British journal of anaesthesia
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Review
Perioperative opioids: a narrative review contextualising new avenues to improve prescribing.
Opioids have dominated the management of perioperative pain in recent decades with higher doses than ever before used in some circumstances. Through the expanding use of opioids, growing research has highlighted their associated side-effects and the intertwined phenomena of acute withdrawal syndrome, opioid tolerance, and opioid-induced hyperalgesia. With multiple clinical guidelines now endorsing multimodal analgesia, a diverse array of opioid-sparing agents emerges and has been studied to variable degrees, including techniques of opioid-free anaesthesia. ⋯ In this narrative review we describe how, using current evidence, a patient-centred rational-prescribing approach can be applied to opioids in the perioperative period. To contextualise this approach, we discuss the historical adoption of opioids in anaesthesia, our growing understanding of associated side-effects and emerging strategies of opioid-sparing and opioid-free anaesthesia. We discuss avenues and challenges for improving opioid prescribing to limit persistent postoperative opioid use and how these may be incorporated into a rational-prescribing approach.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Sensory block duration after spinal anaesthesia supplemented with intravenous dexamethasone: a randomised controlled double-blinded trial.
Intravenous dexamethasone prolongs duration of analgesia or sensory block after injection of local anaesthetics close to peripheral nerves by an average of 8 h. Uncertainty remains on the potential increase in the duration of sensory block after spinal anaesthesia. The objective of this randomised controlled double-blinded trial was to investigate whether dexamethasone i.v. prolongs the sensory block of spinal anaesthesia with bupivacaine when compared with a control group. ⋯ NCT03527576 (Clinicaltrials.gov).
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Quality of recovery after pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block for primary total hip arthroplasty under spinal anaesthesia: a randomised controlled observer-blinded trial.
The pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block is a novel regional anaesthesia technique that has been proposed as an effective motor-sparing block for total hip arthroplasty. Recent randomised studies show conflicting results regarding the analgesic efficacy of the PENG block for total hip arthroplasty. ⋯ NCT04591353.
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The neuronal mechanisms underlying propofol-induced modulation of consciousness are poorly understood. Neuroimaging studies suggest a potential role for non-specific thalamic nuclei in propofol-induced loss of consciousness. We investigated the contribution of the paraventricular thalamus (PVT), a midline thalamic nucleus that has been implicated in arousal control and general anaesthesia with inhaled anaesthetics, to loss and recovery of consciousness during propofol anaesthesia. ⋯ The paraventricular thalamus contributes to the control of consciousness transitions in propofol anaesthesia in mice. This provides a potential neuroanatomical target for controlling consciousness to reduce anaesthetic dose requirements and side effects.