Anesthesiology clinics of North America
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Anesthesiol Clin North America · Mar 2005
ReviewRole of analgesic adjuncts in postoperative pain management.
Postoperative pain remains a major problem. A multi-modal analgesic approach is recommended to optimize pain management and reduce opiate-related adverse effects. Several analgesic adjuncts have been investigated, and many have proved to have a useful analgesic effect. This article reviews the literature regarding use of analgesic adjuncts in the perioperative period.
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Procedure-specific postoperative pain management guidelines arguably are more helpful to the clinician than general pain guidelines or guidelines based on the use of the Oxford League Tables. Two sources, the United States Veteran's Health Administration and the European Prospect Working Group, offer websites that include surgical procedure-specific postoperative pain management guidelines, which are available and currently updated.
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Anesthesiol Clin North America · Mar 2005
ReviewConsequences of inadequate postoperative pain relief and chronic persistent postoperative pain.
Inadequately controlled pain has undesirable physiologic and psychologic consequences such as increased postoperative morbidity, delayed recovery, a delayed return to normal daily living, and reduced patient satisfaction. Importantly, the lack of adequate postoperative pain treatment may lead to persistent pain after surgery, which is often overlooked. Overall, inadequate pain management increases the use of health care resources and health care costs. This article reviews the physiologic and psychologic consequences of inadequately treated pain, with an emphasis on chronic persistent postoperative pain.
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Anesthesiol Clin North America · Mar 2005
ReviewMultimodal analgesia techniques and postoperative rehabilitation.
The concept of multimodal analgesia involves the use of different classes of analgesics and different sites of analgesic administration to provide superior dynamic pain relief with reduced analgesic-related side effects. Although multimodal analgesia techniques have assumed increasing importance in the management of perioperative pain, it has become increasingly apparent that postoperative outcome may not be improved. Nevertheless, the integration of multimodal analgesia techniques with a multimodal and multidisciplinary rehabilitation program may enhance recovery, reduce hospital stay, and facilitate early convalescence.
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Liver transplantation offers patients with liver disease an optimal chance for long-term survival. Current indications, preoperative assessment, patient selection, intraoperative anesthetic management and outcomes are described. ⋯ This demand, coupled with a nonexpanding supply of deceased donor organs, has resulted in a shortage of grafts and prolonged waiting times. Novel solutions using segmental liver grafts from living donors, and the challenges associated with this approach, are discussed.