BACKGROUND: Intravenous regional anaesthesia, though a effective, reliable and safe technique, has its own share of disadvantages. OBJECTIVE: To compare the analgesic efficacy of lidocaine alone versus combination of lidocaine with dexamethasone for intravenous regional anaesthesia. METHODS: A total number of 50 patients of ASA physical status I and II aged 15 to 65 years undergoing ambulatory hand surgery were recruited. 25 patients received 40 ml of 0.5% lidocaine whereas 25 patients received 40 ml of 0.5% lidocaine and 8mg dexamethasone. Onset, duration and recovery times of sensory and motor block, time to request for first analgesic and total analgesic consumption in 24 hours were recorded. RESULTS: The onset and duration of sensory and motor block did not differ significantly amongst the two groups. The recovery time of sensory and motor block was significantly longer in the study group as compared to the control group. The patients in the study group had a significantly longer pain free interval as compared to the control group. The total analgesic consumption in first 24 hours as well as the total number of patients requiring analgesia was significantly lower in the study group as compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: Adding 8 mg dexamethasone to an intravenous regional anaesthesia solution did not shorten sensory and motor block onset time but prolonged sensory and motor block recovery time, besides reducing postoperative analgesic consumption. JMS 2012;15(2):123-27

Background and Objective:The aim of this study was to investigate the relative frequency of odontogenic cysts in two local dental college hospitals.Methodology:In this study 90 cysts from both jaws, treated at Khyber College of Dentistry and Sardar Begum Dental College from March 2008 to March 2013 were analyzed in order to evaluate the incidence of these cysts.Results:Case history of 52 males and 38 females were analyzed. The age of patients varied from 07 to 70 years, with a mean age of 26.4±13.89. In this 5-year study of odontogenic cysts, 48 were radicular cysts, 22 were odontogenic keratocysts and 20 were dentigerous cysts. Out of these 46 cysts were present in the maxilla and 44 in the mandible. In the maxilla 46.7%were present in the anterior maxilla and 4.4% in the posterior maxilla. In the mandible 35.6% were present in the posterior mandible and 13.3% in the anterior mandible.Conclusion:From the findings of this study we conclude that odontogenic cysts were mostly inflammatory in nature i.e. the radicular cysts and was followed by odontogenic keratocysts. Majority of the cysts were located in the anterior maxilla and posterior mandible regions. The male predilection was higher as compared to females.

We report a case of 28 year old female presenting for an emergency cesarean section with an established diagnosis of peripartum cardiomopathy. Surgery was successfully accomplished under epidural anaesthesia using 15 ml. of 0.5% Bupivacaine, administered in increments. Patient was monitored intra-operatively with Noninvasive blood pressure, pulse oximetry and continuous ECG. Patient's peri-operative course was uneventful. Therefore, it is concluded that in patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy, coming for cesarean section, epidural anaesthesia administered in increments is a safe, acceptable and a better anaesthetic option. JMS 2012;15(1):69-71.