Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2001
Case ReportsTunneled epidural catheters for prolonged analgesia in pediatric patients.
We conducted this retrospective study to document the efficacy and safety, and demonstrate the spectrum of indications for subcutaneously tunneled epidural catheters in the management of prolonged pain in pediatric patients. The charts of 25 patients with prolonged pain that was unresponsive to conventional opioid therapy (10: end stage malignancy, 8: extensive abdominal surgery, 7: trauma, etc.) and who received thoracic, lumbar, or caudal tunneled epidural catheters between 1995 and 1999 were reviewed for efficacy and catheter-related complications (infection or bleeding at the insertion site, toxicity related to local anesthetics, tachyphylaxis and respiratory depression). Tunneled epidural catheters were effective in providing extended analgesia in all subjects. In 14 patients with chronic pain, cumulative 48-h enteral and parenteral opioid requirements were reduced or eliminated after catheter insertion. Catheters remained in place for a median of 11 days (range, 4--240 days) until there was no further need for parenteral analgesia (n = 15), death because of the underlying disease (n = 6), accidental removal (n = 2), or possible infection (n = 2). No serious local or systemic complications (meningitis, epidural abscess, systemic infection, epidural hematoma, or spinal cord injury; seizures, local anesthetic toxicity) occurred related to this technique. Five patients were discharged from the hospital with the catheter for home analgesic therapy. The use of a percutaneously inserted, subcutaneously tunneled epidural catheter is safe, effective, and provides pain relief in situations in which conventional analgesic therapy either fails or is impractical. The technique is one that may be of great value to children suffering from pain. ⋯ Children and adolescents with pain may safely have a spinal catheter placed for a period of time without undo risk of infection or other complications. Spinal catheters provide excellent pain relief, often eliminating the need for riskier medications for painful events such as wound cleansing and dressing changes.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialIntensity of labor pain and cesarean delivery.
Some authors have suggested that the intensity of labor pain may be related to labor dystocia. We performed a secondary analysis of a previously published randomized investigation of the effects of epidural analgesia during labor compared with patient-controlled IV meperidine on cesarean delivery. Two-hundred-fifty-nine women who received patient-controlled IV meperidine were identified for analysis. ⋯ Pain scores were significantly higher in women requiring 50 mg/h of meperidine (8.7 vs 8.0, P = 0.05), and their labors tended to be longer (9 vs 5 h, P = 0.09). More cesarean deliveries for obstructed labor were performed in women requiring >50 mg/h of meperidine (14% vs 1.4%, P = 0.001). Neonatal outcomes were similar in the two groups.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2001
Comparative Study Clinical TrialNoninvasive monitoring of carbon dioxide during mechanical ventilation in older children: end-tidal versus transcutaneous techniques.
We prospectively compared the accuracy of end-tidal CO(2) (ETCO(2)) and transcutaneous CO(2) (TCCO(2)) monitoring in older pediatric patients (4 yr or older) receiving mechanical ventilation for respiratory failure. ETCO(2) and TCCO(2) were simultaneously monitored and compared with arterial CO(2) (PaCO(2)) values when arterial blood gas analysis was performed. Eighty-two sample sets were compared. The ETCO(2) to PaCO(2) difference was 6.4 +/- 6.3 mm Hg, whereas the TCCO(2) to PaCO(2) difference was 2.6 +/- 2.0 mm Hg (P < 0.0001). The absolute difference of ETCO(2) and PaCO(2) was 5 or less in 47 of 82 measurements, whereas the absolute TCCO(2) to PaCO(2) difference was 5 or less in 76 of 82 measurements (P < 0.00001). Regression analysis of ETCO(2) and PaCO(2) values revealed a correlation coefficient of 0.5418 and an r value of 0.8745. Regression analysis of TCCO(2) and PaCO(2) values revealed a correlation coefficient of 1.0160 and an r value of 0.9693. Bland-Altman analysis revealed a bias of -5.68 with a precision of +/-6.93 when comparing ETCO(2) with PaCO(2) and a bias of 0.02 with a precision of +/-3.27 when comparing TCCO(2) and PaCO(2) (P < 0.00001). TCCO(2) monitoring provided an accurate estimation of PaCO(2) over a wide range of CO(2) values and was superior to ETCO(2) monitoring in older pediatric patients with respiratory failure. TCCO(2) monitoring may be considered as a useful adjunct to monitoring of ventilation in this patient population. ⋯ The authors report on the accuracy of noninvasive, transcutaneous CO(2) monitoring during mechanical ventilation in children 4 yr or older. Application of this technique should be useful by decreasing the need for repeated, costly, and sometimes painful arterial blood gas analysis, and the continuity of assessment should facilitate proactive, rather than reactive, ventilator manipulations.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2001
Clinical TrialPulmonary arterial pressure can be estimated by transesophageal pulsed doppler echocardiography.
We examined whether pulmonary arterial pressure can be estimated on the basis of pulmonary arterial flow velocity determined via intraoperative pulsed Doppler transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in 20 patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Standard pulmonary artery measurements were taken as well. Measurements were taken before sternotomy, after pericardiotomy, after cardiopulmonary bypass, and after sternum closure. ⋯ PEP/AT also showed close correlation with mPAP (r = 0.764) and log mPAP (r = 0.777). Significant agreement between sPAP and mPAP values calculated from a regression equation and values measured via pulmonary artery catheter was observed by plotting the differences against the mean values of the two measurements. We therefore conclude that noninvasive estimation of pulmonary arterial pressure is feasible via intraoperative TEE when sternotomy is not involved.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jun 2001
Clinical TrialHemostatic changes in patients receiving hydroxyethyl starch: the influence of ABO blood group.
Hydroxyethyl starches (HES) interfere with coagulation because of their molecular structure and the amount infused during surgery. Coagulation defects include platelet dysfunction and a decrease of the VIII/von Willebrand factor complex (VIII/vWF). We examined the effects of 6% HES 200/0.6 on hemostasis by using an in vitro platelet function analyzer, the usual coagulation tests, the VIII/vWF complex assessment, and TEG analysis in patients undergoing abdominal surgery. ⋯ In conclusion, 6% HES 200/0.6 induced immediate hemostasis alterations. Patients of the O blood group were likely to develop a von Willebrand-like syndrome after HES infusion. We conclude that intraoperative use of 6% HES 200/0.6 should be restricted in patients of the O blood group undergoing surgical procedures with high risk for bleeding.