Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Dec 2003
Case ReportsEpidural analgesia at end of life: facing empirical contraindications.
In a patient with unbearable cancer pain at the end of life, long-lasting analgesia without impairment of consciousness could only be achieved with an epidural infusion of local anesthetics combined with opioids and clonidine. Despite leptomeningeal infection during prolonged treatment, epidural analgesia at the lumbar level provided analgesia using very large doses of local anesthetics combined with clonidine and morphine. Thus, terminal sedation was avoided, allowing the patient's end-of-life planning of an "aware" death surrounded by her family. It may be useful to reconsider institutional pain management standards when unbearable pain occurs in patients with limited life expectancy. ⋯ We report a patient with severe visceral and neurogenic pain from metastatic carcinoma of the colon resistant to multimodal oral analgesic therapy. Although there were empirical contraindications, epidural analgesia was successful, allowing the patient's end-of-life planning of an "aware" death surrounded by the family.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Dec 2003
Case ReportsHyperbaric therapy for a postpartum patient with prolonged epidural blockade and tomographic evidence of epidural air.
We used the epidural technique "loss of resistance to air" to provide labor analgesia in a healthy parturient. Inadequate analgesia required epidural catheter replacement using the same technique. Delayed recovery of sensory and motor blockade postpartum necessitated computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging studies. These revealed 4-6 mL of air in the epidural space with no evidence of thecal compression. On the advice of the neurologist, this patient underwent hyperbaric therapy 14 h after the discontinuation of the epidural infusion. The patient made a complete recovery and was discharged without neurologic sequelae. It is possible that epidural air delayed the absorption of local anesthetics as a result of a reduction in the vascular surface area. Although a cause and effect relationship between epidural air and prolonged neurological block cannot be categorically established, the use of "loss of resistance to air" technique complicated the differential diagnosis. ⋯ We report a case of prolonged motor and sensory block after labor analgesia using "loss of resistance to air" technique. The presence of epidural air on tomography resulted in the patient undergoing hyperbaric therapy. The use of loss of resistance to air technique complicated the differential diagnosis of prolonged sensory and motor block.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Dec 2003
The effects of vasopressin on systemic and splanchnic hemodynamics and metabolism in endotoxin shock.
We compared the effects of vasopressin and norepinephrine on systemic and splanchnic circulation and metabolism in endotoxin shock in pigs. Twenty-one pigs were randomized to endotoxin shock (Escherichia coli endotoxin infusion) (n = 6), endotoxin and vasopressin (VASO; n = 6), endotoxin and norepinephrine (NE; n = 6), and controls (n = 3). Endotoxin infusion was increased to induce hypotension, after which vasopressin or norepinephrine was started to keep systemic mean arterial blood pressure >70 mm Hg. Regional blood flows and arterial and regional lactate concentrations were measured. Tonometers with microdialysis capillaries were inserted into the stomach, jejunum, and colon. Systemic mean arterial blood pressure >70 mm Hg was achieved in the VASO and NE groups. Vasopressin decreased cardiac output, superior mesenteric artery, and portal vein blood flow, whereas hepatic arterial blood flow increased. Arterial lactate concentration increased from 2.0 mM (1.6-2.1 mM) to 4.7 mM (4.7-4.9 mM) (P = 0.007). Systemic and mesenteric oxygen delivery and consumption decreased and oxygen extraction increased in the VASO group. Vasopressin increased mucosal-arterial PCO(2) gradients in all three locations, whereas luminal lactate release occurred only in the jejunum. Animals in the NE group remained stable. Vasopressin reversed hypotension but decreased systemic and gut blood flow. This was associated with hyperlactatemia, signs of visceral dysoxia, and jejunal luminal lactate release. ⋯ Although vasopressin induces vasoconstriction in visceral region, its effects on splanchnic circulation and metabolism during septic-endotoxin shock are still poorly characterized. We evaluated the metabolic and hemodynamic effects of vasopressin and norepinephrine within the splanchnic area in porcine endotoxin shock.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Dec 2003
Clinical TrialMonitoring renal oxygen supply in critically-ill patients using urinary oxygen tension.
Critically-ill patients are at risk of developing renal disorders as a consequence of systemic hypoperfusion. Ischemic acute tubular necrosis and resulting acute renal failure are caused by hypotension or therapeutic management. In this study, we tested the change of O(2) availability induced by fenoldopam mesylate using the continuous measurement of urinary oxygen tension (PuO(2)), a relatively noninvasive technique that could provide potentially important real-time data regarding renal oxygenation in intensive care unit patients. Fenoldopam was administered at different doses (0.03, 0.06, and 0.09 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1)) to 50 stable critically-ill patients. Urine output was collected every hour to assess volume and urinary electrolytes. Heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure, cardiac output, pulmonary artery occlusion pressure, arterial oxygen delivery index, and oxygen consumption index were analyzed after fenoldopam dose modifications and at infusion end. PaO(2) and PuO(2) continuous measurements were obtained through two sensors inserted in the radial artery and in the bladder. After a fenoldopam dose increase, PuO(2) significantly increased (P < 0.05), whereas PaO(2) remained unchanged. During the study, heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure, cardiac output, central venous pressure, pulmonary artery occlusion pressure, arterial oxygen delivery index, and oxygen consumption remained unchanged. Dose-dependent PuO(2) increases, unrelated to indexes of systemic perfusion and cardiac function, demonstrate that fenoldopam affects the balance between renal oxygen supply and demand in stable critically-ill patients. ⋯ Acute renal failure in critically-ill patients is associated with frequent mortality. Prolonged renal hypoperfusion cannot be detected by current systemic hemodynamic indexes. Using continuous measurement of urinary oxygen tension, which could indirectly provide real-time data regarding renal oxygenation, our study showed that fenoldopam increases the ratio between oxygen supply and demand.