SCHULTETUS RR, HILL CR, DHARAMRAJ CM, BANNER TE, BERMAN LS. Wakefulness during cesarean section after anesthetic induction with ketamine, thiopental, or ketamine and thiopental combined. Anesth Analg 1986;65:723-8.Thirty-six pregnant women ( A S A class 1 or 11) at term who underwent general anesthesia and cesarean section received either ketamine, 1 mglkg ( n = 12); thiopental, 4 mglkg ( n = 13); or a combination of ketamine, 0.5 mglkg, and thiopental, 2 mglkg ( n = 11). A blood pressure cuff inflated to 250 mm Hg isolated one arm from the effects of succinylcholine so that awareness during anesthesia could be assessed by asking the patient to move her hand. Although only one patient receiving ketamine responded to commands during anesthesia, 46% of patients receiving either thiopental or the combination responded to commands intraoperatively. No patient hallucinated, the incidence of dreams was low (11%), and no postoperative dysphoria was noted. Three patients (8%) had postoperative recall of intraoperative awareness; one had received thiopental and two the combination. Maternal intraoperative cardiovascular responses among the groups were similar, as were umbilical blood gas values, newborn Apgar scores, and neonatal neurobehavioral test scores at 4 and 24 hr. Ketamine more effectively blocked maternal responsiveness to commands and strong stimuli during the first few minutes after anesthetic induction for cesarean section than did thiopental or a combination of thiopenfal and ketamine, each at a lower dose.
To determine the effect of snugness of cuff wrap on the accuracy of blood pressure (BP) measurements, we performed two studies on 6 healthy volunteers. In both studies, control values were obtained from the right upper arm with cuffs of appropriate size and snug fit. Study 1 had two phases. In the first, cuffs of appropriate size were wrapped snugly around the upper left arm of seated subjects. The effects of two other degrees of cuff snugness on the measurement of BP were evaluated by placing a filled 250-mL intravenous fluid bag between the cuff and arm over the triceps, measuring BP, then draining the same bag of half its contents and then all of its contents without rewrapping the cuff ("loose," "very loose" fit), each time measuring BP. The second phase of study 1 was identical in procedure, except that the cuffs used on the left arm were one size too small. In study 2, the experimental cuffs were placed just above the right ankle. To alter the signal-to-noise ratio, BP was raised or lowered: the standing position elevated mean BP by an average of 90 mm Hg, and elevation of the legs decreased mean BP by an average of 43 mm Hg. In study 1, we found that appropriately sized cuffs, whether wrapped tightly or loosely, gave correct BP readings. Cuffs snugly wrapped, but too small for the subject, gave high BP readings, on the average by approximately 10 mm Hg. Loose wrapping of small cuffs gave variable results in individual subjects that exaggerated systolic BP from 2 to 80 mm Hg. In study 2, elevating the legs or standing decreased or increased BP consistently. Loose wrapping of appropriately sized cuffs around the ankles of the subjects had no additional significant effect on BP.
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