Related Experiment Videos
Protection against acid pulmonary aspiration with cimetidine
Anaesthesia and Intensive Care
|May 1, 1983
Summary
Intravenous cimetidine (200 mg) effectively increases gastric pH in surgical patients before anesthesia. This pre-operative intervention significantly reduces the risk of chemical pneumonitis from stomach content aspiration.
Area of Science:
- Anesthesiology
- Gastroenterology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Surgical patients often have low gastric pH, increasing aspiration risks.
- Chemical pneumonitis is a serious complication of gastric acid aspiration during anesthesia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of intravenous cimetidine in elevating gastric pH prior to surgery.
- To assess the potential of cimetidine to mitigate the risk of aspiration-induced chemical pneumonitis.
Main Methods:
- Twenty surgical patients with baseline gastric pH < 3.5 received cimetidine 200 mg intravenously 90 minutes before general anesthesia.
- Gastric pH was measured at baseline and at 30, 60, and 90 minutes post-injection.
Main Results:
- All patients achieved a gastric pH > 3.5 by 90 minutes post-injection.
- Specifically, 16/20, 18/20, and 20/20 patients had pH > 3.5 at 30, 60, and 90 minutes, respectively.
Conclusions:
- Intravenous cimetidine 200 mg administered 90 minutes pre-operatively is effective in raising gastric pH.
- This prophylactic measure can significantly reduce the hazard of chemical pneumonitis in surgical patients undergoing general anesthesia.