Articles: analgesics.
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Der Urologe. Ausg. A · Mar 1988
[Peridural opioid analgesia in the terminal stage of cancer. Indications--implementation--results].
The indications for the application of opioids near the spinal cord are presented and two groups of patients treated with pericutaneous and intracorporeal systems are reported. If indicated, this method offers the possibility of treating patients on an outpatient basis.
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Special aspects of pain in children are pointed out, and the range of relevant conditions and their frequency are compared with adult pain problems. Headache and especially migraine, with incidences of up to 50% and 10%, respectively, are the most common painful conditions to be treated in the pediatric age group. Many less frequent chronic painful disorders claim the need of special, mostly neuropediatric, knowledge; optimal diagnostic precision is important for good therapeutic results. ⋯ Another problem is that of pain assessment in infants and children; some new diagnostic tools, such as color scales and the Smiley analog scale, can help to solve these specific difficulties. Furthermore, the prediatrician accepts responsibility for the patients' future as adults and is therefore involved in the early prophylaxis of analgesic abuse. The actual and future work of pediatric pain clinics, the conditions in such institutions and the philosophy behind them are presented, and the necessity for research is pointed out.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
[Dose-dependence of the analgesic action of metamizol].
Whereas dipyrone is used in many countries in clinical practice at doses up to 2.5 g, the dose-response relationship of the analgesic effect has not been investigated in humans. In the present study, doses of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 g dipyrone (Novalgin) were applied orally as film-coated tablets to 18 volunteers in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind design. Pain attenuation was quantified following constant and painful electrical stimulation of tooth pulp at different time intervals up to 7 h after drug administration. ⋯ Maximal analgesia was observed 1 h after administration of the tablets, independent of the dose. An increase in analgesic effect related to dose was observed at this time, the increase being less pronounced with doses exceeding 1.5 g. Generally, analgesia persisted longer with increasing dose.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Patients operated because of lumbar disc herniations (104 patients) were included in a randomized double-blind study analyzing the influence of dexamethasone versus placebo on postoperative drug requirements and the pain score on the visual analogue scale. High doses of dexamethasone had been administered: 40 mg i.v. on the night before the operation; 8 mg intraoperatively topical perineural application; 8 mg i.v. in the evening of the day of operation; 2x8 mg i.m. on days 1 and 2 postoperatively; 2x4 mg i.m. on days 3 and 4; 4 mg po on day 5 and 6 postoperatively. A significant decrease in the requirement for analgesics was found in the drug-treated group, particularly male patients, and also an impressive reduction in the lumbar pain score. In conclusion, there was good alleviation of sciatic pain in the dexamethasone-treated group of females during the 1st week after operation, but we found no evidence that the agent tested had an influence on the clinical outcome 1 month following the operation.
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Systemic application of analgesics is still the most frequently used method of postoperative relief of pain. However, neither intermittent intramuscular nor intermittent intravenous application can provide the patient with a continuous level of analgesia. Lipid-soluble analgesics or those with polar binding that are rapidly metabolized demonstrate an rapid effectiveness. ⋯ After an initial bolus injection, the continuous infusion of an analgesic is guaranteed and may be completed by the patient with several bolus injections. PCA requires careful monitoring. We suggest that a special analgesia team to take care of the patient in special analgesia units might be appropriate in the future.