Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Aug 2004
Case ReportsParaplegia after delayed detection of inadvertent spinal cord injury during thoracic epidural catheterization in an anesthetized elderly patient.
We report a case of permanent paraplegia in an 81-yr-old patient who had thoracic epidural catheterization performed under general anesthesia for abdominal surgery. The epidural needle was introduced at the T9-10 interspace, and 3 passes were made to locate the epidural space with the loss-of-resistance-to-air technique. During the postoperative epidural pump infusion, the patient was unaware of the progressive motor and sensory impairment. ⋯ Spinal cord injury caused by an intracord catheterization with subsequent local anesthetic injection was diagnosed. Little improvement was noted after large-dose IV methylprednisolone for initial treatment and subsequent rehabilitation for 6 mo. The possible causes of the delayed detection of the neurologic deficits and the timing of performing epidural anesthesia are discussed.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Aug 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialPatient-controlled analgesia with fentanyl for burn dressing changes.
In this randomized, double-blinded study in 60 ASA I or II adults with >20% body-surface area thermal burns, we investigated the feasibility of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with fentanyl for pain management during dressing changes and determined the optimal PCA-fentanyl demand dose. An initial loading dose of IV fentanyl 1 microg/kg was administered. Patients received on-demand analgesia with fentanyl (10, 20, 30, and 40 microg) whenever their visual analog scale (VAS) score was >2. ⋯ VAS scores and demand/delivery ratios were comparable in the 30 and 40 microg groups (P = 0.260 and P = 0.977, respectively), which suggests comparable analgesic efficacy. There was no hemodynamic instability or respiratory depression. The optimal demand dose of PCA-fentanyl was 30 microg (5-min lockout interval) after an initial loading dose of IV fentanyl 1 microg/kg.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Aug 2004
Clinical TrialNeuromuscular pharmacodynamics of rocuronium in patients with major burns.
Rocuronium, which has a short onset time and is free of hyperkalemic effects, could be considered for rapid-sequence induction of anesthesia in patients with burns. In this study, we assessed the neuromuscular pharmacodynamics of rocuronium in patients with major burns. Adults aged 18-59 yr who had a major burn injury (n = 56) and a control group of 44 nonburned patients were included. ⋯ All recovery profiles were significantly shorter in burned versus nonburned groups with both doses. Resistance to the neuromuscular effects of rocuronium was partially overcome by increasing the dose. A dose up to 1.2 mg/kg provides good tracheal intubating conditions after major burns.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Aug 2004
Clinical TrialThe delay of gastric emptying induced by remifentanil is not influenced by posture.
Posture has an effect on gastric emptying. In this study, we investigated whether posture influences the delay in gastric emptying induced by opioid analgesics. Ten healthy male subjects underwent 4 gastric emptying studies with the acetaminophen method. ⋯ L(-1); P < 0.0001), but there was no significant difference in time taken to reach the maximal concentration (25 versus 47 min). Compared with the control situation, remifentanil delayed gastric emptying in both postures. We conclude that remifentanil delays gastric emptying and that this delay is not influenced by posture.