Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthésie
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Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with chronic non-specific musculoskeletal pain syndromes; however, studies are lacking with respect to its relationship with postoperative pain. We tested the hypothesis that a lower preoperative vitamin D level is associated with increased postoperative pain and/or opioid consumption in morbidly obese patients who had laparoscopic bariatric surgery. ⋯ We did not find any association between preoperative vitamin D levels and postoperative pain scores/opioid consumption in morbidly obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery.
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Observational Study
[Evaluating the learning curve for the transversus abdominal plane block: a prospective observational study.]
Anesthesia is a medical specialty where a large number of technical skills need to be mastered with the learning curve for these skills depending on both the technique and the individual involved. The transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block has demonstrated its effectiveness especially in postoperative analgesia following midline laparotomy. It is usually described as a simple technique even though little is known about the learning curve for this block. The purpose of this study was to determine the learning curve for ultrasound-guided TAP block in anesthesiologists who had no prior experience performing the block. ⋯ This study demonstrates that the TAP block can be rapidly mastered even if the learning curve varies due to inter-individual differences in dexterity and in the ease of obtaining the ultrasound images.