Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 2010
Randomized Controlled TrialNocebo-induced hyperalgesia during local anesthetic injection.
Common practice during local anesthetic injection is to warn the patient using words such as: "You will feel a big bee sting; this is the worst part." Our hypothesis was that using gentler words for administration of the local anesthetic improves pain perception and patient comfort. One hundred forty healthy women at term gestation requesting neuraxial analgesia were randomized to either a "placebo" ("We are going to give you a local anesthetic that will numb the area and you will be comfortable during the procedure") or "nocebo" ("You are going to feel a big bee sting; this is the worst part of the procedure") group. ⋯ Median verbal analog scale pain scores were lower when reassuring words were used compared with the harsher nocebo words (3 [2-4] vs 5 [3-6]; P < 0.001). Our data suggest that using gentler, more reassuring words improves the subjective experience during invasive procedures.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyResistive-heating or forced-air warming for the prevention of redistribution hypothermia.
We evaluated the efficacy of resistive-heating or forced-air warming versus no prewarming, applied before induction of anesthesia for prevention of hypothermia. ⋯ Prewarming should be considered part of the anesthetic management when patients are at risk for postoperative hypothermia.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyA simple approach to the sciatic nerve that does not require geometric calculations or multiple landmarks.
Blockade of the sciatic nerve is necessary for complete analgesia of the lower extremity using peripheral nerve blocks. We identified the sciatic nerve in relation to the ischial tuberosity in fresh cadaver dissections as well as in patients to compare sciatic nerve blockade using the conventional approach versus our experimental approach. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that in patients in the prone position, our novel approach (changing the point of needle insertion to 3 cm lateral from the ischial tuberosity) requires fewer needle passes and less time. ⋯ We describe a landmark that is more effective for identifying the location of the sciatic nerve than that used for the prone subgluteal approach.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyThe effect of bispectral index monitoring on long-term survival in the B-aware trial.
When anesthesia is titrated using bispectral index (BIS) monitoring, patients generally receive lower doses of hypnotic drugs. Intraoperative hypotension and organ toxicity might be avoided if lower doses of anesthetics are administered, but whether this translates into a reduction in serious morbidity or mortality remains controversial. The B-Aware Trial randomly allocated 2463 patients at high risk of awareness to BIS-guided anesthesia or routine care. We tested the hypothesis that the risks of death, myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke would be lower in patients allocated to BIS-guided management than in those allocated to routine care. ⋯ Monitoring with BIS and absence of BIS values <40 for >5 min were associated with improved survival and reduced morbidity in patients enrolled in the B-Aware Trial.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyPosttraumatic stress disorder in aware patients from the B-aware trial.
The long-term consequences of an awareness episode vary. Some patients do not have any long-term disability, whereas others develop psychological problems that may be severe and persistent. In this study, we compared the incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in patients with and without confirmed awareness who were randomized in the B-Aware Trial. ⋯ PTSD was common and persistent in the confirmed awareness patients of the B-Aware Trial. Strategies to prevent awareness in patients under general anesthesia are justified.