We studied the effect of fentanyl pretreatment on alleviating pain during the injection of Propofol-Lipuro. One hundred and seventy patients were randomly allocated to receive either 100 mcg of intravenous fentanyl or normal saline (placebo) followed by intravenous Propofol-Lipuro premixed with 20 mg lignocaine. The incidence of injection pain was 32% and 13% in the placebo and fentanyl groups, respectively. We found a statistically significant reduction in incidence of injection pain in the fentanyl group when compared with the placebo group (p<0.003). The number needed to treat was 6 (3.2< 95% CI <15.1). In conclusion, fentanyl pretreatment is effective in alleviating pain during injection of Propofol-Lipuro.
Six hundred and fifty-five central venous catheters (CVC) in 496 patients in the intensive care unit of Hospital Sultanah Aminah were studied to determine the incidence and risk factors for central venous catheter-related blood stream infection (CR-BSI). CR-BSI was diagnosed in 38 catheters, giving an incidence of 9.43 CR-BSI per 1000 catheter days. The mean duration in situ was 8.4 +/- 4.9 days for infected CVCs and 6.0 +/- 3.8 days for non infected CVCs (p = 0.001). CVCs inserted in ICU had the highest infection rate (9.4%) compared to those inserted in the operating theatre (1.4%) and ward (2.8%) (p = 0.001). The highest rate of CR-BSI occurred with 4-lumen catheters (usually inserted when patients needed total parenteral nutrition) with a percentage of 15.8%. The majority of the CVCs (97.9%) were inserted via the subclavian or the internal jugular routes and there was no statistical difference in CR-BSI between them (p = 0.83). Number of attempts more than one had a higher rate of CR-BSI compared to single attempt with percentage of 7.0% vs 4.8% (p = 0.22). The top two organisms were Klebseilla pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In conclusion, the incidence of CR-BSI in our ICU was 9.43 CR-BSI per 1000 catheter days. The risk factors were duration of CVC in situ, venue of insertion and use of 4 lumen catheter for total parenteral nutrition. The site of insertion, number of lumen up to 3 lumens and the number of attempts were not risk factors.