Der Anaesthesist
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Systematic treatment in children suffering from cancer pain is a field of pediatric oncology that was neglected for a long time. Investigations have shown that pain therapy oriented to the special situation of the child's body is urgently necessary. In Germany, an unpublished study by Fengler (Berlin), who reviewed all pediatric cancer centers, revealed serious deficiencies in the therapy of pain in children. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS. Therapy of pain in children with advanced cancer requires interdisciplinary cooperation. In most children therapy of pain can be successfully administered with slow-release morphine in combination with dipyrone, so that the children can remain in their usual social environment.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
[Intrapleural catheter analgesia in patients with multiple rib fractures].
Patients with multiple rib fractures often suffer from severe pain that impairs their respiratory performance. The effect of interpleural administration of bupivacaine (20 ml 0.25% every 4 h) for pain management was evaluated in ten patients. The initial interpleural injection resulted in significant pain relief and improvement of arterial oxygen tension. ⋯ Even though maximum total plasma concentrations of bupivacaine above 2 micrograms/ml were found in some patients, there were no signs of CNS toxicity, most probably because of the increased protein binding of bupivacaine following trauma. Accordingly, the maximum free plasma concentrations in all patients were below the threshold level of 0.24 micron/ml. We therefore conclude tht interpleural administration of bupivacaine could be a valuable means of pain relief in patients with multiple rib fractures, providing no severe pulmonary contusions or concomitant injuries are present.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
[Histamine release and cardiovascular reactions to implantation of bone cement during total hip replacement].
Cardiovascular reactions to acrylic bone cement in patients with total hip replacement are a common complication. Hypotension and arrhythmias are the most frequently observed symptoms. Elderly patients with fractures of the femoral neck constitute a special risk group. ⋯ Because we also observed significant falls in systolic blood pressure in premedicated patients, we assume that the pathogenesis of cardiovascular reactions to bone cement implantation is multifactorial. It may be that potentially lethal complications only occur if two or more of the predisposing factors (hypovolemia, myocardial insufficiency, arrhythmia, embolism, histamine release) are present simultaneously. Pre- and intraoperative measures therefore have to be instituted to eliminate all possible risk factors.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
[The effect of propofol-ketamine anesthesia on hemodynamics and analgesia in comparison with propofol-fentanyl].
Propofol (Diprivan), a modern intravenous hypnotic, produces a reduction in both cardiac index (CI) and mean arterial pressure (MAP). Ketamine (Ketanest), a potent analgesic, in contrast, causes an increase in MAP and CI. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the combination of propofol and ketamine can give better hemodynamic stability during the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia than propofol used with fentanyl, whose cardiodepressant actions may cumulate. ⋯ Patients in group B showed better vigilance as well as better pain relief postoperatively. The population of the fentanyl group was obviously more deeply sedated and analgesia was still inadequate. In our study general intravenous anesthesia with propofol and ketamine offered the advantages of better analgesia, a higher state of vigilance and the absence of respiratory depression during the postoperative phase compared with the combination of propofol and fentanyl.
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The determination of MAC values (minimum alveolar concentrations) for inhalation anesthetics and, correspondingly, of MIR values (minimum infusion rates) for i.v. anesthetics necessarily requires the use of therapeutically ineffective doses so that reactions to skin incision can be observed. EEG feedback-controlled dosing systems for i.v. anesthetics make it possible to determine dose requirement curves, allowing the definition of effective therapeutic infusion rates (ETI). During total i.v. anesthesia in 11 patients treated with fentanyl the mean effective infusion rate for methohexitone was found to be 4.68 +/- 1.39 mg/min, while for propofol the mean ETI in 11 volunteers was determined at 9.90 +/- 2.46 mg/min. The implications of feedback-controlled dosing systems for the study of clinico-pharmacologic problems in anesthesia are discussed.