Current clinical pharmacology
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Curr Clin Pharmacol · Jan 2017
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyClonidine, but not Dexamethasone, Prolongs Ropivacaine-Induced Supraclavicular Brachial Plexus Nerve Block Duration.
Ultrasound-guided supraclavicular brachial plexus block (USSB) provides excellent postoperative analgesia after upper extremity surgery. Dexamethasone and clonidine have been added to local anesthetics to enhance and prolong the duration of analgesia. ⋯ The results demonstrated that clonidine significantly prolongs the duration of ropivacaine effects for the postoperative analgesia in patient underwent upper arm surgeries.
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Curr Clin Pharmacol · Jan 2017
ReviewPharmacology and Perioperative Considerations for Diabetes Mellitus Medications.
Given the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in modern society, health care providers are frequently tasked with managing glucose control in the perioperative period. When determining perioperative diabetes management, the clinician must balance the need to maintain relative euglycemia at the time of surgery with preventing hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia in a fasting surgical patient. This balance requires an understanding of the pharmacology of these medications, the type of surgery, and the patient's degree of diabetic control. ⋯ Perioperative control of blood glucose levels is associated with less morbidity and improved surgical outcomes in patients with and without DM. Preoperatively, clinicians need to thoughtfully adjust diabetic medications on the basis of patient comorbidities, the duration of the fasting period, and the duration of surgery. Intraoperative and postoperative strategies typically use insulin to maintain blood glucose levels in the range of 80 to 180 mg/dL.
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Curr Clin Pharmacol · Jan 2017
ReviewPharmacologic and Perioperative Considerations for Antihypertensive Medications.
As the prevalence of hypertension continues to increase, physicians routinely encounter patients preoperatively receiving one or more cardiovascular medications to manage hypertension. Thus, the physician's knowledge of perioperative antihypertensive medication management is crucial to ensure patient safety. ⋯ Current evidence supports the perioperative continuation of β-blockers, calciumchannel blockers, and α-2 agonists. However, diuretics should be discontinued on the day of the surgery and resumed in the postoperative period. Debates persist about the continuation of reninangiotensin- aldosterone system inhibitors.
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Curr Clin Pharmacol · Jan 2017
ReviewPharmacology and Perioperative Considerations of Pain Medications.
Pain continues to be the most common medical concern, and perioperative health care providers are encountering increasing numbers of patients with chronic pain conditions. It is important to have a clear understanding of how long-term use of pain medications impacts anesthesia during the intraoperative and postoperative periods. ⋯ Management of postoperative pain is an important concern for all perioperative health care providers. Although most pain medications should be continued in the perioperative period, it is important to preoperatively discontinue those that antagonize pain receptors to avoid significant postoperative morbidities associated with poorly managed pain.
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Curr Clin Pharmacol · Jan 2017
ReviewThe Combination of New Immunotherapy and Radiotherapy: A N ew Potential Treatment for Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.
Lung cancer is the main reason of cancer death worldwide. About 30% of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases are diagnosed with locally advanced disease (stage III). This is a mixed population including patients who have far more extensive and bulky disease than others. ⋯ The integration of radiotherapy with immunotherapy is a conceptually promising strategy and several preclinical experiments have further developed the rationale for combining them. Radiotherapy has the capacity to overcome a lot of tumor immune escape mechanisms through the liberation of immunogenic private antigens showing a better local control and augmenting the immune response of systemic agents. This manuscript discusses the potential clinical interest for the combination of radiation and immunotherapy in locally advanced NSCLC.