Anaesthetic management of patients undergoing surgery for tachyarrhythmias. Initial experience with 16 patients.

Sixteen patients suffering from various cardiac arrhythmias were treated surgically. Intraoperative computerised electrophysiologic mapping was used in 14. Thirteen patients were suffering from Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. They underwent surgical division or cryoablation of accessory pathways. Two patients who had rheumatic mitral stenosis with left atrial clot underwent "Maze III" procedure with open mitral commissurotomy and clot removal. One patient with paroxysmal refractory ventricular tachycardia and a left ventricular aneurysm had an aneurysmectomy with subendocardial resection of the arrhythmic focus. All antiarrhythmic medications were discontinued preoperatively. Morphine was the principal anaesthetic agent, supplemented with halothane. Muscle relaxation was provided with pancuronium bromide. The various problems encountered included hypotension and arrhythmia during placement of epicardial band array for mapping (4 patients), ventricular tachycardia during internal jugular vein cannulation (1 patient) and continuance of delta wave after cryoablation in 2 patients. Halothane may have interfered with electrophysiologic mapping and accurate localization of accessory pathway leading to persistence of delta wave. The choice of anaesthetic agents should be guided by the electrophysiologic effects and potential influence of these agents on the accessory pathways.

Warts (non-genital).

INTRODUCTION: Warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), of which there are over 100 types, which probably infects the skin via areas of minimal trauma. Risk factors include use of communal showers, occupational handling of meat, and immunosuppression. In immunocompetent people, warts are harmless and resolve as a result of natural immunity within months or years. METHODS AND OUTCOMES: We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical question: What are the effects of treatments for warts (non-genital)? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to June 2008 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). RESULTS: We found 12 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions. CONCLUSIONS: In this systematic, review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: intralesional bleomycin; cimetidine; contact immunotherapy; cryotherapy; duct tape occlusion; formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde; homeopathy; photodynamic treatment; pulsed dye laser; surgical procedures; topical salicylic acid; and zinc sulphate.

Preemptive analgesia in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment surgery: is it effective?

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of preemptive analgesia in surgical repair of retinal detachment (RD) using scleral buckle and cryopexy under general anesthesia. METHODS: Thirty patients who were scheduled for rhegmatogenous RD surgical repair using scleral buckle and cryopexy and who were American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I, II, or III were included in this study. The patients were randomly divided into two equal groups. The surgery was done under general anesthesia in both groups, but in Group 2, sub-Tenon anesthesia was given as preemptive analgesia after induction anesthesia and before start of surgery. Both groups were statistically comparable as regards patient age and weight and duration of anesthesia and surgery. RESULTS: The incidences of intraoperative oculocardiac reflex and postoperative vomiting were significantly lower in Group 2 compared with Group 1 (P < 0.001 and 0.0113, respectively). The time of first postoperative analgesic dose was significantly shorter in Group 1 (46.67 +/- 18.84 minutes) compared with Group 2 (162.67 +/- 29.391 minutes) (P < 0.001). The total analgesic consumption per 24 hours was significantly higher in Group 1 compared with Group 2 (P < 0.001). The time of discharge from the hospital was significantly shorter in Group 2 (8.8 +/- 2.704 hours) compared with Group 1 (12.4 +/- 3.481 hours) (P = 0.0018). CONCLUSION: The use of sub-Tenon block as preemptive analgesia after induction of general anesthesia and before the start of rhegmatogenous RD surgical repair was effective in reducing postoperative pain and analgesic requirements compared with an unblocked group. The use of sub-Tenon block was also effective in reducing intraoperative incidence of oculocardiac reflex and postoperative incidence of vomiting.