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Biomedical subjects

D Benhamou

Publications and source records attributed to D Benhamou.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

[Accidental subdural extra-arachnoid catheterization during epidural analgesia in obstetrics].

The authors describe a case of accidental catheterization of the subdural extra-arachnoid space during epidural analgesia for labour. The epidural catheter had been inserted at the L3-L4 interspace without any problem. A severe hypotension occurred 90 min after the onset of analgesia. A T4 upper sensory level was associated with a complete motor blockade. Total spinal anaesthesia was suspected but ruled out because of delayed onset of analgesia. Extensive epidural anaesthesia was also eliminated as the local anaesthetic dose (15 mL of bupivacaine 0.125%) was not excessive for this patient. After delivery, a water-soluble contrast medium (10 mL of Omnipaque 180) was injected through the catheter and subsequent radiograph of spine showed subdural spread of the contrast medium. This complication might occur more frequently than usually thought and may be life-threatening. Anaesthetic management is discussed in the case of Caesarean section during labour.

Adult↗

Addition of oral clonidine to postoperative patient-controlled analgesia with i.v. morphine.

Using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, we have investigated, in 40 patients undergoing major abdominal surgery, the effect of oral clonidine 300 micrograms, 1 h before and 12 h after surgery on postoperative morphine requirements (evaluated by PCA). During the 24 h of the study, pain scores measured every 6 h did not differ significantly. Morphine requirements tended to be reduced in the clonidine group but the difference was not significant. There were no significant differences also in mean arterial pressure, ventilatory frequency and the incidence of pruritus and nausea. Heart rate was significantly lower until 18 h after surgery and sedation was significantly more pronounced in patients receiving clonidine. We cannot recommend routine oral administration of clonidine before surgery to improve postoperative analgesia.

Administration, Oral↗

[Unusual obstetrical situations: role of locoregional anesthesia].

Breech or twin delivery is a difficult obstetric situation in which both maternal and neonatal risks are increased and where the incidence of caesarean section and instrumental extraction is high. Epidural anaesthesia may worsen the obstetric situation especially if high doses of local anaesthetics are used resulting in a dense motor blockade. If, on the contrary, effective analgesia is obtained by the epidural injection of low concentrations of local anaesthetics especially with opiates, epidural anaesthesia may increase neither the duration of the second stage nor the incidence of caesarean delivery or forceps extraction and may rather improve neonatal outcome. Extension of the sensory block may be rapid, allowing obstetric intervention while maintaining maternal safety and comfort. For similar reasons and by using low dose techniques, epidural anaesthesia should not be anymore considered contra-indicated in the trial of labor after previous caesarean section.

Adult↗

[Major hypercalcemia revealing sarcoidosis].

We reported a new case of sarcoidosis disclosed by a symptomatic severe hypercalcemia. Increase of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D is secondary to an extrarenal production by alveolar macrophages and sarcoid granuloma. Glucocorticoid administration produces a prompt and persistent decrease in serum and urinary levels of calcium.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

Postoperative pain after local anesthetics for laparoscopic sterilization.

OBJECTIVE: To test the effectiveness of intraperitoneal local anesthesia in relieving postoperative pain after laparoscopic sterilization. METHODS: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized study of two groups of 25 subjects each, women scheduled for tubal sterilization under general anesthesia received 80 mL of 0.5% lidocaine with 1/320,000 epinephrine intraperitoneally in the right subdiaphragmatic quadrant at the beginning of the procedure. At the end of the procedure, they received 10 mL of 2% lidocaine with 1/80,000 epinephrine injected into each mesosalpinx. Controls received saline instead of lidocaine. Shoulder and pelvic pain assessed by visual analogue pain scale, postoperative analgesic requirements, nausea or vomiting, and time to return to normal daily activities were evaluated in the ambulatory unit and after discharge during the first 48 postoperative hours. Blood samples were taken in ten subjects receiving lidocaine to evaluate peak plasma concentrations and time to peak plasma concentrations. RESULTS: Pain was significantly less in patients who received lidocaine, and the difference lasted for the duration of the study (P < .05). Analgesic requirements and time to return to normal daily activities were significantly reduced in patients who received lidocaine (P < .05). Blood samples revealed no toxic concentrations. The peak plasma concentration was 3.22 +/- 1.21 micrograms/mL, and the time to peak plasma concentration was 42 +/- 15 minutes. CONCLUSION: Intraperitoneal instillation of lidocaine-epinephrine combined with mesosalpinx infiltration of lidocaine during tubal sterilization produces effective, long-lasting analgesia and improves the postoperative course.

Adult↗

[Hyperthermia after obstetrical epidural anesthesia].

