Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialEpidural blockade suppresses lipolysis during major abdominal surgery.
The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of thoracic epidural administration of local anesthetic, i.e., epidural block on perioperative lipolysis. ⋯ Epidural block suppresses lipolysis during and 2 hours after major abdominal surgery without affecting plasma glycerol or FFA concentrations.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2002
Changes in regional cerebral blood flow in the thalamus after electroconvulsive therapy for patients with complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (preliminary case series).
The aim of the present case series was to examine whether changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) induced by electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the thalamus are related to the efficacy of ECT. Four chronic pain patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) type-1 (age, 33 to 58 years) who had failed to respond to standard pain treatments received a course of ECT. To investigate the possible mechanisms of the analgesic effect of ECT on chronic CRPS type-1, we measured significant changes in the rCBF of the thalamus using technetium-99m ethyl cysteinate dimer single photon emission computed tomography (99mTc ECD SPECT), before and after ECT and compared these values between responders and nonresponders. ⋯ The results from the SPECT suggest that normalization of the balance of rCBF in the thalamus may be related to the analgesic efficacy of the ECT on CRPS Type-1.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialParavertebral somatic nerve block compared with peripheral nerve blocks for outpatient inguinal herniorrhaphy.
Inguinal herniorrhaphy (IH) is a common outpatient procedure, yet postoperative pain and anesthetic side effects remain a problem. Paravertebral somatic nerve blocks (PVB) have the potential to offer unilateral abdominal wall anesthesia and long-lasting pain relief with minimal side effects. We compared PVB with peripheral neural blocks for outpatient IH. ⋯ This study shows that PVB provides analgesia equivalent to extensive peripheral nerve block for inguinal herniorrhaphy, offering an alternative method of postoperative pain management and perhaps fewer side effects.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialGabapentin in postamputation phantom limb pain: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study.
Severe phantom limb pain after surgical amputation affects 50% to 67% of patients and is difficult to treat. Gabapentin is effective in several syndromes of neuropathic pain. Therefore, we evaluated its analgesic efficacy in phantom limb pain. ⋯ After 6 weeks, gabapentin monotherapy was better than placebo in relieving postamputation phantom limb pain. There were no significant differences in mood, sleep interference, or activities of daily living, but a type II error cannot be excluded for these variables.