British journal of anaesthesia
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Illicit drugs are widely used by inner city patients and their use by pregnant women has increased in recent years. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of polysubstance abuse among parturients at our institution who received no prenatal care ('unbooked') and to determine the accuracy of the Ontrak TesTcup an in vitro immunodiagnostic assay. We prospectively analysed urine from 50 'unbooked' parturients and found that 26 (52%) tested positive for cocaine. ⋯ When comparing TesTcup to the hospital laboratory, there were no false positive or negative results. Given the high frequency of concomitant opioid abuse in cocaine-abusing parturients, anyone suspected of cocaine abuse should be tested for other illicit substances. TesTcup is a clinically accurate test that allows the rapid assessment of several drugs of abuse, which may impact on anaesthetic care.
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This study was designed to cross-validate a composite measure of the pain scales CHEOPS (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Pain Scale), OPS (Objective Pain Scale, simplified for parent use by replacing blood pressure measurement with observation of body language or posture), TPPPS (Toddler Preschool Postoperative Pain Scale) and FLACC (Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability) in 167 Thai children aged 1-5.5 yr. The pain scales were translated and tested for content, construct and concurrent validity, including inter-rater and intra-rater reliabilities. Discriminative validity in immediate and persistent pain for the age groups < or =3 and >3 yr were also studied. ⋯ Use of the kappa statistic indicated that CHEOPS yielded the best agreement with the routine decision to treat pain. The younger and older age groups both yielded very good agreement in the PACU but only moderate agreement on the ward. On the basis of data from this study, we recommend CHEOPS as a valid, reliable and practical tool.
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Use of morphine by titration in the post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) is often the first step in postoperative pain management. This approach provides rapid analgesia but shows a wide inter-individual variability in morphine requirements and may prolong patient stay in the PACU. The aim of this study was to identify the patient characteristics, surgical, anaesthetic, and postoperative factors predictive of early morphine requirements. ⋯ In the multiple regression analysis of nine variables, only ethnicity (Caucasian), emergency surgery, major surgery, surgery exceeding 100 min, and pain score on arrival in PACU were predictive factors of morphine requirements. This observational study identifies for the first time independent predictive factors of morphine requirements in the early postoperative period. Future studies are warranted to evaluate the impact of intervention on these factors and any resulting improvement in postoperative pain treatment.
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We have investigated the efficacy and safety of remifentanil in a patient-controlled analgesia device for labour in 21 women. Remifentanil was available in increasing doses (bolus doses 0.25-1.0 microg x kg(-1)) with and without a background infusion (0.025-0.05 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1)). A lockout time of 2 min was used. ⋯ There were no significant reductions in the fetal heart rate. Apgar scores and cord blood gas analyses remained within normal limits. We conclude that a remifentanil patient-controlled analgesia system (bolus doses 0.25-0.5 microg x kg(-1), without a background infusion) may safely provide worthwhile, although incomplete, analgesia for labour.