Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Nov 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialEpidural fentanyl speeds the onset of sensory block during epidural lidocaine anesthesia.
Shortening the onset time of sensory block is a practical goal to improve the quality of epidural anesthesia. The addition of fentanyl to a local anesthetic solution is widely used during epidural anesthesia. This randomized double-blind study examined the onset time of sensory block during epidural lidocaine anesthesia with and without added fentanyl to the epidural solution. ⋯ Epidural injection of the mixture of 100 microg fentanyl and 2% lidocaine solution accelerated the onset of sensory block during epidural lidocaine anesthesia without increased side effects.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Nov 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialEffects of intrathecal sufentanil on plasma oxytocin and cortisol concentrations in women during the first stage of labor.
Intrathecal sufentanil provides analgesia comparable to epidural bupivacaine for the first stage of labor. Both epidural local anesthetics and intrathecal opioid reduce some parameters of the neuroendocrine response to labor pain and the reflex release of oxytocin in animals. In humans, epidural local anesthetics only reduce the spurt release of oxytocin. This study compared the effect of intrathecal sufentanil and epidural bupivacaine administration on the plasma concentration of oxytocin and cortisol in women with labor pain during the first stage of labor. ⋯ Intrathecal sufentanil analgesia decreases plasma concentrations of oxytocin and cortisol in women with labor pain during the first stage of labor, but epidural bupivacaine only reduced the cortisol concentration.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Nov 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialAxillary brachial plexus block using peripheral nerve stimulator: a comparison between double- and triple-injection techniques.
The multiple-injection technique for axillary block, in which the main 4 nerves of the plexus are located by a nerve stimulator and separately injected, has been shown to produce a high success rate. However, this technique may prove to be more difficult and time-consuming than other methods. Therefore, a simplified technique, with a reduced number of injections, might be desirable. A comparison between 2- and 3-injection techniques was made in the present double-blind study. ⋯ The 2-injection technique offers a success rate in blocking the 3 nerves innervating the hand similar to that obtained with the 3-injection technique. The latter approach should be considered when the musculocutaneous nerve distribution is involved in the surgical area.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Nov 2001
Editorial Comment ReviewAxillary plexus block using multiple nerve stimulation: a European view.