Articles: postoperative-pain.
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Fifty-four patients developed severe intercostal neuralgia a few weeks after sternotomy. Immediate relief afforded by parasternal nerve blocks confirmed that the pain derived from scar-entrapped neuromas of the anterior rami of the first 4-6 intercostal nerves in the upper (and mainly left) interchondral spaces after insertion of the sternal wires. Permanent relief (i.e., over 6 months) followed repeated bupivacaine blocks in 57.4% of the patients, phenol blocks in another 22.2%, and alcohol blocks in a remaining 9%. Treatment was successful in 87% of the patients.
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Comment Letter Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Paravertebral block for post-cholecystectomy pain relief.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Analgesic efficacy and safety comparison of ketorolac tromethamine and Doleron for the alleviation of orthopaedic post-operative pain.
The analgesic efficacy and safety of ketorolac tromethamine (ketorolac), a potent analgesic with anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities, were evaluated and compared with Doleron, a combination analgesic, in 115 patients with moderate to severe orthopaedic post-operative pain. This was a randomized, double-blind (double-dummy), parallel-group comparison of a single oral dose of one capsule of 10 mg ketorolac with a single oral dose of two Doleron tablets (each tablet contained 150 mg dextropropoxyphene napsylate, 350 mg aspirin and 150 mg phenazone). During the 6 h following treatment, 80% of ketorolac treated patients and 82% of Doleron treated patients experienced adequate pain relief. ⋯ Nausea (two patients in each treatment group), vertigo (none on ketorolac, three on Doleron) and sore throat (none on ketorolac, two on Doleron) were the only drug-related adverse events reported by more than one person in a treatment group during the trial. A total of 82% of patients given ketorolac and 76% given Doleron experienced no adverse events. A single oral dose of 10 mg ketorolac was shown to be as effective and safe as two Doleron tablets in the treatment of moderate to severe orthopaedic post-operative pain.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Intraoperative cryoanalgesia for postthoracotomy pain relief.
In a randomized study, 63 patients were investigated for the benefits of cryoanalgesia after thoracotomy. Analgesia and its dependent effects such as enhancement of mobility, respiratory function, and reduced need of narcotics were evaluated. ⋯ However, moderate to severe neuralgia was found in a number of patients in the cryoanalgesia group in the late postoperative period. Cryoanalgesia for pain relief after thoracotomy is not recommended.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A double-blind comparison of epidural ketamine and diamorphine for postoperative analgesia.
Twenty patients who had abdominal hysterectomy under general anaesthesia were randomly assigned to receive either epidural ketamine (30 mg), or epidural diamorphine (5 mg) peri-operatively and on first request for analgesia. Failure to obtain satisfactory analgesia with one of the agents was treated by epidural administration of the other. Pain was assessed by an independent observer, and by the patient using a visual analogue scale. ⋯ The mean (SD) time to first request for analgesia was 272 (206) and 72 (41) minutes in the diamorphine and ketamine groups respectively (p less than 0.01). All patients in the diamorphine group obtained adequate analgesia, but all patients in the ketamine group were changed to epidural diamorphine. Epidural ketamine does not appear to be a sufficiently effective alternative to epidural diamorphine for routine use in postoperative pain.