[Trans-cerebral electric analgesia: reality, hypothesis or placebo? (author's transl)]. / Electro-analgésie transcérébrale: réalité, hypothèse ou placebo?

Sixty patients undergoing major digestive surgery received the same amount of drugs for induction of anesthesia; neuroleptic, morphinomimetic and pachycurares were used and calculated in mg/kg. A randomisation list permitted to define 45 patients who received in double blind (by means of a long electrical cord), an electrical current varying for each protocol; the control group (15 patients) did not receive an electrical current. Statistical study of the amount of drugs used for follow of anesthesia shows no real effect of electrical analgesia for digestive surgery.

[Very long duration anaesthesia (V. L. D. A.) considered by the surgeon (author's transl)]. / Les anesthésies de très longue durés (A. T. L. D.). Point de vue du chirurgien.

In the experience of the Universitary Surgical Clinic of Amiens, anaesthesia of more than 8 hours duration appears for 3 p. thousand of the total amount (9/3 000 on 1978). The authors distinguish between them "provided" very long duration operations and the "involuntary" ones (complex multitrauma, unexpected difficulties, etc.); that distinction is justified by many reasons among which one must consider mostly the team work setting up. The authors briefly report V. L. D. A. events in their own experience as in that reported in the medical literature. Also the practical difficulties resulting of V. L. D. A. in the intra-operative or post-operative periods are appraised. Then the authors propose some means able to reduce the number of V. L. D. A. and to assure a better proceeding of very long duration operations.

[Determination of alphaxalone in serum and urine by gas-liquid chromatography. Application in anaesthesiological pharmacology (author's transl)]. / Dosage de l'alphaxalone dans le sérum et les urines par chromatographie gaz-liquide. Application en pharmacologie anesthésiologique.

The authors propose a simple and reliable method for determination of alphaxalone [3 alpha-hydroxy(5 alpha)pregnane 11,20 dione] in serum and urine, during long-duration anaesthesia using Althesin, mixture of alphaxalone and alphadolone acetate [21 acetoxy, 3 alpha-hydroxy(5 alpha)pregnane 11,20 dione]. If assays of alphadolone appear difficult and without any precision, because of numerous interferences, the determination of alphaxalone in serum and urine seems interesting for pharmacokinetic and metabolic investigation. We confirm the quick rate of disappearance of alphaxalone from blood, associated with a very active metabolism in the liver. The results show that it exists a relation between the concentration of alphaxalone in blood and the value of anaesthesia judged on clinical and electrical criteria. We cannot however conclude that Althesin presents a cumulative effect, because we used important amounts of anaesthetic agent.