Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to T Kirwan.
We measured the blood loss during and after hip replacement in two groups of women, each consisting of 10 patients. In one group the lumbar plexus was infiltrated with bupivacaine, in the other it was not. The group in whom the plexus was blocked had significantly less blood loss.
Changes in central venous pressure, systolic arterial pressure and pulse rate were recorded in 31 patients undergoing surgery involving withdrawal of 1 litre of blood and subsequent transfusion. Central venous pressure gave immediate and consistent indications of blood loss and replacement but blood volume changes could not be correlated numerically with central venous pressure. No difference was found between patients anaesthetised using spontaneous ventilation with halothane and intermittent positive pressure ventilation.