International journal of obstetric anesthesia
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The incidence of persistent pain after cesarean deliveries (CD) varies but is much lower than after comparable surgeries. However, with over four million deliveries annually and a rising CD rate, even a low prevalence of persistent pain after CD impacts many otherwise healthy young women. Consideration of the pathophysiology of persistent pain after surgery and the risk factors predisposing women to persistent and chronic pain after CD provides insights into the prevention and treatment of persistent pain; and improves the quality of care and recovery after CD. ⋯ Persistent pain has been linked to the severity of acute postoperative pain and opioid exposure. Modified surgical techniques, neuraxial anesthesia and opioid-sparing analgesia may help limit the development of persistent and chronic pain. The goal of this narrative review is to examine the incidence of persistent pain after CD; review briefly the underlying pathophysiology of persistent pain and the transition from acute to chronic pain (with particular emphasis on the uniqueness after CD); and to review modifiable risk factors and prevention strategies that identify at-risk patients and allow tailored treatment.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Nov 2019
ReviewSystemic adjunct analgesics for cesarean delivery: a narrative review.
It is critical to adequately treat postoperative cesarean delivery pain. The use of parenteral or neuraxial opioids has been a mainstay, but opioids have side effects that can be troubling and the opioid crisis in the United States has highlighted the necessity to utilize analgesics other than opioids. Other analgesic options include neuraxial analgesics, nerve blocks such as the transversus abdominis plane block, and non-opioid parenteral and oral medications. The goal of this article is to review non-opioid systemic analgesic adjuncts following cesarean delivery, focusing on their efficacy and side effects as well as their impact on reduction of opioid requirements after surgery.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Nov 2019
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyA triple-blinded randomized trial comparing spinal morphine with posterior quadratus lumborum block after cesarean section.
What did they do?
Tamura and team randomised 176 elective CS patients to spinal anaesthesia with or without morphine, in addition to placebo or ultrasound-guided quadratus lumborum block (QLB).
And they found
Only intrathecal morphine significantly improved analgesia, not QLB whether performed with or without spinal morphine. Thus QLB probably does not improve analgesia further beyond current best practices.
Not so fast...
While this modest-sized RCT concluded that QLB did not improve pain after caesarean section, the conclusion is i) somewhat inconsistent with earlier studies that did show benefit, and ii) the adjuvant analgesic regime1 used may not be applicable to practice outside Japan.
summary
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The researchers administered the remaining 90 mcg fentanyl IV, along with droperidol 1.25 mg and acetaminophen/paracetamol 15mg/kg after baby delivery. An NSAID (diclofenac 50mg) was only provided when breakthrough pain was requested. ↩
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Nov 2019
ReviewPre-eclampsia through the eyes of the obstetrician and anesthesiologist.
Due to the high risk of morbidity and mortality from unrecognized and untreated pre-eclampsia, clinicians should have a high index of suspicion to evaluate, treat and monitor patients presenting with signs concerning for pre-eclampsia. Early blood pressure management and seizure prophylaxis during labor are critical for maternal safety. Intrapartum, special anesthetic considerations should be employed to ensure the safety of the parturient and fetus. Patients who have pre-eclampsia should be aware that they are at high risk for the future development of cardiovascular disease.
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Current pain and analgesic management strategies apply a standardized one-size-fits-all approach to women undergoing cesarean delivery. These standardized protocols do not account for significant variability in women's pain and may lead to under-treatment in patients with high analgesic needs and overtreatment, associated with increased analgesic-related side effects, in women with low analgesic needs and higher analgesic drug sensitivity. Pre-operative identification of patients at-risk of developing severe pain might allow clinicians to optimize care by offering personalized, stratified or targeted analgesic treatment protocols. ⋯ Patient-driven analgesic dose and protocol selection (based on individual preferences for pain relief and for avoidance of side effects after cesarean delivery) may optimally balance individual pain needs and side effect concerns compared to standardized postoperative pain treatment protocols. Individualized or stratified post-discharge opioid prescribing practices have been shown to reduce unnecessary opioid analgesic prescriptions and consumption, so should be implemented routinely. Outcomes other than pain and analgesic use, including recovery measures and maternal satisfaction metrics, should be considered when evaluating personalized or patient-selected pain treatment protocols.