Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jul 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialA comparison of intrathecal opioid and intravenous analgesia for the incidence of cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal complications after abdominal aortic surgery.
Major surgery evokes a stress response that can produce deleterious consequences, especially in a population at high risk for those complications. We tested the hypothesis that decreasing or eliminating one of the sources of stress by providing intense analgesia in the immediate postoperative period via application of neuraxial opioids would decrease major nonsurgical complications. Two-hundred-seventeen patients scheduled to undergo abdominal aortic surgery were randomly allocated to receive either general anesthesia alone (control) or general anesthesia combined with intrathecal opioid (1 micro g/kg sufentanil with 8 micro g/kg preservative-free morphine injected at the L4-5 interspace). Postoperative care was identical in the two groups, including patient-controlled analgesia. Each patient provided an assessment of postoperative pain using a visual analog scale. Postopera-tive complications were recorded according to criteria established a priori. The administration of intrathecal opioid provided more intense analgesia than patient-controlled analgesia during the first 24 h postoperatively (P < 0.05). There was no difference between groups for the incidence of combined major cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal complications (P > 0.05) or mortality (P > 0.05). The incidence of myocardial damage or infarction, as defined by abnormal plasma concentration of troponin I, did not differ between the two groups (P > 0.05). In patients undergoing major abdominal vascular surgery, decrease of one contributor to postoperative stress, by provision of intense analgesia for the intraoperative and initial postoperative period, via application of neuraxial opioid, does not alter the combined major cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal complication rate. ⋯ Provision of intense analgesia for the initial postoperative period after major abdominal vascular surgery, via the administration of neuraxial opioid, does not alter the combined incidence of major cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal complications.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jul 2003
Review GuidelineConsensus guidelines for managing postoperative nausea and vomiting.
We present evidence-based guidelines developed by an international panel of experts for the management of postoperative nausea and vomiting.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jul 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialSubarachnoid small-dose bupivacaine versus lidocaine for cervical cerclage.
Cervical cerclage is often performed as an outpatient procedure under subarachnoid anesthesia. Lidocaine was historically the drug of choice for short procedures but has fallen out of favor because of concerns of transient neurologic symptoms (TNS). We performed this study to determine whether small-dose bupivacaine is an acceptable alternative to lidocaine for cervical cerclage. We randomized 59 women to receive either subarachnoid isobaric lidocaine 30 mg or hyperbaric bupivacaine 5.25 mg. Fentanyl 20 micro g was added to both local anesthetics, and the total volume was diluted to 3 mL with 0.9% saline. Onset and highest dermatomal level of sensory block; quality of anesthesia; hypotension; and times until T12 regression, return of lower extremity motor function, ambulation, and micturition were recorded. Symptoms of TNS were evaluated by telephone interview 24 h after surgery. We did not find any significant difference in onset or recovery times between the groups, with the exception of a longer duration until return of lower extremity motor strength in the lidocaine group. Symptoms consistent with TNS that resolved spontaneously within 48 h were reported by two women in the lidocaine group but by none in the bupivacaine group. We conclude that subarachnoid bupivacaine offers a satisfactory alternative to subarachnoid lidocaine for cervical cerclage. ⋯ We found that small-dose subarachnoid bupivacaine (5.25 mg) with fentanyl 20 micro g provides reliable anesthesia for cervical cerclage and exhibits a pharmacodynamic profile similar to that of small-dose lidocaine.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jul 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialThe effects of tracheal tube tip design and tube thickness on laryngeal pass ability during oral tube exchange with an introducer.
We compared the ease of passage through the glottis of two different tubes and two different sizes of tracheal tube exchanger (TE) during introducer-guided tracheal intubation. One tube was a polyvinyl chloride tube with a standard bevel, and the other was a newly designed tube with a hemispherical bevel. The outer diameters (OD) of the two TEs were 2.5 and 5.0 mm. After the standard induction of anesthesia, followed by vecuronium-induced paralysis, a TE was inserted into the trachea with a direct laryngoscope. By using the introducer as a guide, the tracheal tube was inserted into the trachea. The difficulty in passing the tube was assessed by a blinded observer and graded with a four-point scale. The newly designed tube was inserted more smoothly than was the conventional tube when the 2.5-mm-OD TE was used (P < 0.01). In situations such as those occurring after one-lung anesthesia, when use of a thicker TE is not applicable, this newly designed taper-tipped tube may be considered as an adjunct to oral tracheal tube exchange, using a thinner (smaller-OD) TE as the guide for tracheal intubation. ⋯ In situations such as after one-lung anesthesia, when use of a thicker tube exchanger (TE) is not applicable, a newly designed taper-tipped tube with the leading edge in the midline may be considered as an adjunct to an oral tracheal tube exchange, using a thinner TE as the guide for tracheal intubation.