Sevoflurane provided quicker emergence and early recovery compared with halothane, but the incidence of delirium was greater in preschool boys after sevoflurane.

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We studied 21 patients undergoing lumbar spinal surgery under halothane anesthesia on a convex saddle frame, in order to determine the hemodynamic effect of the prone position. A thermodilution pulmonary arterial catheter was placed in 14 patients (Group PA-1: n = 8; and Group PA-2: n = 6), and an inferior vena caval catheter in the remaining seven patients (Group IVC). Group PA-1 and Group IVC patients were placed in the prone position on a convex saddle frame. In the prone position, the cardiac index (CI) decreased significantly from 3.1 +/- 0.5 to 2.5 +/- 0.3 (l.min-1.m-2, mean +/- s.d., P less than 0.01) without accompanying significant changes in the other hemodynamic variables in Group PA-1. The postural change in Group IVC did not exert a significant effect on the inferior vena caval pressure. Group PA-2 were initially placed in the flat prone position on a flat saddle frame, which produced no significant changes in the hemodynamic variables. Then the convex curvature of the frame was adjusted to the grade appropriate for surgery, which produced a significant reduction in CI (from 2.9 +/- 0.3 to 2.4 +/- 0.4, P less than 0.05). We conclude that the prone position itself may not interfere with the circulatory function. The prone position using a convex saddle frame causes significant reductions in CI, but little change in the other hemodynamic variables.

The SEB technique with ropivacaine provides superior epidural block compared with an identical hourly dose administered as a continuous infusion.