thiopental and Cerebral-Palsy

To determine the electromyographic response of patients with cerebral palsy to vecuronium, 10 children (mean age, 6 yr 10 mo) without cerebral palsy and 11 children with cerebral palsy (mean age, 10 yr 3 mo) were studied. All patients were undergoing abdominal or orthopedic surgery and were anesthetized with isoflurane and nitrous oxide. The time from intravenous administration of 0.1 mg/kg of vecuronium to 25% recovery of control twitch height was 43.9 +/- 5.3 and 18.9 +/- 1.7 min (mean +/- SEM) in children without and with cerebral palsy, respectively (P less than 0.01). The authors conclude that patients with cerebral palsy are either resistant to vecuronium or have a rapid clearance as evidenced by the rapid recovery from neuromuscular blockade.

Topics: Anesthesia, Intravenous; Atropine; Cerebral Palsy; Child; Drug Resistance; Electromyography; Humans; Nerve Block; Thiopental; Vecuronium Bromide

Hearing tests were given to 22 difficult-to-test children using brain stem audiometry performed under general anesthesia. The effect of halothane and sodium thiopental on the brain stem response was assessed as well as the feasibility of using this technique with a difficult-to-test population. No effect on brain stem responses was observed to various levels of anesthesia. Successful hearing tests were carried out on all the children and results were helpful in their management. Brain stem audiometry perfromed under general anesthesia appears to be an effective and helpful technique for testing challenging diagnostic cases.

Topics: Adolescent; Anesthesia, Inhalation; Anesthesia, Intravenous; Audiometry; Brain Stem; Cerebral Palsy; Child; Child, Preschool; Evoked Potentials; Female; Halothane; Hearing Disorders; Humans; Infant; Intellectual Disability; Male; Nitrous Oxide; Patient Compliance; Thiopental