Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Dec 2017
Oxycodone Ingestion Patterns in Acute Fracture Pain With Digital Pills.
Opioid analgesics are commonly prescribed on an as-needed (PRN) basis for acute painful conditions. Uncertainty of how patients actually take PRN opioids, coupled with a desire to completely cover pain, leads to variable and overly generous opioid prescribing practices, resulting in a surplus of opioids. This opioid surplus becomes a source for diversion and nonmedical opioid use. Understanding patterns of actual opioid ingestion after acute painful conditions can help clinicians counsel patients on safe opioid use, and allow timely recognition and intervention when escalating opioid self-dosing occurs, to prevent tolerance and addiction. ⋯ The utilization patterns of individuals with acute fracture pain could be captured using a digital pill system and revealed a median opioid ingestion of 45-mg morphine equivalents for acute pain over 7 days. Seven participants ceased using opioids within 4 days after discharge from the emergency department, although operative repair was associated with longer use. This digital pill system was able to measure changes in and patterns of opioid self-dosing, which varied between patients.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Dec 2017
Review Meta AnalysisEffect of an Intravenous Dexamethasone Added to Caudal Local Anesthetics to Improve Postoperative Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis With Trial Sequential Analysis.
Caudal anesthesia has been used for postoperative pain control in pediatric surgical patients, but the duration of the analgesic effect is occasionally unsatisfactory. Intravenous steroids have been shown to be effective for postsurgical pain management after certain surgeries. The aim of this meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis (TSA) was to evaluate the analgesic effect of steroids in patients administered with caudal anesthesia. ⋯ Intravenous dexamethasone prolongs the analgesic duration of caudal anesthesia. Trials to investigate the effectiveness of a lower dose of the dexamethasone in prolonging analgesic effects would be of interest. Further trials with a low risk of bias are necessary.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Dec 2017
Review Meta AnalysisContinuous Pulse Oximetry and Capnography Monitoring for Postoperative Respiratory Depression and Adverse Events: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Death and anoxic brain injury from unrecognized postoperative respiratory depression (PORD) is a serious concern for patient safety. The American Patient Safety Foundation has called for continuous electronic monitoring for all patients receiving opioids in the postoperative period. These recommendations are based largely on consensus opinion with currently limited evidence. The objective of this study is to review the current state of knowledge on the effectiveness of continuous pulse oximetry (CPOX) versus routine nursing care and the effectiveness of continuous capnography monitoring with or without pulse oximetry for detecting PORD and preventing postoperative adverse events in the surgical ward. ⋯ The use of CPOX on the surgical ward is associated with significant improvement in the detection of oxygen desaturation versus intermittent nursing spot-checks. There is a trend toward less ICU transfers with CPOX versus standard monitoring. The evidence on whether the detection of oxygen desaturation leads to less rescue team activation and mortality is inconclusive. Capnography provides an early warning of PORD before oxygen desaturation, especially when supplemental oxygen is administered. Improved education regarding monitoring and further research with high-quality randomized controlled trials is needed.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Dec 2017
Utilizing Forced Vital Capacity to Predict Low Lung Compliance and Select Intraoperative Tidal Volume During Thoracic Surgery.
Tidal volume selection during mechanical ventilation utilizes dogmatic formulas that only consider a patient's predicted body weight (PBW). In this study, we investigate whether forced vital capacity (FVC) (1) correlates better to total lung capacity (TLC) than PBW, (2) predicts low pulmonary compliance, and (3) provides an alternative method for tidal volume selection. ⋯ FVC is more strongly correlated to TLC than PBW and a cutoff of about 3.5 L can be utilized to predict low pulmonary compliance. The equation Vt = FVC/8 reduced mean calculated tidal volume in patients with low pulmonary compliance and/or small lungs.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Dec 2017
Observational StudyOpioid Prescribing for the Treatment of Acute Pain in Children on Hospital Discharge.
The epidemic of nonmedical use of prescription opioids has been fueled by the availability of legitimately prescribed unconsumed opioids. The aim of this study was to better understand the contribution of prescriptions written for pediatric patients to this problem by quantifying how much opioid is dispensed and consumed to manage pain after hospital discharge, and whether leftover opioid is appropriately disposed of. Our secondary aim was to explore the association of patient factors with opioid dispensing, consumption, and medication remaining on completion of therapy. ⋯ Pediatric providers frequently prescribed more opioid than needed to treat pain. This unconsumed opioid may contribute to the epidemic of nonmedical use of prescription opioids. Our findings underscore the need for further research to develop evidence-based opioid prescribing guidelines for physicians treating acute pain in children.