Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparison of three solutions of ropivacaine/fentanyl for postoperative patient-controlled epidural analgesia.
Ropivacaine, 0.2%, is a new local anesthetic approved for epidural analgesia. The addition of 4 microg/ml fentanyl improves analgesia from epidural ropivacaine. Use of a lower concentration of ropivacaine-fentanyl may further improve analgesia or decrease side effects. ⋯ Lesser concentrations of ropivacaine and fentanyl provide comparable analgesia with less motor block despite the use of similar amounts of ropivacaine and fentanyl. This finding suggests that concentration of local anesthetic solution at low doses is a primary determinant of motor block with patient-controlled epidural analgesia after lower abdominal surgery.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Benzodiazepine premedication: can it improve outcome in patients undergoing breast biopsy procedures?
Women awaiting needle-guided breast biopsy procedures may experience high anxiety levels. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was designed to evaluate the ability of midazolam and diazepam (in a lipid emulsion [Dizac]) to improve patient comfort during needle localization and breast biopsy procedures. ⋯ Premedication with midazolam or diazepam emulsion improved patients' comfort during needle localization procedures and significantly reduced intraoperative anxiety levels before breast biopsy procedures without prolonging discharge times. Use of diazepam emulsion may be an effective alternative to midazolam in this population.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Behavioral and physiological effects of remifentanil and alfentanil in healthy volunteers.
The subjective and psychomotor effects of remifentanil have not been evaluated. Accordingly, the authors used mood inventories and psychomotor tests to characterize the effects of remifentanil in healthy, non-drug-abusing volunteers. Alfentanil was used as a comparator drug. ⋯ The notion that the pharmacodynamic effects of remifentanil are extremely short-lived after the drug is no longer administered must be questioned given our findings that psychomotor effects were still apparent 1 h after the infusion was discontinued.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Dose-response effects of spinal neostigmine added to bupivacaine spinal anesthesia in volunteers.
Intrathecal adjuncts often are used to enhance small-dose spinal bupivacaine for ambulatory anesthesia. Neostigmine is a novel spinal analgesic that could be a useful adjunct, but no data exist to assess the effects of neostigmine on small-dose bupivacaine spinal anesthesia. ⋯ The addition of 50 microg neostigmine prolonged the duration of sensory and motor block. However, high incidences of side effects and delayed recovery from anesthesia with the addition of 6.25 to 50 microg neostigmine may limit the clinical use of these doses for outpatient spinal anesthesia.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Transdermal nitroglycerine enhances spinal sufentanil postoperative analgesia following orthopedic surgery.
Sufentanil is a potent but short-acting spinal analgesic used to manage perioperative pain. This study evaluated the influence of transdermal nitroglycerine on the analgesic action of spinal sufentanil in patients undergoing orthopedic surgery. ⋯ Transdermal nitroglycerine alone (5 mg/day), a nitric oxide generator, did not result in postoperative analgesia itself, but it prolonged the analgesic effect of spinal sufentanil (10 microg) and provided 13 h of effective postoperative analgesia after knee surgery.