Unlike epidural anaesthesia for general surgery or caesarean section, épidural analgesia for labour leads to maternal hyperthermia. Its recent demonstration is probably related to the multiple influencing factors: site of measurement, ambient temperature, previous labour duration and dilatation at the time of epidural puncture, and occurrence of shivering. During the first 2 to 5 hours of epidural analgesia, there is a weak--if any--thermic increase. Then, when labour is prolonged (mostly primiparae) a linear increase occurs with time, at a mean rate of 1 degree C per 7 hours. The pathophysiology remains hypothetical: heat loss (sweating and hyperventilation) would be reduced during epidural analgesia and therefore surpassed by the important labour-induced heat production. This hyperthermia has been correlated with foetal tachycardia but never with any infectious process. A potential deleterious effect is still debated and may lead to propose an active cooling for the mother. This hyperthermia must also be recognized to avoid an inadequate obstetrical attitude (antibiotics, extractions).

Adult↗

[Effect of epidural analgesia on obstetrical mechanics].

Epidural analgesia is the most effective technique of pain relief during labour. However, there is an old suspicion that it modifies the course of labour. This deleterious effect has recently been demonstrated in studies showing that epidural analgesia using local anaesthetics increases the duration of the second stage of labour and the incidence of instrumental delivery in nulliparous women with fetus in vertex presentation. No such clear data exist for other obstetrical situations. The deleterious effect on the second stage is primarily due to motor blockade of the pelvic floor muscles which normally exert an important influence on fetal accommodation. It is possible to limit the negative effect of motor blockade by using either a combination of low-dose bupivacaine and opioid, or injection of a lipophilic opioid through a subarachnoid catheter, or by using the new amide local anaesthetic, ropivacaine, which is claimed to possess less motor blocking action.

Adult↗

Diaphragm function is not impaired by pneumoperitoneum after laparoscopy.

Open cholecystectomy is known to induce a major restrictive respiratory syndrome. These respiratory disturbances, although of reduced magnitude, still persist after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. To determine the role of pneumoperitoneum per se in the respiratory dysfunction observed after this procedure, seven patients were studied before and 2 hours after laparoscopy. This diagnostic procedure avoids the upper midline incision and the surgical injury of cholecystectomy. Ventilatory performance and diaphragm function were assessed as follows: (1) during quiet tidal breathing by obtaining measurements of esophageal, gastric, and transdiaphragmatic pressures; determining the ratio of gastric pressures to esophageal pressures; and abdomen-rib cage partitioning of tidal volume obtained from two differential linear transformers and (2) during maximal respiratory efforts by obtaining measurements of vital capacity and maximal transdiaphragmatic pressure during Müller's maneuver and a sniff test. Although a large residual pneumoperitoneum (assessed as the maximal height of the suprahepatic space: Hmax = 30.3 +/- 7.8 mm) was observed after laparoscopy, we did not find any change suggestive of diaphragm dysfunction. We thus conclude that postoperative residual pneumoperitoneum per se is unable to explain the diaphragm dysfunction observed after open or laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic↗

Lack of effect of magnesium-aluminium hydroxide on the absorption of theophylline given as a pH-dependent sustained release preparation.

Antacids can modify the pharmacokinetic parameters of sustained-release preparations of theophylline by changing the gastric pH. Though this has been studied with various theophylline/antacid combinations, the specific preparations investigated here have not previously been tested. The objective of the study was to assess any change in the availability of theophylline from a sustained-release preparation (SR), induced by the coadministration with an antacid. The study was designed as a double-blind randomized crossover trial in the Pneumology Departments of three general hospitals. Fifteen patients were studied. They all had stable asthma treated with theophylline and no major organ failure or gastro-intestinal lesions requiring the use of antacids. The antacid (aluminium hydroxide 800 mg and magnesium hydroxide 800 mg), or placebo, tid, was added to a stable regimen of theophylline SR bid, for 4 days, in crossover fashion. Plasma theophylline concentrations were measured before and 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16 and 24 h after the morning dose of Armophylline on the fourth day of each treatment period; the maximum plasma concentration (Cmax), and time to Cmax (tmax) were noted, and the area under the 24-h time-concentration curve (AUC0-24) and mean plasma concentration (Cmean) were computed. Peak expiratory flows on the same day, before and 3, 6 and 12 h after the morning dose of Armophylline were also measured. There was no change in any of the parameters studied. The addition of the antacid to theophylline, each given according to standard clinical practice, did not modify the pharmacokinetics of the latter.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Interactions of pre-operative erythromycin administration with general anaesthesia.

