Effects of anticholinergics on postoperative vomiting, recovery, and hospital stay in children undergoing tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy. (1/308)

BACKGROUND: Nausea and vomiting are the most frequent problems after minor ambulatory surgical procedures. The agents used to induce and maintain anesthesia may modify the incidence of emesis. When neuromuscular blockade is antagonized with anticholinesterases, atropine or glycopyrrolate is used commonly to prevent bradycardia and excessive oral secretions. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of atropine and glycopyrrolate on postoperative vomiting in children. METHODS: Ninety-three patients undergoing tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy were studied. After inhalation induction of anesthesia with nitrous oxide, oxygen, and halothane, anesthesia was maintained with a nitrous oxide-oxygen mixture, halothane, morphine, and atracurium. Patients were randomized to receive, in a double-blinded manner, either 15 microg/kg atropine or 10 microg/kg glycopyrrolate with 60 microg/kg neostigmine to reverse neuromuscular blockade. Patient recovery, the incidence of postoperative emesis, antiemetic therapy, and the duration of postoperative hospital stay were assessed. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, gender, weight, or discharge time from the postanesthesia care unit or the hospital between the groups. Twenty-four hours after operation, the incidence of vomiting in the atropine group (56%) was significantly less than in the glycopyrrolate group (81%; P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the atropine and glycopyrrolate groups in the number of patients who required antiemetics or additional analgesics. CONCLUSIONS: In children undergoing tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy, reversal of neuromuscular blockade with atropine and neostigmine is associated with a lesser incidence of postoperative emesis compared with glycopyrrolate and neostigmine.  (+info)

Acupressure-acupuncture antiemetic prophylaxis in children undergoing tonsillectomy. (2/308)

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture or acupressure at the Nei-Guan (P.6) point on the wrist produces antiemetic effects in awake but not anesthetized patients. The authors studied whether a combined approach using preoperative acupressure and intra- and postoperative acupuncture can prevent emesis following tonsillectomy in children. METHODS: Patients 2-12 yr of age were randomly assigned to study or placebo groups. Two Acubands with (study) and two without (placebo) spherical beads were applied bilaterally on the P.6 points; non-bead- and bead-containing Acubands, respectively, were applied on the sham points. All Acubands were applied before any drug administration. After anesthetic induction, acupuncture needles were substituted for the beads and remained in situ until the next day. All points were covered with opaque tape to prevent study group identification. A uniform anesthetic technique was used; postoperative pain was managed initially with morphine and later with acetaminophen and codeine. Emesis, defined as retching or vomiting, was assessed postoperatively. Ondansetron was administered only after two emetic episodes at least 2 min apart. Droperidol was added if emesis persisted. RESULTS: One hundred patients were enrolled in the study. There were no differences in age, weight, follow-up duration, or perioperative opioid administration between groups. Retching occurred in 26% of the study patients and in 28% of the placebo patients; 51 and 55%, respectively, vomited; and 60 and 59%, respectively, did either. There were no significant differences between the groups. Redness occurred in 8.5% of acupuncture sites. CONCLUSION: Perioperative acupressure and acupuncture did not diminish emesis in children following tonsillectomy.  (+info)

Ketoprofen, diclofenac or ketorolac for pain after tonsillectomy in adults? (3/308)

We have compared the analgesic and opioid sparing effect of three i.v. non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with placebo in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 80 adult patients after elective tonsillectomy. A standard anaesthetic was used. After induction of anaesthesia, patients received ketoprofen 100 mg, diclofenac 75 mg or ketorolac 30 mg by i.v. infusion over 30 min. Patients in the placebo group received saline. Ketoprofen and diclofenac infusions were repeated after 12 h and ketorolac infusion at 6 h and 12 h. Oxycodone was used as rescue analgesic. Patients in the ketoprofen group requested 32% less opioid and patients in the diclofenac and ketorolac groups 42% less opioid than those in the placebo group (P < 0.05). There were one, two and six patients in the placebo, diclofenac and ketorolac groups, respectively, but none in the ketoprofen group, who did not request opioid analgesia during the study (P < 0.05, ketorolac vs placebo and ketoprofen). Visual analogue pain scores were similar in all groups. Visual analogue satisfaction scores were significantly higher in the diclofenac group compared with the placebo group. The incidence of nausea was 44-54%. There were no differences in the incidence of other adverse reactions. We conclude that all three non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were superior to placebo after tonsillectomy.  (+info)

The effect of age and natural priming on the IgG and IgA subclass responses after parenteral influenza vaccination. (4/308)

This study investigated the effect of natural priming and age on serum IgG and IgA subclass responses after parenteral trivalent influenza vaccination. Sera from 18 young children and 8 adults were collected at various times after vaccination. An ELISA was performed to quantify the concentrations of antibody subclasses. The children were divided into primed and unprimed groups based on the presence of prevaccination serum antibodies. In both children and adults, IgG1 and IgA1 were the predominant IgG and IgA subclasses detected after vaccination. No IgG2 responses were detected in sera of unprimed children, and the proportion of the IgG2 response was lower in primed children than in adults. This suggests that the IgG2 immune response in young children is dependent on previous priming and may mature later than the other IgG subclasses after parenteral influenza vaccination.  (+info)

