Best practice & research. Clinical anaesthesiology
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Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol · Sep 2019
ReviewA survey of postoperative pain treatments and unmet needs.
More than 300 million patients undergo surgery worldwide each year. Pain associated with these procedures is associated with short- and long-term negative sequelae for patients, healthcare providers, and healthcare systems. The following chapter is a review of the reality of postoperative pain management in everyday clinical routine based on survey- and registry-derived data with a focus on care in adults. ⋯ Pain assessment is not effectively implemented in many hospitals and should consider cultural differences. Few data exist on the situation of pain management in low- and middle-income countries, indicating lack of resources and available medication in many of these areas. Certain types of surgery as well as demographic and clinical factors are associated with increased risk of severe postoperative pain.
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Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol · Sep 2019
ReviewSurgical site infiltration: A neuroanatomical approach.
Local anaesthetic administration into a surgical wound blocks the noxious stimuli that result from surgical insult at the site of origin. Surgical site infiltration (also known as local infiltration analgesia) is easy to perform, safe and inexpensive. In addition, it avoids motor blockade, which is particularly relevant for lower limb surgery. ⋯ Bupivacaine and ropivacaine are sometimes combined with additives, which have controversial benefits. Continuous wound infusion with preperitoneal wound catheters is an effective pain modality in abdominal surgery and can be used as an alternative for neuraxial analgesia. It is essential that surgical site infiltration is combined with other non-opioid analgesics such as paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to attain the maximum analgesic efficacy.
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Opioid-free anesthesia (OFA) is emerging as a new stimulating research perspective. The rationale to propose OFA is based on the aim to avoid the negative impact of intraoperative opioid on a patient's postoperative outcomes and also on the physiology of pathways involved in intraoperative nociception. ⋯ OFA has been shown to be feasible but the literature is still scarce on the clinically meaningful benefits for patients as well as on the side effects and/or complications that might be associated with it. This review focused first on the physiology of nociception, the reasons for using or not using opioids during anesthesia, and then on the literature reporting evidence-based proofs of benefits/risks associated with OFA.
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Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol · Sep 2019
ReviewPain measurement and critical review of analgesic trials: pain scores, functional pain measurements, limits and bias of clinical trials.
Randomized clinical trials designed to assess analgesic agents and/or techniques used for postoperative pain control have several limitations, which are addressed in this article. Efficacy of analgesics cannot be limited to the evaluation of pain intensity or the amount of opioid rescue medication, but it also means to evaluate parameters such as the delay and duration of the effect, the number of patients with satisfactory pain control, and side effects. Because combination of analgesics is the standard of care in clinical practice, its value also needs to be documented. Eventually, analgesic treatments have to be considered in the settings of postoperative supportive care and enhanced recovery programmes after surgery.
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Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol · Sep 2019
ReviewPeripheral nerve catheters: A critical review of the efficacy.
Continuous peripheral nerve blocks are commonly used for postoperative analgesia after surgery. However, catheter failure may occur due to either primary (incorrect insertion) or secondary reasons (displacement, obstruction, disconnection). Catheter failure results in unanticipated pain, need for opioid use, and risk of readmission or delay in hospital discharge. ⋯ Thirty-three studies met the selection criteria, comprising 2711 catheters. Literature review suggests that peripheral nerve catheters have clinically significant failure rate when the assessment is performed using an objective (imaging) method. Subjective methods of assessment (without imaging) may underestimate the incidence of catheter failure.