Articles: analgesia.
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Case Reports Comparative Study
A patient's experience of a new post-operative patient-controlled analgesic technique.
A patient underwent major spinal surgery, twice within a 3 week period. On the first occasion his post-operative pain was managed by conventional morphine patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). ⋯ The results showed comparable quality of analgesia and sedation and similar effects on respiration. However, the patient expressed a preference for morphine PCA.
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Journal of anesthesia · Sep 1994
Lumbar epidural block reduces cough strength in healthy young subjects.
Effects of lumbar epidural block on maximum expiratory strength were studied in 12 healthy volunteers. Subjects performed maximum expiratory effort against occluded airway at functional residual capacity (FRC) and total lung capacity (TLC) while measuring airway pressure and electromyogram of the abdominal muscles (EMGab). Cough strength was assessed by maximum expiratory pressure (PEmax) and peak EMGab (peak-EMGab). ⋯ Compared with severe reduction in peak-EMGab, PEmax was well maintained at TLC, but changes in PEmax were identical to those in peak-EMGab at FRC. When analgesia spread to higher than T6, PEmax at TLC decreased considerably. We conclude that lumbar epidural block producing analgesia above T6 paralyzes the abdominal muscles and severely impairs the ability of effective cough in healthy young men.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Epidural diamorphine infusions with and without 0.167% bupivacaine for post-operative analgesia.
Forty patients who underwent upper or mid-abdominal surgery were randomly allocated to receive a post-operative epidural infusion of 0.083 mg ml-1 of diamorphine in either 0.167% bupivacaine or 0.9% NaCl solution. The nursing staff, who were unaware of which solution was being infused, managed the patients' pain according to a standardized scheme. They adjusted the epidural infusion rates to 3, 5 or 7 ml h-1 according to the patient's hourly reports of pain on a four point verbal rating scale (none, mild, moderate or severe), aiming to use the lowest allowed infusion rate to prevent or reduce any pain that was more than mild. ⋯ Diclofenac was needed by six patients receiving diamorphine in saline and one receiving diamorphine in bupivacaine (P < 0.05). The range of average hourly epidural infusion rates was constrained by design to between 3 and 7 ml h-1 but the median of these values was 5 ml h-1 in the diamorphine-saline group and 3.35 ml h-1 in the diamorphine-bupivacaine group (P < 0.02). In patients receiving diamorphine in saline, a median of 6 (range 0-16) of the 24 h reports were of more than mild pain, whereas in the diamorphine-bupivacaine group, the corresponding figures were 2 (range 0-13) (P < 0.02)).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Hemodynamic and analgesic profile after intrathecal clonidine in humans. A dose-response study.
Epidural clonidine produces effective postoperative analgesia in humans. Observed side effects include hypotension, bradycardia, sedation, and dryness of the mouth. A recent clinical study demonstrated that 150 micrograms intrathecal clonidine administered postoperatively as the sole analgesic agent was effective but produced hypotension and sedation. Animal studies have provided evidence of a biphasic effect on blood pressure after intrathecal clonidine administration, but no data concerning this effect in humans currently exist. This study was performed to evaluate the dose-response hemodynamic and analgesic profiles of intrathecal clonidine administered after a standard surgical intervention, without perioperative administration of additional analgesics, local anesthetics, or tranquilizers. ⋯ These results demonstrate dose-dependent analgesia after intrathecal clonidine at doses as great as 450 micrograms. The nearly immediate analgesic effect observed after intrathecal injection of 300 and 450 micrograms clonidine strongly argues for a spinal rather than a systemic site of action of this alpha 2-adrenergic agonist. After 300 and 450 micrograms intrathecal clonidine a relative hemodynamic stability is observed, suggesting a pressor effect at peripheral sites.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Antiemetic efficacy of metoclopramide when included in a patient-controlled analgesia infusion.
A double-blind, randomised, controlled trial was performed to assess the antiemetic efficacy of metoclopramide when included in a morphine patient-controlled analgesia regimen. Fifty ASA grade 1 or 2 patients scheduled for elective intermediate or major gynaecological surgery were allocated into one of two groups. All patients received a standardised anaesthetic and metoclopramide 5 mg was given intravenously 10 min before the end of the procedure. ⋯ Pain scores, sedation scores, and morphine requirement were not significantly different between the groups. There was no difference in nausea scores between the groups, but more patients suffered moderate or severe nausea in group 1 (10 patients) than group 2 (three patients, p < 0.026). We conclude that metoclopramide, when included in a patient-controlled analgesia regimen, reduces the incidence of moderate to severe nausea, but not the overall incidence of nausea.