Spinal anaesthesia is an effective method of delivering anaesthesia for primary total knee replacement. A regional technique has several benefits over an opioid based general anaesthetic (Fischer 2009) (Figure 1). Pre-medication and sedation is commonly used as an adjunct to create anxiolysis and reduce stress which could be provoked by being awake in the theatre environment. However, sedation is not without its disadvantages (Absalom & Adapa 2007) (Figure 2).
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2.
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3.
FischerB2009Does regional anaesthesia improve outcome?Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine10(11) 545–548
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KochME, KainZN1998The sedative and analgesic sparing effect of musicAnesthesiology89(2) 300–306
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LeeDWH, ChanACW2004Can visual distraction decrease the dose of patient controlled sedation required during colonoscopy? A prospective randomized controlled trialEndoscopy34(3) 197–201
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ManAKY, YapJCM2003The effect of intra-operative video on patient anxietyAnaesthesia58(1) 64–68
7.
MitchellM2008Conscious surgery: influence of the environment on patient anxietyJournal of Advanced Nursing64(3) 261–271
