Trihydroxyethylrutosides in the treatment of hemorrhoids of pregnancy: a double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

The safety and efficacy of Trihydroxyethylrutosides (HR) in the treatment of 53 patients with 1st-2nd degree hemorrhoids of pregnancy (16th-34th week) was investigated in a double-blind randomised, placebo controlled trial. The dosage of Trihydroxyethylrutosides was 1 tablet of 300 milligrams twice daily for the first 2 weeks. If the treatment was successful, the treatment was stopped. If the clinical signs or symptoms still persisted, the treatment was continued for another two weeks using the same dosage and re-evaluated at the end of the fourth week after initial treatment. The parameters for efficacy were symptoms (pain, bleeding, exudation and pruritus) and the objective signs on proctoscopy (bleeding, inflammation and dilatation of the hemorrhoidal venous plexus). The study revealed improvement of symptoms in the study group which was better than in the control group after 2 weeks of treatment but the clinical signs were not different. After a further 2 weeks of treatment, the result showed improvement of both clinical signs and symptoms in this study. Only one mild transient side effect was reported in the HR group and there were no drug-related problems in the pregnancies, delivery or the babies.

Effect of intraoperative fluid on blood glucose level in neurosurgery.

There is a considerable controversy regarding glucose administration during intracranial surgery. However, recent animal and human studies suggest that hyperglycemia exacerbates ischemic brain damage and intraoperative hypoglycemia may not be a concern if the surgical procedure is less than 4 hours. We, therefore, studied the blood glucose in neurosurgery with craniotomy in 90 Thai patients, divided into 3 groups. 30 patients in each group received balanced salt solution (0.9% NSS), 5 per cent glucose rate 60-80 ml/h and 5 per cent glucose rate more than 120 ml/h. Blood for the determination of glucose concentration was obtained after induction and every 2 hours later until the end of the surgery. There was one male patient in group I who received balanced salt solution (0.9% NSS) had blood glucose concentration lowered to 57 mg% at 4 hours after induction. The patients in group II who received 5 per cent glucose solution at maintenance rate did not have hyperglycemia (161.20 +/- 38.30 mg%). In group III; patients given 5 per cent glucose infusion at the rate of more than 120 ml/h had hyperglycemia (236.75 +/- 63.57 mg%) at 6 hours. In conclusion, we suggest that in Thai patients undergoing neurosurgical procedures; blood glucose levels should be checked intraoperatively if glucose is withheld from the intraoperative fluid regimen. Otherwise 80 ml/h of 5 per cent dextrose intravenous infusion should be given to the patients to prevent hypoglycemia.

Efficacy of prophylactic ondansetron in Thai patients undergoing gastrointestinal tract surgery.

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) although frequently is considered a minor postoperative complication, it may be greatly trouble some especially in ambulatory surgical patients. This study was performed to compare the efficacy and safety of a single intravenous bolus dose of ondansetron 4 mg with the placebo in the prevention of PONV and to assess the safety and tolerability in Thai patients. By using the randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study design, we enrolled 82 Thai male and female patients, ASA physical status I or II, between the ages of 12 and 75 year undergoing gastrointestinal tract surgery with general anesthesia in the study. A single intravenous bolus dose of ondansetron 4 mg or a single dose of placebo was administered immediately prior to the induction of the anesthesia. The patients were followed for 24 hours to assess PONV and adverse events. We found that intravenous ondansetron 4 mg seemed to be effective and safe in the prevention of PONV especially in female patients (P = 0.037) based on clinical observation. However there was no statistical significance between groups. None of the patients in both groups had any adverse events. In addition, there was no significant difference between preoperative and postoperative abnormalities of liver enzymes. Also we had found no difference in patient satisfaction between two groups.