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In acute pancreatitis pancreatic necrosis and involvement of different organ systems determine clinical course and severity. There is no method to predict the outcome of acute pancreatitis at the beginning of the disease. If there is evidence for severe pancreatitis, an immediate intensive care of all organ systems is needed, to avoid complications. Besides clinical signs, serum CRP is the most valuable parameter to define severity. According to present knowledge, a CT scan is only needed in sepsis or multiorgan failure. Non-invasive ventilation should be started early in case of hypoxia. Up to now, no general benefit was detected for antibiotic prophylaxis or enteral nutrition.

Objective: A central anticholinergic syndrome (CAS) can be related to the majority of anesthetic agents, but is often not recognized as such. Thus, most anesthesiologists seem to miss the occurrence of an anticholinergic syndrome especially when agitation and/or restlessness are the major symptoms. Therefore, the following study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that routine administration of the anticholinergic agent physostigmin is of benefit for patients in regard to vigilance, the cardiovascular system and the need of analgesics easing the time in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU)., Methods: After approval by the local ethics committee and written informed consent, 100 patients undergoing a cholecystectomy or a struma resection, were given either physostigmin (n = 51) or saline 0.9 % (n = 49) in a randomized fashion. The study was conceived to block a possible isoflurane-N2O/O2 (opioid-based plus relaxant) induced central anticholinergic syndrome and to evaluate the effects on the cardiovascular system on vigilance and on postoperative analgesic demand. Following parameters were measured: systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, and arterial blood gases. In addition, vigilance was determined and typical anticholinergic symptoms (disorientation, slurred speech, agitation, nausea, emesis, cardiac arrhythmia and muscle shivering) were determined 10, 20, 40 and 60 minutes following the intravenous injection of physostigmin. Also, the need for the postoperative analgesic pethidine was evaluated among the two groups., Results: Except for a significant reduction in the need of analgesics, a reduced diastolic pressure and heart rate and a lower incidence of muscle shivering there was no difference among the two groups. One major side effect following the use of physostigmin was the higher incidence of nausea in the im mediate minutes following injection. This effect may be due to the rapid injection of the anticholinergic compound. Otherwise there were no detrimental effects of physostigmin in patients., Conclusion: From the results it can be concluded that routine administration of an anticholinergic agent results in a short term beneficial effect in regard to vigilance, a lesser incidence of muscle shivering and a lesser demand for analgesics. However, because of the low incidence of a classical central anticholinergic syndrome, routine physostigmine is only indicated when agitation is diagnosed.

Objective: Postoperative shivering is common and has potentially adverse side effects in high-risk patients. Meperidine, which binds to both mu- and kappa-opioid receptors, is reported to be more effective in treating shivering than morphine or fentanyl. Recent data indicate that much of meperidine's special antishivering effect may be mediated by its kappa-opioid receptor activity. Nalbuphine, an opioid agonist/antagonist also has a potent affinity for kappa-receptors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antishivering effect of nalbuphine in comparison to meperidine., Methods: 100 ASA physical status I-II patients shivering after elective surgery were included in the study. General anaesthesia was performed with thiopentone, low-dose fentanyl and enflurane in N2O/O2. After arrival in the recovery room patients shivering within 5 min received either meperidine 25 mg or nalbupine 10 mg in a double-blind, randomised manner. The duration and severity of shivering, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, end-tidal CO2 concentration, O2-saturation and awareness were documented until 20 min after injection. Patients in need of a second injection were excluded from the study., Results: Demographic variables, duration of operation and temperature decreases were not significantly different between treatment groups. The suppression of shivering was achieved within 4.0 +/- 3.5 or 4.6 +/- 4.1 min following the injection of meperidine or nalbuphine, respectively (p = NS). Vital signs and postoperative vigilance showed no significant differences. No adverse side effects were observed., Discussion: The data indicated that nalbuphine suppressed postoperative shivering as effectively and timely as meperidine in equianalgesic doses. The observation is consistent with the hypothesis that stimulation of kappa-opioid receptors is a likely explanation for much of meperidine's antishivering action.

