or without pump was performed. In patients with documented symptoms of PDPH following initial intrathecal catheter implantation, a prophylactic EBP with a high …

Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Assess the Efficacy of Nonopioid Analgesics on Pain following Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

Purpose. In a randomized, double-blind trial, the efficacy of nonopioid analgesics on postoperative piritramide consumption was compared for pain relief during the first 24 h in patients recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. Methods. 120 patients were treated with normal saline and/or one of the nonopioid analgesics (parecoxib, metamizole, paracetamol) in addition to piritramide using the PCA pump. Beginning in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU), patients were asked to quantify their pain experience at rest while piritramide consumption was recorded. Results. Piritramide consumption upon arrival in the PACU was high in all groups. However, cumulative consumption in the parecoxib group…