Scand J Plast Recons
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Scand J Plast Recons · Jan 1991
Nerve function and structure beneath and distal to a pneumatic tourniquet applied to rabbit hindlimbs.
Neurophysiologic and neuropathologic changes were studied in rabbit hindlimbs after 2 hours of pneumatic tourniquet application with either 350 mmHg (n = 18) or 1,000 mmHg (n = 6) cuff inflation pressure. The toe spread reflex was decreased in 66% and absent in 33% of limbs 2 days after 350 mmHg compression, and was absent in all limbs after 1,000 mmHg compression. Compound motor action potential amplitudes (CMAPs), recorded from the abductor hallucis muscle, were significantly decreased with sciatic nerve stimulation 1 hour after 350 mmHg compression. ⋯ Severe fiber damage and nodal obliteration were noted after 1,000 mmHg tourniquet compression. Although nodal invagination is probably not a significant pathogenic mechanism at clinically relevant tourniquet pressures and durations, functional abnormalities were induced by 2 hour, 350 mmHg tourniquet compression. Such changes probably correlate with clinical electromyographic abnormalities and delayed post-operative recovery following 'routine' extremity surgery using pneumatic tourniquets.
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Scand J Plast Recons · Jan 1991
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialBilateral infraorbital block with 0.5% bupivacaine as post-operative analgesia following cheiloplasty in children.
Various studies have shown that bupivacaine nerve blocks provide prolonged post-operative analgesia. We studied the efficacy of a 0.5% bupivacaine infraorbital nerve block as post-operative analgesia in a random, prospective, double blind manner in children undergoing cleft lip repair. Following the induction of anesthesia with ketamine 2-4 mg/kg im, 60 patients, aged 2-13 years, ASA I and II were equally divided: Group A received 1-1.5 ml bupivacaine, 0.5% with 1:200,000 epinephrine; Group B received 1-1.5 ml saline injected into the vicinity of the infraorbital foramina. ⋯ Group A required no other analgesic whereas a total of 17 patients in Group B required analgesic medication starting at four hours post-operatively, (p less than 0.001). Both the nurses and the parents confirmed that those who received infraorbital block were more comfortable than those who did not. One-way analysis of variance indicates that the mean scores for both groups differs significantly at all levels of comparison, (p less than 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)