British journal of anaesthesia
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Extradural morphine gives better pain relief than patient-controlled i.v. morphine after hysterectomy.
We examined if patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with i.v. morphine provided comparable postoperative analgesia after hysterectomy as extradural morphine, without increasing the incidence of side effects. The study (n = 40) was randomized and double-blind. An extradural catheter was inserted before surgery and anaesthesia was standardized. ⋯ Plasma concentrations of morphine varied 8-10-fold in both groups. In the i.v. group itching, tiredness, blurred vision and vertigo correlated with cumulative consumption of i.v. morphine whereas in the extradural group this correlation existed only for tiredness. Both groups showed reduced ability to perform tests of cognitive function, indicating a central effect of both i.v. and extradural morphine, despite markedly lower plasma morphine concentrations in the extradural group.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Continuous brachial plexus infusion of butorphanol-mepivacaine mixtures for analgesia after upper extremity surgery.
We have recently reported that continuous administration of butorphanol into the brachial plexus neurovascular sheath provided superior analgesia compared with that obtained with continuous i.v. administration. Furthermore, we found that analgesia was most pronounced when a mixture of mepivacaine and butorphanol was given and that butorphanol alone ranked next. In this study, we increased the dose of butorphanol, compared with that used in our previous reports, and an initial bolus dose of butorphanol was administered into the brachial plexus neurovascular sheath just after surgery had ended. ⋯ After operation, VAS scores did not differ between the two groups. The time to first use of supplementary analgesia did not differ significantly between the two groups and there were no significant differences in the number of patients who required supplementary analgesia. These results indicate that continuous butorphanol 2 mg day-1 with 0.5% mepivacaine provided sufficient postoperative analgesia after upper limb surgery.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Target-controlled infusion of alfentanil for postoperative analgesia: a feasibility study and pharmacodynamic evaluation in the early postoperative period.
We have examined the feasibility of target-controlled infusion of alfentanil (TCIA) and the pharmacodynamics of alfentanil in the early postoperative period. Patients were allocated randomly to one of the three groups to receive balanced anaesthesia with bolus injections of fentanyl (group F), sufentanil (group S) or alfentanil (group A). In the recovery room all patients received the same analgesic regimen, comprising TCIA. ⋯ EC50 of alfentanil was determined in 28 patients; mean values were 26 ng ml-1 (group F), 39 ng ml-1 (group S) and 52 ng ml-1 (group A). We conclude that TCIA, under the conditions studied, resulted in a fast onset of adequate analgesia, irrespective of the opioid administered during operation. Also, there was no effect of opioids administered during operation on postoperative pharmacodynamics of alfentanil.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Cardiorespiratory changes during gynaecological laparoscopy by abdominal wall elevation: comparison with carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum.
We have studied the cardiorespiratory changes produced by abdominal wall elevation (AWE) or carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum (PN) in 20 women undergoing gynaecological laparoscopy. Arterial pressure, heart rate, lung/chest complicance and blood-gas tensions were measured 10 min after induction of general anaesthesia (T0), 10 min after abdominal distension in the supine position (T1) and 10 min after the Trendelenburg position was assumed (T2). Visual analogue scores for pain were recorded 1 and 6 h after the end of surgery. ⋯ AWE patients had greater abdominal pain 1 h after surgery. Six hours after surgery pain was similar in the two groups. These data indicate that abdominal wall elevation reduced pulmonary compliance less than a pneumoperitoneum in patients undergoing gynaecological laparoscopy.
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Absence of memory for intraoperative information during surgery under adequate general anaesthesia.
Using the isolated forearm technique (IFT), we wished to determine if patients known to be unresponsive to commands during general anaesthesia with nitrous oxide, halothane and neuromuscular blocking agents had any evidence of explicit or implicit recall. Two groups of women, studied in a single-blind sequential block design, heard different tapes, either a command and information tape (n = 34) or radio static (n = 34), throughout surgery. ⋯ With or without hypnosis, category generation, serial position of category exemplars and word association tests did not reveal evidence of priming. We conclude that during light general anaesthesia with nitrous oxide, halothane and atracurium, patients had neither explicit nor implicit memory for information presented during a period when they are known to be unresponsive to commands.