Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2007
Randomized Controlled TrialEffects of gabapentin on experimental somatic pain and temporal summation.
Gabapentin is used for treatment of neuropathic pain, but its effect on different somatic pain modalities and integrative mechanisms are not completely understood. The aim of this double-blind, placebo-controlled experimental pain study, conducted on 20 healthy volunteers, was to examine the effect of a single dose of 1200 mg gabapentin on multi-modal experimental cutaneous and muscle pain models. ⋯ Gabapentin reduces temporal summation of skin stimuli at pain threshold intensities; this may have potential as a biomarker for drugs with efficacy on neurogenic pain. The data also suggest that tonic muscle pain is responsive to gabapentin treatment and suggest further clinical studies.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2007
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyPreliminary evaluation of infraclavicular catheters inserted using ultrasound guidance: through-the-catheter anesthesia is not inferior to through-the-needle blocks.
This prospective study compared the initial block quality and surgical anesthesia rates of ultrasound-guided infraclavicular blocks with local-anesthetic injected through a catheter versus through a needle. We hypothesized that positioning of the catheter immediately posterior to the axillary artery would produce through-the-catheter (TTC) anesthesia with rates of complete block not inferior to through-the-needle (TTN) injection. ⋯ Ultrasound-guided TTC infraclavicular block produced perioperative anesthesia that was not inferior to a TTN technique.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2007
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyDyloject, a novel injectable diclofenac formulation, offers greater safety and efficacy than voltarol for postoperative dental pain.
Voltarol for injection (a diclofenac sodium formulation employing polyethylene glycol and benzyl alcohol [PG-BA] as excipients) is marketed in Europe but not in North America. A suspension, PG-BA diclofenac sodium, requires preparation for each patient and slow IV infusion to minimize venous irritation. Dyloject, a novel diclofenac formulation, employs hydroxypropyl beta-cyclodextrin (HPbetaCD) to solubilize diclofenac in a small volume. We compared the efficacy and safety of an IV HPbetaCD diclofenac sodium bolus, a 30-minute PG-BA diclofenac sodium infusion, and placebo in post-molar extraction pain. ⋯ IV bolus HPbetaCD diclofenac sodium produced analgesia more quickly than, and with equal duration as, the 30-minute PG-BA diclofenac sodium infusion. Pooled data on thrombophlebitis from the present investigation and our prior studies of the novel formulation indicate this adverse effect is less frequent and less severe with HPbetaCD diclofenac sodium than with PG-BA diclofenac sodium.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2007
Randomized Controlled TrialEfficacy of continuous femoral nerve block with stimulating catheters versus nonstimulating catheters for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
This prospective randomized controlled trial investigated the clinical efficacy of stimulating catheters for continuous femoral nerve block in patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. ⋯ Although the use of a stimulating catheter was associated with faster onset time for the femoral nerve block and lower additional analgesics postoperatively, the clinical superiority (analgesia; lateral femoral cutaneous, and obturator nerve block) of stimulating catheters was not evident in this clinical setting.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2007
Randomized Controlled TrialMotor blocking minimum local anesthetic concentrations of bupivacaine, levobupivacaine, and ropivacaine in labor.
Adequate comparison of blocking capabilities of local anesthetics should be done with some knowledge of their relative potencies. The objective of this clinical trial was to simultaneously determine the motor blocking minimum local anesthetic concentrations (MMLAC) and the relative potency ratios for racemic bupivacaine, levobupivacaine, and ropivacaine during labor. ⋯ This study confirms a motor blocking hierarchy for the three pipecoloxylidines.