Introduction:Sedation is an important component of day care oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures under local anesthesia. Although various sedative drugs in different regimens have been used for sedation, an ideal agent and regimen are yet to be established.Aim:The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of intravenous (IV) dexmedetomidine and midazolam as a sedative agent for day care oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures.Settings:The study was conducted in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, SCB Dental College and Hospital, Cuttack, Odisha, India.Materials and Methods:A total of sixty adult patients of age group 18–65 years, of either sex were randomly selected equally in two groups for the study. One group named Group D received dexmedetomidine and the other named Group M received midazolam. Patients were evaluated for oxygen saturation (SPO2), respiration rate (RR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), Ramsay sedation score, bispectral index (BIS) score, amnesia, Aldrete score, relaxation during the surgery, and drug preference.Results:Midazolam was associated with greater amnesia. Dexmedetomidine was associated with lower heart rate, SBP, and DBP. There was no significant difference in SPO2, RR, Aldrete score, Ramsay sedation score, and BIS score between the two drugs. Patient preference and relaxation were more in dexmedetomidine group.Conclusion:IV dexmedetomidine is a comparable alternative to midazolam for sedation in day care oral and maxillofacial surgery under local anesthesia. It is the preferred drug when a lower heart rate and blood pressure or less amnesia is needed without any serious side effects.

Despite the advent of short and ultra-short acting drugs, an in-depth knowledge of the reversal agents used is a necessity for any anaesthesiologist. Reversal agents are defined as any drug used to reverse the effects of anaesthetics, narcotics or potentially toxic agents. The controversy on the routine reversal of neuromuscular blockade still exists. The advent of newer reversal agents like sugammadex have made the use of steroidal neuromuscular blockers like rocuronium feasible in rapid sequence induction situations. We made a review of the older reversal agents and those still under investigation for drugs that are regularly used in our anaesthesia practice.

A newborn requires constant vigilance, rapid recognition of the events and swift intervention during anaesthesia. The anaesthetic considerations in neonatal surgical emergencies are based on the physiological immaturity of various body systems, poor tolerance of the anaesthetic drugs, associated congenital disorders and considerations regarding the use of high concentration of oxygen. The main goal is for titration of anaesthetics to desired effects, while carefully monitoring of the cardiorespiratory status. The use of regional anaesthesia has shown to be safe and effective. Advancements in neonatology have resulted in the improvement of the survival of the premature and critically ill newborn babies. Most of the disorders previously considered as neonatal surgical emergencies in the past no longer require immediate surgery due to new technology and new methods of treating sick neonates. This article describes the common neonatal surgical emergencies and focuses on factors that affect the anaesthetic management of patients with these disorders.

Pregnancy induces progressive changes in maternal carbohydrate metabolism. As pregnancy advances insulin resistance and diabetogenic stress due to placental hormones necessitate compensatory increase in insulin secretion. When this compensation is inadequate gestational diabetes develops. ‘Gestational diabetes mellitus’ (GDM) is defined as carbohydrate intolerance with onset or recognition during pregnancy. Women diagnosed to have GDM are at increased risk of future diabetes predominantly type 2 DM as are their children. Thus GDM offers an important opportunity for the development, testing and implementation of clinical strategies for diabetes prevention. Timely action taken now in screening all pregnant women for glucose intolerance, achieving euglycaemia in them and ensuring adequate nutrition may prevent in all probability, the vicious cycle of transmitting glucose intolerance from one generation to another. Given that diabetic mothers have proportionately larger babies it is likely that vaginal delivery will be more difficult than in the normal population, with a higher rate of instrumentally assisted delivery, episiotomy and conversion to urgent caesarean section. So an indwelling epidural catheter is a better choice for labour analgesia as well to use, should a caesarean delivery become necessary. Diabetes in pregnancy has potential serious adverse effects for both the mother and the neonate. Standardized multidisciplinary care including anaesthetists should be carried out obsessively throughout pregnancy. Diabetes is the most common endocrine disorder of pregnancy. In pregnancy, it has considerable cost and care demands and is associated with increased risks to the health of the mother and the outcome of the pregnancy. However, with careful and appropriate screening, multidisciplinary management and a motivated patient these risks can be minimized.

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Background and Aims:Dexamethasone as an adjuvant to bupivacaine for supraclavicular brachial plexus (SCBP) block prolongs motor and sensory blockade. However, the effect of dexamethasone (8 mg) when added to levobupivacaine has not been well studied. This study was conducted to find out analgesic efficacy of dexamethasone as adjuvant to levobupivacaine in SCBP block.Methods:Ultrasound- guided SCBP block was given to sixty patients, randomly assigned into two groups. Group S (thirty patients) received 2 mL normal saline with 25 mL levobupivacaine (0.5%) and Group D (thirty patients) received 2 mL of dexamethasone (8 mg) with 25 mL of levobupivacaine (0.5%), respectively. Time for the first rescue analgesia, number of rescue analgesics required in 24 h and different block characteristics was assessed. Chi-square test and Student's t-test were used for statistical analysis.Results:Time for request of the first rescue analgesia was 396.13 ± 109.42 min in Group S and 705.80 ± 121.46 min in Group D (P < 0.001). The requirement for rescue analgesics was more in Group S when compared to Group D. The onset of sensory and motor block was faster in Group D when compared to Group S. The mean duration of sensory and motor block was significantly longer in Group D than Group S.Conclusion:The addition of dexamethasone to levobupivacaine in SCBP blockade prolonged time for first rescue analgesia and reduced the requirement of rescue analgesics with faster onset and prolonged duration of sensory and motor block.

Although transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block is an effective way of providing analgesia in post-operative abdominal surgery patients; however, it can be considered as an anesthetic technique in high-risk cases for surgery. We report a case of a geriatric female with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the respiratory failure, hypotension, posted in an emergency with old perforation leading to peritonitis. The surgery was successfully conducted under bilateral TAP block, which was used as a sole anesthetic technique. TAP block can be considered as an anesthetic technique for abdominal surgery in moribund patients.

We describe a case of a pregnant patient with a large ventricular septal defect (VSD) and pulmonary artery hypertension, presented to the hospital and underwent elective cesarean section under epidural anesthesia and postoperative analgesia. The procedure was uneventful till the patient was discharged on 10th day.