40 patients who had undergone total hip replacement were included in a randomised prospective study. Postoperative pain management was performed with a continuous 3-in-1 block combined with demand-adapted intravenous meperidine titration (3-in-1 catheter group; n = 20) or by demand-adapted intravenous meperidine titration alone (control group; n = 20). The 3-in-1 catheter was placed before the start of anesthesia, and the patients received 30 ml 0.5% bupivacaine via this catheter. A second dose of 30 ml 0.5% bupivacaine was injected 10 min after postanaesthetic recovery. In the control group intravenous meperidine titration was initiated if the patients required pain relief. Subjective pain intensity was evaluated over a 6-hour period by means of the visual analogue scale. Bupivacaine plasma concentrations were determined in 18 patients at 30, 60, 120, and 180 min after the first postoperative injection of bupivacaine. Good pain control was achieved in both groups. The patients in the control group required a mean of 80.8 +/- 49.9 mg meperidine. The 3-in-1 block group required significantly less meperidine (54.3 +/- 44.5 mg). Mean bupivacaine plasma levels ranged between 0.75 and 1.33 micrograms/ml. Placement of the 3-in-1 catheters was without complications. For the management of postoperative pain following total hip replacement a continuous 3-in-1 block alone was often insufficient but postoperative meperidine requirements were significantly reduced (p < 0.05). Toxic bupivacaine plasma concentrations were not measured.

Nalbuphine is a new partly agonistic antagonistic opioid, that may offer some advantages especially in postoperative pain relief. We compared meperidine (1 mg kg-1) in 100 patients and nalbuphine (0.3 mg kg-1) in 70 patients, administering both agents intravenously after gynaecological operations. Standardised halothane anaesthesia without any opioid was used. After arrival in the recovery room, vigilance (sedation), quality and duration of pain relief were measured by different methods at four different times (0, 15, 30, and 60 minutes). Sedation was significantly more pronounced in the nalbuphine group, but no difference could be found in pain relief and duration between both groups. 6 patients of the n-group showed a short lasting wake-up reaction due to receptor antagonism. 36 patients had to be reinjected at the end of the first hour. We consider nalbuphine to be a safe opioid, however, the marked sedation should be taken into account.

In 70 healthy women under labor, the clinical properties of the combination DHB (0,1 mg/kg) and Pethidin (0.4 mg/kg) was studied for analgesia purposes in obstetrics; on request, Pethidin was given repeatedly. The fallowing conclusions can be drawn from this study: 1. The recommended "analgesic mixture" of DHB and Pethidin i.v. in the above mentioned doses is usually without harm to mothers and fetuses or new born respectively. 2. The Pethidin dosage, used in this study, agrees with the doses, recommended in the literature (0,4 mg/kg/h). 3. There was no difference between I-para, II, III-para etc., as far as the Pethidin requirement are concerned. 4. The analgesic properties of the mixture, judged by using clinical criteria only, were not quite convincing. This may be due to an increase of the intensity of uterine contractions by the mixture itself.

The anaesthetic requirements for peripheral angiographies in geriatric or poor risk patients are temporary sedation, analgesia and sufficient immobilisation. Neither general anaesthesia using muscle relaxants and assisted ventilation nor regional methods warrant satisfactory results in all cases, especially if multiple arteriographies are to be performed at the same session. Therefore a few new anaesthetic techniques were studied, having combined benzodiazepines with ultrashort acting intravenous narcotics. Premedication with Pethidin 1mg/kg, the administration of Flunitrazepam 0,017 mg/kg with regard to sedative, analgesic and relaxant effects and Methohexital 0.67 mg/kg as anaesthetic given prior to injection of contrast medium would seem more useful than other techniques.

