Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 1993
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialOnset, intensity of blockade and somatosensory evoked potential changes of the lumbosacral dermatomes after epidural anesthesia with alkalinized lidocaine.
The onset and intensity of blockade of the lumbosacral dermatomes after epidural anesthesia with alkalinized lidocaine were investigated in a randomized, double-blind study in 26 patients. Control subjects (n = 13) received 20 mL of 1.37% lidocaine (1.5% lidocaine plus 1 mL saline per 10 mL lidocaine) with added 1:200,000 epinephrine; the solution pH was 6.20 +/- 0.08. Patients in the alkalinized lidocaine group (n = 13) were given 20 mL of 1.37% lidocaine plus added bicarbonate (1 mL sodium bicarbonate per 10 mL 1.5% lidocaine) and 1:200,000 epinephrine; the solution pH was 7.18 +/- 0.10. ⋯ Motor blockade was significantly more profound in the alkalinized lidocaine group. Thirteen of 78 PTN and L5 and S1 dermatomal SSEPs were abolished in the alkalinized lidocaine group compared to 4 of 78 SSEPs in the nonalkalinized group. Alkalinization of lidocaine is recommended to shorten the time to block the L5-S1 dermatomes when epidural anesthesia is planned for lower extremity surgery.
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Vigilance is an important but difficult to measure attribute in anesthesia practitioners. We present a modified standard method to assess intraoperative vigilance toward electronic data displays. The response time to detect a simulated abnormal value on the physiologic monitor was measured. ⋯ Response times and the rate of missed events were greater during induction of anesthesia (a time of high workload) than during the maintenance or emergence phases of anesthesia. Response times were shorter during procedures on ASA 1 patients than on ASA 3 patients. The results suggest that anesthesiologists usually quickly detect abnormal values on physiologic monitors and that less attention is devoted to monitors during periods of high workload.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 1993
Comparative StudyA comparison of postoperative epidural analgesia between patients with chronic cancer taking high doses of oral opioids versus opioid-naive patients.
Our study evaluated 116 surgical patients with cancer who received postoperative epidural analgesia with bupivacaine (BUP) (0.1%) and morphine (MS) (0.01%) during 5 days after epidural-light general anesthesia. Patients in group I (n = 17) were taking opioids in doses larger than 50 mg of morphine daily for 3 mo or more, whereas patients in group II (n = 99) were opioid-naive. Postoperative epidural infusions were started at 10 mL.h-1 for group I and 5 mL.h-1 for group II. ⋯ Daily epidural and IV MS usage were always more for group I by two- to threefold. No patient experienced respiratory depression or opioid withdrawal during the hospitalization. Thus, epidural BUP-MS appears to provide adequate postoperative analgesia while preventing withdrawal in opioid-dependent patients, if three times the normal dosage and duration of therapy are employed.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 1993
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialIntraarticular analgesia following knee arthroscopy.
A randomized, double-blind, controlled study was conducted in patients undergoing elective knee arthroscopy to assess the analgesic effect of intraarticular morphine and bupivacaine, alone and in combination. Patients in group 1 (n = 10) received 5 mg of morphine in 25 mL of saline; patients in group 2 (n = 10) received 25 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine (62.5 mg); patients in group 3 (n = 10) received a combination of 5 mg of morphine and 62.5 mg of bupivacaine in 25 mL dilution; and patients in group 4 (n = 10) received 25 mL of saline. All the drugs were injected intraarticularly. ⋯ These low pain scores were associated with lower requirements of supplementary analgesics. The patients in group 4 showed the highest pain scores and analgesic requirements. We conclude that intraarticular morphine significantly reduces postoperative pain following knee arthroscopy and that there is no advantage of combining bupivacaine with morphine.