Articles: analgesia.
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Case Reports
Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) using fentanyl in a parturient with a platelet function abnormality.
A term parturient with documented platelet dysfunction presented to the case room for induction of labour. Since this bleeding abnormality contraindicated the use of lumbar epidural analgesia (LEA), we elected to use an iv fentanyl patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) technique for pain relief during labour. ⋯ Mother and neonate tolerated the fentanyl without sequelae. If facilities to monitor the neonate and mother are present, this method of analgesia is useful in those patients where LEA is contraindicated.
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The analgesic effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and vibratory stimulation (VS), used both separately and simultaneously, were compared in 24 patients suffering from chronic pain. We tested the hypothesis that these combined procedures might improve the pain reducing effects obtained with a single type of stimulation, since they make it possible to recruit a larger number of large diameter afferents and/or to increase the discharge frequencies. Four 35-minute treatment sessions (VS, TENS, VS + TENS, Sham stimulation) were run with each patient. ⋯ The assessments took place immediately after any treatment (0h.), and again 4 hours and 24 hours later. The results showed that dual stimulation not only alleviated pain in more cases than either VS or TENS alone, but also had stronger and more long-lasting analgesic effects. On the other hand, all three types of stimulation used produced stronger analgesic effects than those obtained with the sham stimulation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Postoperative pain management and respiratory depression after thoracotomy: a comparison of intramuscular piritramide and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia using fentanyl or buprenorphine.
To compare the analgesic efficacy of fentanyl, buprenorphine, and piritramide and to define the respiratory risk during conventional postoperative pain management and patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). ⋯ Opioid-induced respiratory depression occurred infrequently during postoperative pain management whether by conventional means or using PCA, even though high doses of opioid analgesics were required intermittently for adequate postoperative pain relief by either technique.
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Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res. · May 1991
Comparative StudyPostoperative infusional continuous regional analgesia. A technique for relief of postoperative pain following major extremity surgery.
A new technique using postoperative infusional continuous regional analgesia (PICRA) for postoperative pain relief was investigated in 23 surgical patients treated by amputation (12 patients) or by limb-salvage resection operations (11 patients). Bupivacaine was delivered into peripheral nerve sheaths via catheters placed therein at the time of surgery. Only patients in whom the nerves were easily accessible were treated. ⋯ Overall, the patients on PICRA had an 80% reduction of narcotic requirements when compared to the historical controls. The technique is reliable and can be performed by the surgeon, requiring about a ten-minute increase in operating time. It has potentially wide application in orthopedics in procedures in which the major nerves are easily accessible (e.g., pelvic fractures and revision hip surgery) and for patients with intractable pain of the extremities.
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A collaborative effort to improve pain control in the young pediatric patient resulted in new policies and a change in pain management practice. A retrospective chart review of 15 pediatric surgical patients identified the use of patient controlled analgesia (PCA) as a successful method of pain control for children 3 years of age and older.