The Journal of hand surgery, European volume
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J Hand Surg Eur Vol · Mar 2011
Randomized Controlled TrialPatient controlled regional analgesia after carpal tunnel release: a double-blind study using distal perineural catheters.
This study was done to assess the efficacy of a perineural catheter for pain relief following carpal tunnel release (CTR). Sixty-six patients undergoing open CTR under local anaesthesia (LA) were randomly divided into three groups: Groups A and B had a perineural catheter and Group C served as non-blinded control group. Postoperative pain relief was by self-administration of either ropivacaine (Group A) or saline (Group B) via an elastometric pump and by oral paracetamol in Group C. ⋯ Fewer patients in Group A requested supplementary analgesics than in Group C. Patient satisfaction was higher in Group A than in Group B on day 1. However better analgesia was not associated with better functional recovery.
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J Hand Surg Eur Vol · Mar 2011
Comparative Study Controlled Clinical TrialPain and paraesthesia produced by silicone ring and pneumatic tourniquets.
Twenty volunteers were recruited to compare a novel, silicone ring tourniquet (the Hemaclear® tourniquet) with a pneumatic tourniquet. After application of the tourniquets, the pain and paraesthesia experienced by the participants was scored at 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes. This was repeated with the tourniquets on the forearm. ⋯ The incidence of paraesthesia was also lower with the silicone ring tourniquet. When applied to the forearm, there was no statistically significant difference in pain scores between the two types of tourniquets. However the incidence of paraesthesia was again lower with the silicone ring tourniquet.