Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jul 2008
Dexmedetomidine enhances the local anesthetic action of lidocaine via an alpha-2A adrenoceptor.
Clonidine, an alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonist, is a common adjunct in both central and peripheral blocks. Dexmedetomidine, a more selective alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonist, is also known to enhance central neural blockades. Its peripheral effect, however, has not been fully elucidated. Thus, we evaluated the effect of dexmedetomidine and other alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonists on the local anesthetic action of lidocaine at the periphery and explored the mechanism involved. ⋯ We demonstrated that alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonists enhanced the local anesthetic action of lidocaine, and suggest that dexmedetomidine acts via alpha-2A adrenoceptors.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jul 2008
A new knee surgery model in rats to evaluate functional measures of postoperative pain.
With the increase in the number of total knee surgeries being performed, postoperative analgesic management remains a challenge. We used a new animal knee surgery model to characterize pain-related behavior in the rat, and its therapeutic modulation with systemic and intrathecal drug treatment. ⋯ This study presents a new simple, reproducible rat model to assess function and discomfort after knee surgery, and one that responds to therapeutic interventions. In this knee surgery model, both systemic and intrathecal administration of either morphine or ketorolac caused reversal of the deficits in rearing and ambulatory behavior at 24 h postsurgery.