Biomedical subjects

D R Bigler

Publications and source records attributed to D R Bigler.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

[Changes in mental function after anesthesia and surgery].

Minor short-term depression of mental function is seen after anaesthesia and surgery. However, general anaesthesia does not seem to cause permanent damage or depress mental function beyond the first 2-4 postoperative days and no significant advantages of regional anaesthesia, as regards to cerebral function, are found after this period. Severe cases of long term mental deterioration after surgery and anaesthesia may be explained by other factors such as per- and postoperative complications. The risk of mental disturbance is increased in patients with psychiatric disease or presenile dementia and may be due to ongoing treatment with tricyclic antidepressant and neuroleptic drugs. Centrally acting cholinergic drugs, hypotension and hypoxia together with postoperative pain and sleep deprivation should be avoided.

Anesthesia, General↗

PubMed1990

[Treatment of postoperative pain].

Intensive research during recent years concerning treatment of postoperative pain has demonstrated that the majority of operation patients can be rendered free from pain but that this is far from being the case in clinical practice. This article reviews the physiological mechanisms of acute pain and the methods available for treatment of pain related to acute physiology of pain. Postoperative treatment of pain should be aggressive with the object of preventing pain and normalizing the vital functions with the object of reducing the perioperative morbidity and mortality. A series of recommendations are given for treatment of pain after surgical intervention.

Analgesia↗

PubMed1987

Influence of cigarette smoking on the risk of acid pulmonary aspiration.

Twenty-five non-smokers and 35 smokers who had abstained overnight from cigarette smoking and were undergoing minor elective orthopaedic surgery were studied in order to compare gastric volume and pH. There was no significant difference in aspirated volume and pH both just after intubation and prior to extubation between the two groups, thus indicating that habitual smokers undergoing elective surgery in general anaesthesia do not have increased risk of acid pulmonary aspiration compared with non-smokers.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Effect of subcutaneous salbutamol on postoperative pulmonary function in patients undergoing elective cholecystectomy.

In a double-blind study, 14 patients underwent elective cholecystectomy. The patients were randomly allocated to two groups of seven to receive either s.c. salbutamol 0.5 mg or placebo 0.5 mg immediately before extubation and every 6 h for 48 h. In the placebo group there was a significant reduction in mean arterial oxygen tension of seven patients 3, 27 and 51 h after surgery (P = 0.006, P = 0.01 and P = 0.02) compared with the mean value before operation. The reduction in mean arterial oxygen tension in the group receiving salbutamol was not significant 3 h after surgery (P = 0.13), whereas reduction was significant 27 and 51 h later (P = 0.01 and P = 0.02) compared with the mean value before operation. Mean arterial oxygen tension was significantly higher in the salbutamol group than in the placebo group 3 h after operation (P = 0.03), whereas it was not significant 27 and 51 h later (P = 0.48 and P = 0.55). Mean spirometric values showed significant reductions 27 and 51 h after operation in both groups compared with the pre-operative measurements. Smaller insignificant differences were found between the salbutamol and placebo groups 27 and 51 h after operation. However, mean FEV1 in the salbutamol group 51 h after operation was 22% higher in comparison with the placebo group. Our results suggest that salbutamol may reduce postoperative hypoxaemia during the first few hours after the operation, but not later on.

Adult↗