Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Aug 1988
Comparative StudyThe roles of acute and chronic pain in regression of sensory analgesia during continuous epidural bupivacaine infusion.
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether regression of sensory analgesia during constant epidural bupivacaine infusion was different in postoperative patients with acute pain than in patients with chronic nonsurgical pain. Sensory levels of analgesia (to pinprick) and pain (on a five-point scale) were assessed hourly for 16 hours during continuous epidural infusion of 0.5% plain bupivacaine (8 ml/hr) in 12 patients with chronic nonsurgical pain and in 30 patients after major abdominal surgery performed under combined bupivacaine and halothane--N2O general anesthesia. No opiates were given. ⋯ Mean duration of sensory blockade was significantly longer (P less than 0.005) in the patients with chronic pain than in surgical patients (13.1 +/- 1.2 and 8.5 +/- 0.7 hours, respectively). Thus, surgical injury hastens regression of sensory analgesia during continuous epidural bupivacaine infusion. The underlying mechanism remains to be determined.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jul 1988
Comparative StudyPotency of succinylcholine at the diaphragm and at the adductor pollicis muscle.
To quantify the differential effect of succinylcholine at the diaphragm and the adductor pollicis muscle, 10 patients were studied during halothane-nitrous oxide anesthesia. Train-of-four stimulation was applied to the ulnar and phrenic nerves. The force of contraction and the electromyographic response of the adductor pollicis were measured and compared with the diaphragmatic electromyogram. ⋯ The ED50 and ED90 values for succinylcholine at the diaphragm were 0.23 +/- 0.04 and 0.40 +/- 0.09 mg/kg, respectively. Corresponding values for the adductor pollicis were 0.14 +/- 0.01 and 0.21 +/- 0.02 mg/kg. The data indicate that the degree of adductor pollicis blockade might overestimate the intensity of diaphragmatic paralysis.