Peroperative nitrous oxide does not influence recovery after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

We have evaluated the effects of nitrous oxide on recovery following laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a prospective, randomised, double-blind study with 42 otherwise healthy patients. All patients received meperidine 1 mg/kg and atropine 6 micrograms/kg im for premedication, and anaesthesia was induced with fentanyl 2 micrograms/kg and thiopental 4-6 mg/kg. Succinylcholine was used for the intubation and muscle relaxation was achieved using vecuronium. Isoflurane with 70% nitrous oxide in oxygen and fentanyl was used for maintenance of anaesthesia in group I (n = 19), and isoflurane in air/oxygen and fentanyl in group II (n = 23). The postoperative ward staff and the surgeon evaluating the postoperative recovery were blinded to the anaesthetic technique. No differences were found in duration of operation and anaesthesia, need for postoperative analgesia or postoperative nausea treated medically. Recovery, judged by the Steward Coma Score, comprehension and collaboration, degree of sedation and orientation in time and space, was similar in the two groups. Postoperative hospital stay was 1 (1-4) day in the nitrous oxide group (median (10-90th percentiles) versus 2 (1-4) days in the air group. The time until patients were recovered, as judged by return to work and normal daily activities, was the same in the two groups: 8 (4-11) days in the nitrous oxide group and 8 (4-11) days in the air group. We conclude that nitrous oxide has no influence on recovery after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Heat stroke following Rugby League football.

OBJECTIVE: To present a case of severe heat stroke after Rugby League football. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 29-year-old Rugby League forward with a mild infection of the upper respiratory tract collapsed while playing football in late March, when the ambient temperature was 24.1 degrees C and the relative humidity up to 73%. He was initially thought to have sustained a head injury and was markedly dehydrated. He suffered severe disseminated intravascular coagulation and gross neurological, renal and hepatic disturbances. INTERVENTION AND OUTCOME: He required repeated haemodialysis, assisted ventilation and supportive therapy and remained unconscious for 10 days. He then recovered fully. CONCLUSION: Heat stroke is potentially fatal and can be easily mistaken for head injury in contact sports. When players are dehydrated, have febrile illness and play in warm conditions, they may succumb to heat stroke.

CPAP, effective respiratory support in patients with AIDS-related Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) related Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) associated with severe respiratory failure is an increasingly common problem in major centres and is associated with a high mortality in previous and recent studies. Early in the epidemic, alternatives to invasive intensive care treatment were utilized in our institution and found to be successful. When respiratory failure developed, mask CPAP was used instead of intubation and ventilation. A retrospective review of 175 cases of HIV infected patients with confirmed first presentation PCP was undertaken. Treatment with our protocol resulted in an overall hospital mortality of 9%. Those patients who did not require supplemental oxygen or respiratory support had no in-hospital mortality. The group who required supplemental oxygen had a mortality of 10%. If respiratory failure supervened (severe respiratory distress, PaO2 less than 50 mmHg, SaO2 less than 90% on mask oxygen), CPAP was introduced. The mortality in this group was 22%. Only two patients were admitted to the intensive care unit for respiratory support after failure of CPAP. Both patients were intubated and received intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV). Both patients died.