A double blind controlled trial was carried out on 100 neurosurgical patients. Ornipressin 0•2 IU Iml was compared with adrenaline 1 : 250,000. Ornipressin proved to be as effective as the control agent, and had little systemic effect. It is concluded that absence of arrhythmigenicity makes ornipressin preferable to adrenaline.

No abstract

The hypotensive effect of d-tubocurarine 0•5 mg/kg, with and without benzyl alcohol and sodium metabisulphite as preservatives, was studied in 38 pairs of subjects in a double blind, controlled, sequential trial. It is concluded that the preservatives do not significantly contribute to the hypotension produced by d-tubocurarine in clinical practice.