Articles: analgesia.
-
The American surgeon · Jun 1997
Complications of epidural infusions for analgesia in postoperative and trauma patients.
Few studies compare complications of continuous and bolus epidural analgesia. Ninety-eight postoperative and trauma patients receiving epidural infusions over 15 months were retrospectively studied. Continuous epidural analgesia was used for pain management in 60 patients (61%). ⋯ Patients undergoing abdominal surgery had an increased incidence of complications compared with other patients (P < 0.05). Epidural catheters are safe and effective for pain management, but they are not without risk. Hemodynamic stability and pulmonary status should be considered when evaluating patients.
-
Rev Esp Anestesiol Reanim · Jun 1997
Case Reports[General convulsive crisis related to pneumocephalus after inadvertant dural puncture in an obstetric patient].
We report a case of iatrogenic pneumocephalus in an obstetric patient after accidental dural puncture during repeated attempts to locate the epidural space by the technique of loss-of-resistance to air. Analgesia was provided throughout labor. Two days after puncture, typical spinal headache developed and was treated with bed rest, oral analgesics and hydration. ⋯ A computerized tomography (CT) scan revealed pneumocephalus, to which the convulsions were attributed. No further convulsions occurred in spite of the fact that anticonvulsives were not prescribed. A CT scan one month later was normal.
-
The purpose of this study was to determine obstetrical pain management practices for labour for spontaneous and operative vaginal deliveries since there were no comparative German data available for the past 10 years. ⋯ The methods of obstetrical analgesia and anaesthesia are on a high level and show a broad homogeneity in all hospitals. Overall, the results indicate, in comparison to former studies and in common with other countries, steadily increasing use of regional anaesthesia performed by anaesthetists in contrast to decreasing numbers of local infiltrations performed by obstetricians.