Suspected recurrence of malignant hyperthermia after post-extubation shivering in the intensive care unit, 18 h after tonsillectomy. (5/308)

A 25-yr-old man, subsequently shown to be malignant hyperthermia (MH) susceptible by in vitro contracture testing, developed MH during anaesthesia for tonsillectomy. Prompt treatment, including dantrolene, led to rapid resolution of the metabolic crisis. Eighteen hours later the patient's trachea was extubated in the ICU, when he had been stable and apyrexial overnight. Twenty minutes after extubation, an episode of shivering was followed by the onset of tachycardia, hypertension, tachypnoea and a rapid increase in temperature. Recurrence of MH was suspected and the patient was given another dose of dantrolene with good clinical effect. Shivering in this patient may have been an indicator or a causative factor of recurrence of MH.  (+info)

Changes in electroencephalogram and autonomic cardiovascular activity during induction of anesthesia with sevoflurane compared with halothane in children. (6/308)

BACKGROUND: This study was design to assess clinical agitation, electroencephalogram (EEG) and autonomic cardiovascular activity changes in children during induction of anesthesia with sevoflurane compared with halothane using noninvasive recording of EEG, heart rate, and finger blood pressure. METHODS: Children aged 2-12 yr premedicated with midazolam were randomly assigned to one of three induction techniques: 7% sevoflurane in 100% O2 (group SevoRAPID); 2%, 4%, 6%, and 7% sevoflurane in 100% O2 (group SevoINCR); or 1%, 2%, 3%, and 3.5% halothane in 50% N2O-50% O2 (group HaloN2O). An additional group of children who received 7% sevoflurane in 50% N2O-50% O2 (group SevoN2O) was enrolled after completion of the study. Induction was videotaped. EEG, heart rate, and finger blood pressure were continuously recorded during induction until 5 min after tracheal intubation and analyzed in frequency domain using spectral analysis. RESULTS: Agitation was more frequent when anesthesia was induced with 100% O2 compared to the mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide. No seizures were recorded in any group. In the four groups, induction of anesthesia was associated with an increase in EEG total spectral power and a shift toward the low-frequency bands. Sharp slow waves were present on EEG tracings of the three sevoflurane groups, whereas slow waves and fast rhythms (spindles) were observed in the halothane group. Sevoflurane induced a greater withdrawal of parasympathetic activity than halothane and a transient relative increase in sympathetic vascular tone at loss of eyelash reflex. CONCLUSIONS: Agitation observed during sevoflurane induction was not associated with seizures. Sevoflurane induction induced a marked inhibition of parasympathetic control of heart rate.  (+info)

Double-blind comparison of sevofluran vs propofol and succinylcholine for tracheal intubation in children. (7/308)

We have studied intubating conditions in 64 healthy children, aged 3-10 yr, undergoing adenotonsillectomy, in a double-blind, randomized study. Intubation was performed 150 s after induction using either 8% sevoflurane in nitrous oxide and oxygen or propofol 3-4 mg kg-1 with succinylcholine 2 mg kg-1. An anaesthetist blinded to the technique performed intubation and scored intubating conditions using Krieg and Copenhagen Consensus Conference (CCC) scores. The trachea was intubated successfully at the first attempt in all patients under clinically acceptable conditions, although scores were significantly better with propofol and succinylcholine. The sevoflurane technique cost 3.62 +/- 0.55 Pounds to completion of tracheal intubation, significantly more (P < 0.001) than the cost of propofol-succinylcholine and isoflurane (2.04 +/- 0.54 Pounds) when based on actual amount of drug used. This cost increased to 4.38 +/- 0.05 Pounds when based on whole ampoules, which is significantly more than the cost of sevoflurane (P < 0.001).  (+info)

Comparison of ketamine and morphine for analgesia after tonsillectomy in children. (8/308)

In a double blind study we compared the effects of i.m. ketamine with morphine on postoperative analgesia in children undergoing tonsillectomy. Eighty children (aged 6-15 yr) were randomized to receive either i.m. morphine 0.1-0.15 mg kg-1 or ketamine 0.5-0.6 mg kg-1, after induction of a standard general anaesthetic. Pain scores 30 min after extubation were higher (P < 0.05) in the ketamine group, but were similar thereafter to the morphine group. Mean (SD) times to recovery from anaesthesia were 20.1 (SD 6.5) min in the ketamine group compared to 14.2 (5.6) min in the morphine group (P < 0.01). There were no differences in supplemental analgesia requirements, or the incidence of vomiting or dreaming between the groups. We conclude that ketamine 0.5 mg kg-1 i.m. may be an alternative analgesic for children undergoing tonsillectomy.  (+info)