Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are being used more frequently by anesthesiologists. PDAs are pocket-sized electronic devices that, at their most basic level, store information. ⋯ More advanced features are increasingly common and blur the distinction between PDAs and personal computers (PCs). This article reviews the main options for PDAs, purchasing tips, and software applications, especially as they apply to anesthesiologists.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialThe effect of single-injection femoral nerve block on rehabilitation and length of hospital stay after total knee replacement.
Continuous-infusion femoral nerve block (FNB) improves analgesia and rehabilitation after total knee replacement. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of single-injection FNB to achieve similar results. ⋯ Single-injection FNB provided effective analgesia, facilitated early ambulation, and reduced the length of acute hospitalization in patients undergoing total knee replacement.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialComparison of racemic bupivacaine, ropivacaine, and levo-bupivacaine for pediatric caudal anesthesia: effects on postoperative analgesia and motor block.
To compare ropivacaine, levo-bupivacaine, and racemic bupivacaine for caudal blockade in children. ⋯ All 3 investigated local anesthetics were found to be clinically comparable despite the slight reduction of early postoperative motor block associated with the use of ropivacaine.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2002
Case ReportsPatient-controlled epidural analgesia for labor and delivery in a parturient with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.
The anesthetic management of labor and delivery in patients with any form of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is not well defined. Using patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA), or epidural analgesia, in such a rare clinical situation has not been previously reported. ⋯ PCEA had no apparent detrimental affect on the patient's disease and may be a reasonable option for patients with CIDP presenting for labor and delivery.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2002
A survey of acute pain services in Germany and a discussion of international survey data.
Acute pain services (APS) have been introduced worldwide to improve postoperative pain management. However, data are lacking on organization and quality of these services in Germany. ⋯ As 50% of German APS do not comply with QC, we believe structured policies, as well as quality assurance measures, should be emphasized in the future. A comparison to international survey data showed that APS, in general, often do not consider QC.