Articles: analgesia.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Mar 2002
Comparative Study[Epidural analgesia during labor: intermittent bolus or patient controlled administration?].
The aim of the study was to compare efficacy and side effects produced by two techniques of epidural analgesia during labor: intermittent bolus and patient-controlled epidural analgesia. ⋯ This regimen of PCEA proves a viable and safe alternative for epidural analgesia during labor.
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Thoracic epidural anesthesia is increasingly being used in visceral surgery as an adjuvant to general anesthesia and, in addition, as a postoperative method of thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA). This method interrupts specifically nociceptive reflexes, increases the blood supply by blocking sympathetic activation, improves pulmonary function, and has a beneficial effect on gastrointestinal (GI) motility. ⋯ The combination of TEA and general anesthesia has been shown to offer advantages after operations on both the upper and the lower GI tract. The positive effects of the TEA in the postoperative period should be used for the early enteric nutrition and mobilization of patients.
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To evaluate postoperative breathing patterns with a new monitoring device in patients given bupivacaine-morphine epidural analgesia. ⋯ The tested noninvasive monitoring device may detect abnormal respiratory breathing patterns in patients at risk for respiratory depression during epidural analgesia with bupivacaine-morphine.
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The object of this study was to assess patients' experience of pain management following day surgery. One hundred and two patients agreed to take part in a telephone survey, 2 and 4 days following day surgery. The majority of patients (73%) were broadly satisfied with the quality of pain management they received, however, there was room for improvement. ⋯ It was reported that day-case staff did not always ask patients whether they were in pain. Communication with patients is vital in the delivery of optimal care. More support and more information are needed to manage patients' pain effectively, whilst in the day-case wards and also following discharge, at home.