Objective To determine the minimum effective local anesthetic dose (ED50 ) of spinal ropivacaine for arthroscopic meniscecto-my .Methods Twenty-five patients undergoing arthroscopic meniscectomy under combined spinal-epidural anesthesia received intrathecal ropivacaine .ED50 of ropivacaine was determined by the sequence method .The effective criteria were as follows :the level of sensory block reaching at least T12 within 20 min after injection of the local anesthetic ;the motion block reaching the Bromage Scale score ≥2 within 20 min after injection of the local anesthetic ;no supplemental epidural anesthetic at least 1 h after injection of the local anesthetic .The initial dose was 15mg and according to the effective or ineffective results in previous patient ,a dose of ropivacaine 1 mg was decreased or increased . Results ED50 of ropivacaine for the arthroscopic meniscectomy was 12 .24 mg(95% CI 12 .09-12 .39) .Conclusion The dose of ropiva-caine more than 12 .24 mg for arthroscopic meniscectomy is the best .But the anesthetic effect may be related with the specific gravity of the local anesthetic and the patients′factors(height ,weight ,age) .

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of preoperative real-time three-dimensional color Doppler transthoracic echocardiography on assessment of patients with structural heart disease (SHD). Methods A total of 111 pa?tients were assessed preoperatively using real-time three-dimensional color Doppler transthoracic echocardiography (RT-3D-CDTTE), which include 31 SHD patients and 80 patients without SHD that were designed as negative control. Conven?tional two-dimensional color Doppler transthoracic echocardiography (2D-CDTTE) were used to compared with RT-3D-CDTTE while cardiovascular angiography and intraoperative findings were used as“Golden Standard”simultaneously. First of all, preoperative echocardiographic examination were performed and diagnosis was given. Angiography and intraoperative findings were hired to verify the accuracy of echocardiographic diagnosis before operation. Results (1) The preoperative RT-3D-CDTTE displayed three-dimensional structure and hemodynamic status of SHD cardiac lesions clearly, which were consistent with cardiovascular angiography and intraoperative findings. (2) P value of McNemar test between 2D-CDTTE and“Golden Standard”was greater than 0.05, Kappa=0.654 (P<0.001). P value of McNemar test between RT-3D-CDTTE and“Golden Standard”was greater than 0.05, Kappa=0.932 (P<0.001). Conclusion RT-3D-CDTTE can provides essen?tial information for preoperative evaluation which is important for decision of SHD management.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of patient-controlled infraclavicular brachial plexus block for analgesia after elbow arthrolysis.Methods Eighty patients with elbow stiffness of both sexes, aged 18-64 yr, of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status Ⅰ-Ⅲ, scheduled for elective elbow arthrolysis, were equally and randomly assigned to receive either the infraclavicular (Ⅰ group) or axillary (A group) brachial plexus block.All catheters were placed using ultrasound visualization preoperatively.When patients complained of pain in the recovery room after regaining consciousness, 0.2％ ropivacaine was injected via the catheter, 15 min later patient-controlled infraclavicular brachial plexus block was performed with 0.2％ ropivacaine (400 ml), and an electronic pump was set up with a 5 ml bolus dose, a 30 min lockout interval and background infusion at a rate of 5 ml/h.The patients underwent rehabilitation exercise everyday for 3 consecutive days starting from 24 h after operation.The catheter insertion time, successful block, and occurrence of moderate or severe pain (numeric rating scale [NRS] score ＞ 4) and greater inserting resistance (inserting resistance score＞ 1) during insertion, and the occurrence of paresthesia and vascular damage during insertion were recorded.NRS score was recorded at 24, 48 and 72 h after operation during rehabilitation exercise.The elbow articular range of motion was recorded at 72 h after operation, and the improvement in articular range of motion was calculated.The satisfaction with the improvement in articular range of motion (improvement ≥ 80％) and occurrence of complete improvement in articular range of motion (improvement=100％) were recorded.Catheter-related adverse reactions (such as oozing from the insertion site, obstruction, prolapse) and local anesthetics-related adverse reactions (nausea and vomiting, central nervous system toxicity) were recorded.Results The success rate of blockade was 100％ during insertion in both groups.Compared with group A, the catheter insertion time was significantly shortened, the incidence of moderate or severe pain and greater inserting resistance during insertion was decreased, the incidence of paresthesia and vascular damage during insertion was decreased, NRS score at 24 h after operation durig rehabilitation exercise was decreased, the incidence of complete improvement was increased (P＜0.05), and no significant change was found in the improvement in articular range of motion and satisfaction with the improvement in group I (P＞0.05).Conclusion Patient-controlled infraclavicular brachial plexus block can be safely and effectively used for analgesia after elbow arthrolysis, and it provides better efficacy than patient-controlled axillary brachial plexus block.

Objective To evaluate the effects of magnesium sulphate on the analgestic efficacy of nerve block analgesia with ropivacaine. Methods Sixty cases who used femoral nerve block analgesia after unilateral total knee arthroplasty under the general anesthesia were selected,and according to digital table they were randomly divided into two groups( n=30 each):magnesium sulfate plus ropivacaine( group M) and ropivacaine( group C) . The solution (20mL) of 0. 2% ropivacaine and 0. 15% magnesium sulphate were administered to group M,and 20mL solution of 0.2% ropivacaine was given to the group C. The pain score was measured by visual analogue scale(VAS). The supplementary usage and cumulative dosage of morphine were recorded and the analgesia relevant complications were observed. Results The results of this study indicated that 4h,8h,12h and 24h after the operation,the VAS scores had no statistically significant difference ( all P > 0. 05 ) at rest, which in group M was significantly decreased compared with group C at 12h(t=2. 800,P=0. 009) and 24h(t=2. 934,P=0. 012) after treated with continuous passive motion ( CPM) postoperatively. The cumulative dosages of morphine when patients undergo CPM of knee joint in group M were (2.78 ±0.32)mg,(2.05 ±0.16)mg,respectively,which were significantly lower than those in the groupC[(4.10±0.85)mg,(2.44±0.25)mg](t=7.960,2.632,all P<0.05).No obvious analgesia relevant complications occurred in both two groups. Conclusion Magnesium sulphate can enhance the efficacy of postopera-tive femoral nerve block analgesia with ropivacaine, reduce the usage of morphine without increasing the analgesia relevant complications.