Journal of anesthesia
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Journal of anesthesia · Feb 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialAssessment of neuromuscular block at the orbicularis oris, corrugator supercilii, and adductor pollicis muscles.
We studied neuromuscular block at the orbicularis oris, corrugator supercilii, and adductor pollicis muscles in anesthetized patients. ⋯ The corrugator supercilii muscle is more resistant to rocuronium than the orbicularis oris and adductor pollicis muscles. Recovery of neuromuscular block at the orbicularis oris muscle is slower than that at the corrugator supercilii muscle but was faster than that at the adductor pollicis muscle.
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Anesthesiologists commonly use opioids for pain control in the operating room and postanesthesia care unit, and are constantly vigilant in looking for possible adverse outcomes. Therefore, common complications such as nausea, vomiting, and pruritus are well known. However, neurologic complications after opioid administration are relatively rare except for reduced consciousness, for example drowsiness or sedation. ⋯ A few previous reports on opioids as causative agents for nystagmus have all after use of epidural morphine, and there are yet no publications reporting epidural fentanyl as the cause of nystagmus. Physicians should keep in mind that epidural fentanyl could cause the nystagmus as a neurological complication even though it is used within conventional dosage ranges, although this is very rare. Also, when a patient develops nystagmus after epidural fentanyl, it could be a benign side effect caused by epidural fentanyl as we have experienced, but it could also be a sign of serious central nervous system lesions especially in patients with underlying risk factors such as old age, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cerebrovascular disease, and thus special attention should be paid to this.
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Journal of anesthesia · Feb 2012
Prediction of postoperative pain using path analysis in older patients.
Effective postoperative pain management is important for older surgical patients because pain affects perioperative outcomes. A prospective cohort study was conducted to describe the direct and indirect effects of patient risk factors and pain treatment in explaining levels of postoperative pain in older surgical patients. ⋯ Although preoperative pain and use of preoperative opioids have the strongest effects on postoperative pain, clinicians should be aware that other factors such as age, gender, surgical risk, preoperative cognitive impairment, and depression also contribute to reported postoperative pain. Based on significant statistical correlations, these study results can contribute to more effective postoperative care for those patients having the risk factors studied here. Preoperative treatment/intervention based in part on factors such as preoperative pain, use of preoperative opioids, and depression may improve postoperative pain management.
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The number of citations of an article in scientific journals reflects its impact on a specific biomedical field and its recognition in the scientific community. In the present study, we identified and analyzed the characteristics of the 100 most frequently cited articles published between 1970 and 2010 in journals pertaining to pain research and related fields. These articles were identified using the database of the Science Citation Index (1970 to present). ⋯ Of the 100 articles, 39 were observational studies, 25 were review articles, and 20 concerned basic science. The articles originated from 14 countries, with the United States contributing 47 articles; 67 institutions produced these 100 top-cited articles, led by National Institutes of Health of the United States (8 articles) and University College London (6 articles); 18 persons authored 2 or more of the top-cited articles. This analysis of the top citation classics allows for the recognition of major advances in pain research and gives a historical perspective on the scientific progress of this specialty.
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Journal of anesthesia · Feb 2012
Case ReportsA case of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome after emergence from anesthesia.
Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a relatively new clinical entity characterized by reversible neurological symptoms with findings indicating leukoencephalopathy on imaging studies. Reports of PRES in the field of anesthesiology have been quite limited. A patient with therapeutic anticoagulant developed PRES immediately after emergence from anesthesia, in which her status was initially recognized as delayed recovery from anesthesia with transient hypertension because an emergent head computed tomography (CT) scan was almost normal. ⋯ MRI showed subcortical increased T(2) and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) intensity in the occipitoparietal regions bilaterally with slight increase in the apparent diffusion coefficient signal on diffusion-weighted imaging, which confirmed a diagnosis of PRES. Gradually, the patient regained consciousness and became responsive with antihypertensive therapy. A prompt and accurate diagnosis of PRES is important to avoid irreversible brain damage, for example, intracranial hemorrhage, especially in a patient receiving anticoagulation therapy.