CONVULSIONS IN THE POSTOPERATIVE PERIOD

Convulsions associated with postoperative abstinence from alcohol

A 37 year old Caucasian male with known alcohol dependence, was anaesthetised for the repair of a paraumbilical hernia on a day stay basis. On discharge he was instructed not to drink alcohol for 24 h. The patient developed acute alcohol withdrawal symptoms within 48 h. Alcohol abuse is a common problem. Patients with this problem occasionally present to the day surgery unit for short surgical ...

The postoperative period summary.

Following considerable discussion of this area, it was noted that meta-analysis of pain management has been done. However, this does not include analysis of subgroups. It was the consensus that considerable data are missing on hard numbers and there is little information regarding the duration of therapy. In subspecialty groups such as thoracic and orthopedic patients, a local epidural is good ...

Epidural Analgesia in the Postoperative Period

Base deficit in the immediate postoperative period of open-heart surgery and patient outcome

 Abstarct Background: Base deficit is a non-respiratory indicator of acid base status that evaluates the severity of shock at the cellular level. Base deficit results from cellular metabolism of pyruvate under anaerobic conditions. In this situation, base deficit is a sensitive marker of the magnitude of anaerobic metabolism and tissue oxygen deficit [1]. Several studies have shown a strong pos...

Kidney dysfunction in the postoperative period.

The development of perioperative acute renal failure is associated with a high incidence of morbidity and mortality. Although this incidence varies with different surgical procedures and with the definition used for renal failure, we now understand better the aetiology of the underlying problem. However, successful strategies to provide renal protection or strategies for 'rescue therapy' are ei...