Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Psychiatric Comorbidity Is Associated Prospectively with Diminished Opioid Analgesia and Increased Opioid Misuse in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain.
Opioids are frequently prescribed for chronic low back pain (CLBP), but there are little prospective data on which patient subgroups may benefit. Psychiatric comorbidity, such as high levels of depression and anxiety symptoms (termed comorbid negative affect [NA]), is a common presentation and may predict diminished opioid analgesia and/or increased opioid misuse. ⋯ These results indicate that the benefit and risk considerations in CLBP patients with high NA versus low NA are distinctly different. Thus, NA is an important phenotypic variable to characterize at baseline, before deciding whether to prescribe opioids for CLBP.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A Phase 1, Dose-escalation, Double-blind, Block-randomized, Controlled Trial of Safety and Efficacy of Neosaxitoxin Alone and in Combination with 0.2% Bupivacaine, with and without Epinephrine, for Cutaneous Anesthesia.
Neosaxitoxin (NeoSTX) is a site-1 sodium channel blocker that produces prolonged local anesthesia in animals and humans. Under a Food and Drug Administration-approved phase 1 Investigational New Drug trial, the authors evaluated safety and efficacy of NeoSTX alone and combined with 0.2% bupivacaine (Bup) with and without epinephrine. ⋯ NeoSTX combinations have a tolerable side effect profile and appear promising for prolonged local anesthesia.
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Dyspnea, like pain, can cause major suffering in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Its evaluation relies on self-report; hence, the risk of being overlooked when verbal communication is impaired. Observation scales incorporating respiratory and behavioral signs (respiratory distress observation scales [RDOS]) can provide surrogates of dyspnea self-report in similar clinical contexts (palliative care). ⋯ Combinations of observable signs correlate with dyspnea in communicating ICU patients. Future studies in noncommunicating patients will be needed to determine the responsiveness to therapeutic interventions and clinical usefulness.
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The role of microRNA-21 in isoflurane-induced cardioprotection is unknown. The authors addressed this issue by using microRNA-21 knockout mice and explored the underlying mechanisms. ⋯ Isoflurane protects mouse hearts from ischemia-reperfusion injury by a microRNA-21-dependent mechanism. The Akt/NOS/mPTP pathway is involved in the microRNA-21-mediated protective effect of isoflurane.