The analgesic affects of TNS, pethidine and placebos on labour pain were studied in 30 parturient women during the first stage of labour. 10 had TNS paravertebrally in the region of the afferent nerves at Th 10-Th 12; one group of 5 had unspecific (wrong) TNS; in another group of five no current was applied (placebo); five women were given 50 mg of pethidine intravenously; five patients acted as a control group. To assess the analgesic effects the women were asked to estimate the intensity of pain (grades 1-6) over a period of 70 minutes. There was no significant difference between the placebo, unspecific TNS and control groups as regarded the increase in pain during the test period. Patients who had received pethidine and those who had been given TNS at the site of the afferent nerves transmitting impulses from the uterus experienced considerable relief of pain. The differences were highly significant. The observations prove the genuine analgesic action of TNS. The use of this technique in obstetrics is discussed.

The effect of the opioid analgesics tramadol and pethidine on experimentally induced pain was investigated in a double blind study with healthy volunteers. Using a constant current shocker, compensating the changes of the skin resistance, a constantly increasing pain stimulus was produced. Detection-, pain-, and tolerance-thresholds were assessed before and three times after intravenous injection of either pethidine (1 mg/kg bodyweight), tramadol (2 mg/kg bodyweight) or placebo (NaCl). While the two analgesics caused an increase of all three thresholds the placebo did not cause any threshold changes. The rise of the detection threshold after application of tramadol and pethidine suggests a sedation effect. However, in relation to the analgesic effect this sedation effect is stronger with tramadol than with pethidine. With the dosage used in this experiment, there is no difference in the analgesic effect of tramadol and pethidine. Compensating for intra- and interindividual changes in skin resistance, the pain stimulation method used in this study provides a good quantification of the effects of analgesics.

The ECGs of 157 patients were registered continuously during the oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy with a R-R intervall monitoring system. The behavior of frequencies and cardiac arrhythms of 53 patients with and 104 patients without heart diseases is reported. 32 patients were premedicated with 0,5 mg Atropin intravenously, 121 patients received intramuscular premedication. The influence of the vegetative nervous system is discussed in view of the heart actions during the diagnostic procedure. A clinically relevant danger for the heart and circulatory system caused by oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy was not observed.

In a retrospective study of retroperitoneal lymph-adenectomy it was investigated whether the choice of anaesthesia and the difference in management of postoperative pain alleviation does influence the postoperative course. In comparing group I (n = 43), patients anaesthesized with volatile anaesthetics (enflurance, halothane) while postoperative pain relief was obtained by meperidine and pentazocine and group II (n = 28), anaesthesized with a high epidural block combined with light narcosis with oxygen, nitrous oxygen and diazepam, while postoperative pain relief was obtained by a continuous epidural block we found: In comparison to group I the stay in group II was shorter. There was one patient in group II with intestinal obstruction, but in group I were seven patients with clinical signs of intestinal obstruction. In group I the evaluation of the bowel took place after 36 hours, in group II after 20 hours. One patient in group I died after three days because of pneumonia combined with intestinal obstruction. The consumption of meperidine and pentazocine in comparison group II to group I were diminished to round about 85%. We think that there is a direct relation between anaesthesia, postoperative pain alleviation and the postoperative course. High epidural anaesthesia in combination with light anaesthesia and postoperative epidural analgesia seems to be better than inhalational anaesthesia for the patients we explored in our retrospective study.

In a double-blind trial involving 99 patients, equi-analgesic doses of tilidine and pethidine (100 mg of each i.m.) were compared as to their effectiveness in laparoscopies, gastroscopies, esophagoscopies and liver needle biopsies. The two substances produced equally analgesic effects both during and after the various procedures, with the exception of the liver biopsies, in which tilidine was shown to be significantly more effective than pethidine. Whereas no sedation was noted in connection with tilidine medication, pethidine produced a marked, undesirable sleepiness in 12% of the cases observed. Due to the high analgesic efficacy and tolerance of tilidine found in both this and numerous other clinical trials and to its particular advantages over pethidine and other opiates (no respiratory depression, no effect on intestinal motility) tilidine can be recommended for premedication in gastrointestinal endoscopies and liver needle biopsies. Tilidine (Valoron) is not subject to the restrictions imposed by the West German narcotics laws.

