The LMA causes more sore throat and dysphagia but less jaw pain than the FM. Sore throat and dysphagia are more common with the LMA if the initial cuff volume is high. There are no differences in discomfort levels between males and females. However, these discomforts do not influence patient satisfaction after LMA or FM anesthesia.

A fit 37-year-old, 65 kg Jehovah's Witness in her sixth pregnancy presented at 35 weeks' gestation with a painless bleed per vaginum of about 500 m!. Haemoglobin was 108 g.l-1 and a clotting screen was normal. A diagnosis of placenta praevia was made and an urgent lower segment caesarean section with tubal ligation was performed under general anaesthesia. Intra-operative blood loss was 1000 ml and a healthy female infant was delivered. A grade II anterior placenta praevia was confirmed and anaesthesia was uneventful. Over the next hour a large wound haematoma developed and she became hypovolaemic. Her haemoglobin fell to 61 g.l-1 and the clotting screen became abnormal (platelets 117 X 10 9 .1-1, PTR 24 (control 14), INR 1.8, APPT 72 (control 32), XDP > 2.0 and fibrinogen 1.2 g.l-1. A central line *F.C.Anaes.

No abstract

In the setting of severe acute asthma, electrocardiographic abnormalities are not uncommon and some patients will develop reversible systolic dysfunction. However, acute myocardial infarction and potentially fatal arrhythmias are rare. We report the case of a middle-aged indigenous male who suffered an ST-elevation myocardial infarction and then pulseless ventricular tachycardia arrest while still in the acute phase of treatment for status asthmaticus.