Zhonghua yi xue za zhi = Chinese medical journal; Free China ed
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Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi (Taipei) · Jul 1997
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialImproved postoperative pain relief via preemptive analgesia in relation to heart rate variability for coronary artery bypass grafting: a preliminary report.
Sudden cardiac death remains to be the most devastating outcome for patients who undergo cardiac surgery. Surgical stress in combination with postoperative pain are key factors of such tragedy. Preemptive analgesia (PA) is supposed to provide optimal postoperative pain management, and epidural morphine infusion to provide effective pain relief and stress reduction after cardiac surgery. Heart rate (HR) variability seems to correlate to the survival of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. This study was conducted to evaluate the benefits of PA for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients in the sense of improvement in postoperative respiratory and cardiovascular functions, and its correlation to HR and HR variability. ⋯ PA method through the use of epidural anesthesia along with morphine infusion provided better postoperative pain relief and more stable respiratory and cardiovascular functions in our patients with cardiac surgery. Although the differences in HR and HR variability between the control and the PA groups were not statistically significant throughout the period studied, the potential benefits of better understanding the relationship between postoperative pain control and HR variability justify further studies to be conducted.