Anesthesia and analgesia
-
Anesthesia and analgesia · Jul 1993
Psychosocial and pharmacologic predictors of satisfaction with intravenous patient-controlled analgesia.
Despite intravenous patient-controlled analgesia's (IV-PCA) increasing popularity, the psychological and pharmacological factors upon which patient satisfaction with IV-PCA are based are unknown. Sixty-eight women scheduled for abdominal hysterectomy completed a series of questionnaires measuring emotional distress, locus of control, perceived support, and optimism before their surgery. Postoperative ratings of pain intensity, emotional distress, anticipated recovery time, nightmares, and satisfaction with IV-PCA were taken 1 and 3 days after surgery. ⋯ Degree of dissatisfaction with IV-PCA was significantly correlated with pain intensity, nightmares, patient's perceptions of support, expectations of recovery, preoperative anxiety, and postoperative depression. Dose/demand ratio and hourly analgesic usage were significantly related to pre- and postoperative emotional distress factors. Perioperative management of anxiety, perceptions, and expectations may prove valuable in improving pain control and satisfaction with IV-PCA.
-
Anesthesia and analgesia · Jul 1993
Comparative StudyHeat loss in humans covered with cotton hospital blankets.
We evaluated mean skin temperature, cutaneous heat loss, and perceived warmth in six volunteers covered with one or three cotton hospital blankets, warmed or unwarmed. Mean skin temperatures were significantly higher during each treatment than during the control periods preceding each blanket application. Total cutaneous heat loss during the control period was 81 +/- 11 watts. ⋯ These data indicate that increasing the number of covering blankets from one to three decreases heat loss only slightly. Similarly, warming the blankets is relatively ineffective and the benefit short-lived. The reduction in heat loss, even by three warmed blankets replaced at 10-min intervals, was small compared to that provided by available active warming systems.