Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2002
Meta Analysis Comparative StudyIntrathecal opioids versus epidural local anesthetics for labor analgesia: a meta-analysis.
Some anesthesiologists contend that intrathecal opioid administration has advantages over conventional epidural techniques during labor. Randomized clinical trials comparing analgesia and obstetric outcome using single-injection intrathecal opioids versus epidural local anesthetics suggest that intrathecal opioids provide comparable analgesia with few serious side effects. This meta-analysis compared the analgesic efficacy, side effects, and obstetric outcome of single-injection intrathecal opioid techniques versus epidural local anesthetics in laboring women. ⋯ Published studies suggest that intrathecal opioids provide comparable early labor analgesia when compared with epidural local anesthetics. Intrathecal opioid administration results in a greater incidence of pruritus. The choice of technique does not appear to affect the method of delivery.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialEpidural infusions for labor analgesia: a comparison of 0.2% ropivacaine, 0.1% ropivacaine, and 0.1% ropivacaine with fentanyl.
Epidural infusion of 0.2% ropivacaine is recommended by the manufacturer for labor analgesia, but lower concentrations may be effective. The objective of this study was to compare 0.1% ropivacaine with 0.2% ropivacaine and to examine the effect of addition of fentanyl. ⋯ We conclude that epidural infusion of 0.1% ropivacaine alone at 10 mL/h provided adequate analgesia in the first stage of labor, and that the addition of 2 microg/mL fentanyl to that concentration improved analgesia to a quality similar to 0.2% ropivacaine alone.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialHypnosis increases heat detection and heat pain thresholds in healthy volunteers.
Hypnosis has been reported to induce analgesia and to facilitate anesthesia. To date, hypnotic-induced analgesia has had little explanation and it has even been questioned. The current study was thus designed to investigate the effect of hypnotic suggestion on thermal-detection thresholds, heat pain, and heat-pain tolerance thresholds. ⋯ These results indicate that hypnosis may partly impair the detection of A delta and C fibers stimulation, potentially explaining its analgesic effect.