Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Transcutaneous electrical stimulation of an auricular acupuncture point decreases anesthetic requirement.
German anesthesiologists have long used transcutaneous electrical stimulation of an acupuncture point near the tragus to reduce anesthetic requirement in unblinded and uncontrolled trials. This is known as auricular electrically stimulated analgesia. The authors therefore tested the hypothesis that auricular electrically stimulated analgesia reduces anesthetic requirement. ⋯ This double-blinded trial with an objective outcome demonstrates that electrical stimulation of the lateralization control point significantly reduces anesthetic requirement.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Electroacupuncture prophylaxis of postoperative nausea and vomiting following pediatric tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy.
Electrical stimulation of acupuncture point P6 reduces the incidence of postoperative nausea or vomiting (PONV) in adult patients. However, acupressure, laser stimulation of P6, and acupuncture during anesthesia have not been effective for reducing PONV in the pediatric population. The authors studied the effect of electrical P6 acupuncture in awake pediatric patients who had undergone surgery associated with a high incidence of PONV. ⋯ Perioperative P6 electroacupuncture in awake patients significantly reduced the occurrence of nausea compared with the sham and control groups, but it did not significantly reduce the incidence or number of episodes of emesis or the use of rescue antiemetics. Sham acupuncture may exacerbate the severity but not the incidence of emesis. The efficacy of P6 acupuncture for PONV prevention is similar to commonly used pharmacotherapies. Its appropriate role in prevention and treatment of PONV requires further study.
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Clinical Trial
Can assessment for obstructive sleep apnea help predict postadenotonsillectomy respiratory complications?
The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and type of respiratory complications after adenotonsillectomy in children. A second aim was to assess the ability of preoperative sleep studies to identify children at risk for respiratory complications. ⋯ The data suggest, but do not prove, that preoperative nocturnal oximetry could be a useful preoperative test to identify children who are at increased risk for postoperative respiratory complications.
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The authors determined the efficacy of using the intubating laryngeal mask airway Fastrach (ILM) as a ventilatory device and aid to flexible lightwand-guided tracheal intubation in patients with unpredicted failed laryngoscope-guided tracheal intubation when managed by experienced anesthetists. ⋯ The ILM is an effective ventilatory device and aid to flexible lightwand-guided tracheal intubation in adult patients with predicted normal airways in whom laryngoscope-guided tracheal intubation subsequently fails when managed by experienced anesthetists.
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Tissue damage may produce hyperalgesia, allodynia, and persistent pain. The authors recently reported that fentanyl elicits analgesia but also activates N-methyl-D-aspartate-dependent pain facilitatory processes opposing analgesia. In nonsuffering rats, this leads to a long-lasting enhancement in pain sensitivity. The current study assessed whether fentanyl could amplify carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia. ⋯ Central sensitization in inflammatory pain states is reinforced by an opiate treatment, which could be prevented by N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors blockade.