Best practice & research. Clinical anaesthesiology
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Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol · Mar 2014
Comparative StudyPeripheral nerve catheters and local anesthetic infiltration in perioperative analgesia.
Peripheral nerve catheters (PNCs) and local infiltration analgesia (LIA) represent valuable options for controlling perioperative pain. PNCs have been increasingly utilized to provide both surgical anesthesia and prolonged postoperative analgesia for a wide variety of procedures. PNCs can be more technically challenging to place than typical single-injection nerve blocks (SINB), and familiarity with the indications, contraindications, relevant anatomy, and appropriate technical skills is a prerequisite for the placement of any PNC. ⋯ The efficacy of these techniques varies depending on specific procedures and anatomic locations. The recent incorporation of ultra-long-acting liposomal bupivacaine preparations has the potential to dramatically increase the utility of single-injection LIA. LIA represents a promising yet under-investigated method of postoperative pain control.
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Moderate-to-severe postoperative pain is usually controlled using a multimodal approach, including opioids. Intravenously administered patient-controlled analgesia (IV PCA) with opioids, popular for over 40 years, enables patients to control their level of analgesia and has advantages over a nurse-administered approach, including more satisfied patients and improved pain relief. ⋯ Complicating IV PCA is the problem of commonly used compounds, morphine and hydromorphone, having significantly reduced brain/effector-site permeability and active metabolites, both of which create the risk of delayed adverse events. Novel patient-controlled modalities that incorporate rapid effector site-permeating opioids and non-invasive routes of administration offer great promise to enhance both patient and caregiver experiences with postoperative analgesia systems.
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Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol · Mar 2014
Perioperative analgesia: ever-changing technology and pharmacology.
Our understanding of pain and its long-term implications have dramatically changed with the advent of advancements in molecular mechanisms involved in acute or postoperative pain and chronic pain. This better understanding has led to multiple pharmacologic advancements to better treat pain with minimal side effects. Currently, we are still struggling to find the right balance between all of the different modalities that we have at our leisure. ⋯ However, despite using a multimodal approach that includes newer technologies, we still have a long way to go before we can guarantee a pain-free postoperative course or a comfortable end for a terminally ill patient. These arms of anesthesiology are ever changing. Anesthesiologists have taken a leadership role in perioperative pain management and clinical research designed for the improvement of pain.
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Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol · Mar 2014
Perioperative analgesia and challenges in the drug-addicted and drug-dependent patient.
The epidemic use of illicit drugs has led to an increasing number of patients with drug addiction and dependence presenting for perioperative care. There are a wide variety of drugs commonly abused including opioids, such as heroin and prescription drugs; stimulants, such as amphetamine and cocaine; depressant drugs, such as alprazolam and diazepam; and hallucinogens, such as lysergic acid diethylamide, phencyclidine, and marijuana. Treatment of opioid dependence by office-based buprenorphine and methadone maintenance programs has expanded opportunities for therapy. ⋯ In addition to pain control, management of anxiety, psychological states, and hemodynamic control are the factors to be considered to provide optimum treatment. Although opioids are the mainstay for the control of acute pain, other therapeutic options include alternative routes of administration of local anesthetic, ketamine infusion, and the use of regional anesthesia. We discuss optimum perioperative management, the role of perioperative urine testing, and special considerations in patients on methadone and buprenorphine.