Previous reports have demonstrated a gastric emptying effect of erythromycin due to a motilin-like mechanism. We studied 50 patients, scheduled for daycase laparoscopy, randomly assigned to one of two groups: Group P patients received 30 min before induction of anaesthesia, in a double-blind manner an infusion of 250 ml dextrose 5% while patients in Group E (n = 25) received 500 mg of erythromycin diluted in 250 ml dextrose 5%. An orogastric tube was inserted to measure both gastric pH using a pHmeter and residual gastric volume (RGV) using the phenol red dilutional technique. Six patients were excluded for surgical reasons. More patients in Group P (6/22) than in Group E (0/22) had RGV > 25 ml and more patients in Group P (17/22) presented with a gastric pH < 2.5 than in Group E (5/22), P < 0.05. Since coma and respiratory depression have been reported recently after midazolam and alfentanil administration in patients having received erythromycin, recovery conditions were assessed and were found to be comparable between groups. In conclusion, the administration of iv erythromycin before outpatient laparoscopy decreased residual gastric volume and increased gastric pH without affecting recovery from general anaesthesia.

Adult↗

[A benign broncho-pulmonary lesion may hide another. Association of a granular cell tumor and an intrapulmonary lymphatic ganglion].

The authors record the case of a patient who was under review for pulmonary tuberculosis in whom an Abrikossof granular cell tumour and a cyst were found which had developed from an intrapulmonary lymph node. These two entities are rare and their association extremely unusual and have never been described until now. We review their histogenesis.

Adenocarcinoma↗

[Mediastinal bronchogenic cyst associated with a multiple malformation syndrome].

The authors report a case of a patient presenting with a bronchogenic mediastinal cyst, which presented as a super-infection of the cyst. The cyst was associated with malformation of the cervical vertebra, cardiovascular abnormalities and congenital deafness, placing this in the group of rare complex polymalformation syndrome with Klippel-Feil Syndrome. The authors also stress the value of computed tomography, and above all of nuclear magnetic resonance in the analysis of mediastinal tumours and in particular, of bronchogenic cysts.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

[Chronic respiratory insufficiency. Non-invasive long-term ventilation methods].

The techniques of non-invasive ventilation have reappeared in force as an assortment of therapeutic techniques since the end of the 1980's. At the same time there was a transient renewed interest in perithoracic ventilation favouring the use of new methods of connection to the patient (e.g. poncho). The principal feature has been the use of intermittent positive pressure ventilation by the nasal route, which rapidly became essential for home therapy in patients with chronic restrictive respiratory failure notably in those secondary to thoracic deformation and to neuromuscular pathology. The concept of resting the respiratory muscles has been the basis for techniques of ventilatory assistance and in part the nasal route has now replaced home ventilation using a tracheotomy. Also in certain types of acute respiratory failure, nasal ventilation widely preferred over endotracheal ventilation.

Chronic Disease↗

[The use of patient-controlled analgesia by the obstetrical patient].

Patient-controlled analgesia is a technique of analgesia recently developed for obstetrical pain. During labor, PCA using intravenous administration has already been used for more than a decade but meperidine may be conceivable replaced by fentanyl with which maternal and neonatal side-effect seem reduced. This analgesic technique is however less efficacious than epidural analgesia and thus might essentially be useful in situations when the latter is contra-indicated. During labor, patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) may produce powerful pain relief and may reduce local anesthetic doses thus reducing motor blockade. After cesarean section, PCA using intravenous morphine has been shown to produce less pain relief than epidural morphine but is associated with a high degree of satisfaction. The wider use of PCA in obstetrics is however limited by its cost and will thus require evaluation of its cost/effectiveness ratio.

Analgesia, Epidural↗

French obstetric anaesthetists and acid aspiration prophylaxis.

In 1988, a confidential postal questionnaire was prepared in order to assess the techniques used routinely in France for prophylaxis of aspiration of gastric contents in obstetrics. Of the 297 anaesthetists who responded, 81% (237) worked almost always and 19% worked occasionally in obstetric anaesthesia. Although obstetric anaesthesia is considered to carry a particular risk of aspiration of gastric contents (88.5% of responders), only 23% used in every case a complete set of prophylactic measures. The use of antacids has recently increased in France. Particulate antacids are no longer used whereas sodium citrate, cimetidine and ranitidine are prescribed by about 30%, 50% and 15% respectively of practitioners. Among the users of cricoid pressure, 52% were able to describe precisely the technique. Tracheal intubation is considered mandatory when general anaesthesia is performed for Caesarean section but not for uterine revision or instrumental manoeuvre. 74% of obstetric anaesthetists believe that regional anaesthesia is the best anaesthetic technique for Caesarean section. This survey has shown both positive results indicating that continuing medical education of French anaesthetists follows at least in part the 'state of the art' and insufficiencies indicating that training continues to be necessary to reduce the mortality related to aspiration of gastric contents.

Anesthesia, General↗