PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

C McLoughlin

Publications and source records attributed to C McLoughlin.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Muscle pains and biochemical changes following suxamethonium administration after six pretreatment regimens.

The incidence of muscle pains and changes in serum concentrations of potassium, calcium and creatine kinase following suxamethonium were investigated after no pretreatment or pretreatment with intravenous tubocurarine 0.05 mg.kg-1, intravenous chlorpromazine 0.1 mg.kg-1, alphatocopherol (vitamin E) 600 mg in three divided doses orally, aspirin 600 mg orally or intravenous calcium chloride 5 mg.kg-1 in groups of 20 patients each. The incidence of myalgia was reduced significantly by tubocurarine, chlorpromazine and alphatocopherol. However, the increase in creatine kinase was attenuated only in the groups of patients who received tubocurarine and chlorpromazine. The changes in serum potassium and calcium concentrations were within acceptable limits. The intubating conditions were not as good in the patients who received tubocurarine as in the other groups. Effectiveness of chlorpromazine in preventing both the myalgia and the biochemical changes suggests the involvement of phospholipases in the pathogenesis of suxamethonium-induced muscle damage.

Adolescent

Pathogenesis of suxamethonium-induced muscle damage in the biventer cervicis muscle in the chick.

Muscle damage induced by suxamethonium, and the influence of halothane on it, has been examined by measuring the efflux of creatine kinase (CK) in the biventer cervicis muscle of the chick. Whereas halothane and suxamethonium alone did not increase the enzyme efflux significantly, the combination of the two was associated with significant increase in the concentration of CK in the bathing medium by 59-157%. The increase in CK was prevented by adding chlorpromazine 100 mumol litre-1 to the medium, suggesting the involvement of phospholipases in the pathogenesis of suxamethonium-induced muscle damage.

Animals

A comparison of different pre-oxygenation techniques in the elderly.

The efficacy of five different techniques of pre-oxygenation before a modified rapid intubation sequence was assessed, using oxygen saturation measurement, in patients aged over 65 years. Twenty patients in each group were pre-oxygenated using four deep breaths or normal tidal breathing for 1, 2, 3, or 4 minutes. The acceptable period of apnoea was defined as the time taken to desaturate to 93%. The mean times (SD) taken to reach this end-point were 3.7 (1.6), 4.1 (1.2), 5.4 (1.7), 5.4 (1.4) and 5.2 (1.7) minutes respectively. The apnoea times with 2, 3 and 4 minutes pre-oxygenation were not significantly different from each other but were significantly longer than after four deep breaths and 1 minute. It is concluded that a pre-oxygenation period of at least 2 minutes should be employed in the elderly before a rapid sequence induction.

Aged

Diclofenac for day-care arthroscopy surgery: comparison with a standard opioid therapy.

Sixty unpremedicated patients presenting for day-care arthroscopy surgery were allocated randomly to receive diclofenac 1 mg kg-1 i.m., fentanyl 1 microgram kg-1 i.v. or no analgesic during the course of anaesthesia. Patients receiving fentanyl had slightly, although not significantly prolonged recovery times. Patients receiving diclofenac had significantly improved postoperative visual analogue pain scores compared with patients receiving placebo medication (P less than 0.05). With fentanyl, pain scores were reduced also, but the effect was not statistically significant. Both fentanyl and diclofenac produced significant reduction in postoperative analgesic requirements (P less than 0.05). We conclude that diclofenac 1 mg kg-1 i.m. was an effective analgesic for arthroscopic procedures on the knee and is a useful alternative to opioids for day-care patients.

Adolescent

Suxamethonium induced myalgia and the effect of pre-operative administration of oral aspirin. A comparison with a standard treatment and an untreated group.

Eighty-four fit, unpremedicated patients who presented for routine surgery and received a standard anaesthetic technique were allocated randomly to three equal groups. Group 1 received tubocurarine 0.05 mg/kg before induction of anaesthesia. Group 2 received soluble aspirin 600 mg orally one hour before surgery, while Group 3 received no pretreatment. Aspirin prophylaxis produced a significant reduction in the incidence of subsequent suxamethonium-induced myalgia and the improvement was similar to that achieved with tubocurarine pretreatment. Pre-operative oral administration of aspirin effectively reduces muscle pains and avoids many of the complications associated with pretreatment with non-depolarising agents.

Administration, Oral