A case report of a fatal hyperthermic crisis after premedication and before introduction of anaesthesia is given. Based on the typical clinical course, CK isoenzyme patterns and preliminary results of familial investigation the diagnosis of malignant hyperthermia could be established. According to literature reports, psychic stress and/or phenothiazine medication may be assumed as triggering factors. Until a potential causality between malignant hyperthermia and phenothiazine medication can definitely be ruled out, their use in suspicious cases of susceptibility to malignant hyperthermia should be avoided.

Parenteral analgesia with Tramal was performed in 23 normal deliveries. The results were compared with a group of normal deliveries in which analgesia was achieved with pethidine. Both medicaments excerted an identical analgetic efficiency. No adverse side effects were observed with Tramal concerning the follow-up of labour or the newborn. Tramal can be recommended for obstetrical analgesia since it does not excert inhibitory effects upon the respiratory center.

In an open, randomized prospective clinical trial the analgesic effect of indomethacin and ketobemidon was compared in 67 patients with acute cholecystitis (28 received 5 mg ketobemidon and 39 received 50 mg indomethacin). Both drugs showed a good and significant pain relief, exhibiting no significant difference in the analgesic effect and no serious adverse reactions. It was concluded that indomethacin administered intravenously is an alternative to ketobemidon intravenously in the treatment of pain resulting from acute cholecystitis and may offer some advantages.

Hemodynamic reactions to the discontinuation of epidural analgesia and to the injection of Dolantin were studied in 16 patients. One of every three patients reacted to the postoperative pain with an increase in mean arterial pressure(+30%) and in the mean pressure in the arteria pulmonalis (+40%) associated with an increase in stroke volume (+41%) and cardiac output (+49%). The administration of Dolantin did not influence either pressure measurement. In such cases the administration of antihypertensive drugs (alpha-blocking agents) or the reinstitution of epidural analgesia is neccessary.

For the practicing physician the medicamentous treatment of the patients with infarction is the main problem of the secondary prevention in the prehospital phase as well as in the after-treatment. In these cases in the acute phase not the myocardial insufficiency is in the centre of the out-patient care, but the therapy of the disturbances of cardiac rhythm, which mainly cause the high lethality in the early phase. Therefore, uncomplicated infarctions, in whch care must be taken only for a sedation of sympathico-adrenergic reactions and a volume reduction of the heart, should be differed from complicated cases. However, an immediate transport to the hospital must be guaranteed. If there appear a contraction insufficiency of the left ventricle or threatening disturbances of the rhythm, additionally glycosides and saluretics must be administered as well as an aimed antiarrhythmic therapy must be initiated. The necessary medicamentous measures are described dependent upon the diagnosis of brady- and tachycardiac disturbances of the rhythm. The author enters briefly the problems of volume substitution, treatment of acidosis as well as the administration of beta-sympathicolytics and gluco-corticoids. - In the after-treatment of infarctions anticoagulants are the only medicaments to be prescribed, when findings completely without complications are present. If, however, there are signs of activity of the coronary heart disease in the post-infarction phase, a basic therapy with a glycoside and anticoagulants as well as an individually to be varied additive therapy with nitro-preparations, beta-sympathicolytics, saluretics, anti-hypertensive agents and antiarrhythmic agents are necessary.

The influence of two different premedication methods on the psychic reaction of the patient and their somatic-vegetative effect was tested in a controlled double-blind study. 96 patients between the ages of 20 and 40 took part in the study and were divided into two groups. Group 1 (n = 47) received meperidine (Alodan) and promethazine (Phenergan). Group 2 (n = 49) were given thalamonal. All patients underwent a personality test (Cattell 16 PF) a day prior to scheduled surgery. After administration of the respective pre-anaesthetic drugs, three different test methods were applied to determine their subjective state. Simultaneously, independent from the patients, their psychic reactions were determined by the anaesthetist. Premedication 2 effected less calm, i.e. decrease of fear, exhaustion and depression, than premedication 1. The somatic-vegetative region exhibited no significant difference except for increased cardiocirculatory symptoms in group 1. Based on the less favourable psychodynamics in patients who received thalamonal, it is not advised as pre-anaesthetic medication.