Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2013
Review Meta Analysis Comparative StudyIntermittent epidural bolus compared with continuous epidural infusions for labor analgesia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Intermittent epidural bolus when compared with continuous epidural infusion for labour analgesia results in slightly reduced local anaesthetic use and a small improvement in maternal satisfaction. Caesarean section and instrumental delivery rates were not significantly statistically different.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2013
Case ReportsCase report: ultrasound-guided continuous thoracic paravertebral block for outpatient acute pain management of multilevel unilateral rib fractures.
A 61-year-old man with multiple unilateral rib fractures (T3-T8) gained the ability to breathe deeply and to ambulate after ultrasound-guided continuous thoracic paravertebral block and was discharged home after being observed for 15 hours after the block. The ultrasound guidance was helpful in determining the site of rib fractures and the optimal level for catheter placement. This report also discusses the management of analgesia using continuous paravertebral block in an outpatient with trauma.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2013
Early developmental exposure to volatile anesthetics causes behavioral defects in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Mounting evidence from animal studies shows that anesthetic exposure in early life leads to apoptosis in the developing nervous system. This loss of neurons has functional consequences in adulthood. Clinical retrospective reviews have suggested that multiple anesthetic exposures in early childhood are associated with learning disabilities later in life as well. Despite much concern about this phenomenon, little is known about the mechanism by which anesthetics initiate neuronal cell death. Caenorhabditis elegans, a powerful genetic animal model, with precisely characterized neural development and cell death pathways, affords an excellent opportunity to study anesthetic-induced neurotoxicity. We hypothesized that exposing the nematode to volatile anesthetics early in life would induce neuron cell death, producing a behavioral defect that would be manifested in adulthood. ⋯ These data indicate that anesthetics affect neurobehavior in nematodes, extending the range of phyla in which early exposure to volatile anesthetics has been shown to cause functional neurological deficits. This implies that anesthetic-induced neurotoxicity occurs via an ancient underlying mechanism. C elegans is a tractable model organism with which to survey an entire genome for molecules that mediate the toxic effects of volatile anesthetics on the developing nervous system.