[Efficacy of lumbar chemonucleolysis in the treatment of foraminal and extra-foraminal hernias]. / Efficacité de la chimionucléolyse lombaire dans le traitement des hernies foraminales et extra-foraminales.

A retrospective review of 1,200 nucleolyses performed over a three year period from January 1995 to December 1997 showed 116 discal treatments for foraminal and extra-foraminal localizations. The anatomic localization through the foramen and the intense clinical signs typify these anatomoclinical forms of lumbar hernia. In contrast with complex and disruptive surgical cure, percutaneous nucleolysis offers a precise and rapid method which can be performed in a very short time in outpatients with a success rate of 80%. Most localizations concern L3-L4 and L4-L5 hernias which give the best clinical outcomes.

[The role of magnetic resonance angiography in the follow-up of intracranial arteriovenous malformations treated by an intravascular approach]. / Rôle de l'Angio-IRM dans la surveillance des malformations artério-veineuses intra-crâniennes traitées par abord endo-vasculaire.

The purpose of our work was to measure the accuracy and reliability of MR-Angiography in the study and follow-up of intracranial arteriovenous malformations, and in particular to evaluate the results of endovascular treatment. Over an 18-month period 4 patients with such malformations were examined by MR-Angiography. There was an angioma of the corpus callosum, a left parieto-rolandic angioma, a posterior thalamic angioma and a cerebellar angioma. All examinations were performed with a Magneton-Impact 1 Tesla machine (Siemens, Erlangen, Germany), using a head coil, MR-Angiography with time-of-flight sequences and differential arterial and venous saturations. Each patient was examined by MR-Angiography first at the beginning of treatment, then when ambulatory after embolization. The morphological study applied to the afferent vessels, the nidus and the efferent veins. MR-Angiography proved to be very good in identifying the arteries feeding the malformation, and this made it easier to evaluate the reduction of their input after treatment, without having recourse to any arteriography. Beside, analysis of the nidus was facilitated by the judicious arrangement of arterial and venous saturations. In fact, the systematic use of MR-Angiography in the follow-up of intracranial arteriovenous malformations makes it possible to measure, with full reliability, the efficacy of the endovascular treatment under conditions of comfort unequalled in these out-patients, and selective angiography sequences need to be performed only during therapeutic phases.

[Rapid sequence muscular relaxation: vecuronium versus succinylcholine]. / Curarisation à séquence rapide: vécuronium versus succinylcholine.

Onset times and conditions of endotracheal intubation were compared in 340 patients. They were all classified ASA I or II and free from any condition which might interfere with the pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics of muscle relaxants. The patients were randomly assigned to 4 groups where different muscle relaxation techniques with vecuronium were used: "priming" group (n = 150, 10 micrograms.kg-1 followed by 100 micrograms.kg-1 4 min later), "high dose" group (n = 70, 250 micrograms.kg-1), "control" group (n = 60, 100 micrograms.kg-1) and "succinylcholine" group (n = 60, 1 mg.kg-1). All anaesthetic conditions were otherwise similar. Electromyographic monitoring of the hypothenar muscles displayed no impairment in the reaction to a train-of-four stimulus during the pre-relaxation period (4 min) in the "priming" group. No incident was observed in these patients. Ten % of control response were obtained in 61, 86, 135 and 210 s respectively, whereas maximum muscle blockade was obtained in 97, 174, 314 and 74 s respectively. Intubation scoring showed that optimum conditions were obtained when muscle responses were almost fully abolished. These data are in disagreement with those reports on the priming technique where intubation is carried out 60 s after administration of the relaxing dose.

[Conditions of intubation with vecuronium using a priming principle]. / Conditions d'intubation avec le vécuronium à partir d'un protocole de préinjection.

Different protocols based on the priming principle have been proposed so as to enable rapid tracheal intubation with vecuronium. The conditions of such an intubation have been assessed in 47 ASA I or ASA II patients, with an empty stomach, using a priming dose of 0.01 mg X kg-1, followed by a second injection of 0.1 mg X kg-1 after a short interval of 4 min. An intubation score was defined using a nerve stimulator (Relaxograph Datex), by measuring the twitch in comparison with a reference value, as well as time before intubation for four groups of patients. Good intubation scores with a twitch approaching 50% was obtained in all and, in the same way, for a fifth group of patients, intubated in an arbitrary manner 60 s after the second dose of vecuronium. These results can be compared with those obtained by other authors using a different protocol. Nevertheless, this method does not match perfectly that of suxamethonium. Taking into account the side-effects and above all the inhalation risk existing after a priming dose, is it opportune to use this technique for the anaesthesia of a patient with a full stomach?