Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2009
Randomized Controlled TrialA comparison between EMLA cream application versus lidocaine infiltration for postoperative analgesia after inguinal herniotomy in children.
EMLA cream (eutectic mixture of local anesthetics) has been shown to penetrate intact skin and provide analgesia of superficial layers. There are no studies on the effects of topical application of EMLA cream for postoperative pain relief after inguinal hernia repair. ⋯ Topical application of EMLA (5%) provides postoperative analgesia comparable to infiltration with 1% lidocaine after inguinal hernia repair in children.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2009
Randomized Controlled TrialContinuous femoral nerve block provides superior analgesia compared with continuous intra-articular and wound infusion after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
This prospective, randomized, clinical trial compared pain intensity and analgesic drug consumption after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with patellar tendon under femoral-sciatic nerve block anesthesia in patients who received either a continuous femoral nerve block (CFNB) or continuous local anesthetic wound and intra-articular infusions. ⋯ Continuous femoral nerve block provides better analgesia than the continuous patellar tendon wound and intra-articular infusions after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with patellar tendon.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2009
A prospective, observational study of the relationship between body mass index and depth of the epidural space during lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injection.
Previous studies have concluded that transforaminal epidural steroid injections (ESIs) are more effective than interlaminar injections in the treatment of radiculopathies due to lumbar intervertebral disk herniation. There are no published studies examining the depth of epidural space using a transforaminal approach. We investigated the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and the depth of the epidural space during lumbar transforaminal ESIs. ⋯ There is a positive association between BMI and transforaminal epidural depth, but not with age, sex, race, oblique angle, or intervertebral level.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2009
Randomized Controlled TrialKetamine as an adjuvant in lidocaine intravenous regional anesthesia: a randomized, double-blind, systemic control trial.
Ketamine delays and minimizes intraoperative tourniquet pain when added to lidocaine-based intravenous regional anesthesia (IVRA). It is unclear if adding ketamine to the IVRA injectate is more efficacious compared with systemic administration. This study compares intraoperative tourniquet pain, postoperative analgesia, and side effects of systemic versus IVRA ketamine during outpatient hand surgery. ⋯ In comparison to systemic administration, there is no selective benefit to adding ketamine to the IVRA injectate.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2009
Meta AnalysisEfficacy of bicarbonate in decreasing pain on intradermal injection of local anesthetics: a meta-analysis.
Intradermal injection of local anesthetic often results in pain on injection due in part to the acidic pH of commercially prepared solutions, which are optimized to prolong shelf life. Although there are other possible explanations (eg, noxious properties of local anesthetics, pressure effect of infiltration), the etiology is most likely multifactorial. Although addition of bicarbonate to local anesthetics may decrease pain on intradermal injection, the extent of this analgesic effect is uncertain. We performed a meta-analysis of available trials investigating pain during intradermal injection of buffered local anesthetic preparations. ⋯ Our systematic review suggests that the use of buffered local anesthetics seems to be associated with a statistical decrease in pain of infiltration when compared with unbuffered local anesthetic.