Adult ; Aged ; Amides ; administration & dosage ; Analgesia, Patient-Controlled ; methods ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Pain, Postoperative ; prevention & control ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDIntrathecal anesthesia is commonly used for cesarean section. Bupivacaine and ropivacaine have all been used as intrathecal drugs. The minimum effective local anesthetic dose (MLAD) of intrathecal ropivacaine for non-obstetric patients has been reported. However, few data are available on the MLAD of hyperbaric ropivacaine for obstetric patients and the relative potency to bupivacaine has not been fully determined. In this study, we sought to determine the MLAD of intrathecal ropivacaine and bupivacaine for elective cesarean section and to define their relative potency ratio.

METHODSWe enrolled forty parturients undergoing elective cesarean section under combined spinal-epidural anesthesia and randomized them to one of two groups to receive intrathecal 0.5% hyperbaric ropivacaine or bupivacaine. The initial dose was 10 mg, and was increased in increments of 1 mg, using the technique of up-down sequential allocation. Efficacy was accepted if adequate sensory dermatomal anesthesia to pin prick to T7 or higher was attained within 20 minutes after intrathecal injection, and required no supplementary epidural injection for procedure until at least 50 minutes after the intrathecal injection.

RESULTSThe intrathecal MLAD was 9.45 mg (95%confidence interval (CI), 8.45 - 10.56 mg) for ropivacaine and 7.53 mg (95%CI, 7.00 - 8.10 mg) for bupivacaine. The relative potency ratio was 0.80 (95%CI, 0.74 - 0.85) for ropivacaine/bupivacaine when given intrathecally in cesarean section.

CONCLUSIONRopivacaine is 20% less potent than bupivacaine during intrathecal anesthesia for cesarean delivery.

Adult ; Amides ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Anesthetics, Local ; Bupivacaine ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Cesarean Section ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Injections, Spinal ; Pregnancy ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the benefits and safety of a multimodal pain control protocol, which included a periarticular injection of local anesthetics, in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty. METHODS: Between March 2006 and March 2007, 60 patients undergoing unilateral total hip arthroplasty were randomized to undergo either a multimodal pain control protocol or a conventional pain control protocol. The following parameters were compared: the preoperative and postoperative visual analogue scales (VAS), hospital stay, operative time, postoperative rehabilitation, additional painkiller consumption, and complication rates. RESULTS: There was no difference between the groups in terms of diagnosis, age, gender, and BMI. Although both groups had similar VAS scores in the preoperative period and on the fifth postoperative day, there was a significant difference between the groups over the four-day period after surgery. There were no differences in the hospital stay, operative time, additional painkiller consumption, or complication rate between the groups. The average time for comfortable crutch ambulation was 2.8 days in the multimodal pain control protocol group and 5.3 days in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The multimodal pain control protocol can significantly reduce the level of postoperative pain and improve patients' satisfaction, with no apparent risks, after total hip arthroplasty.
Adult ; Aged ; Amides/administration & dosage ; Analgesia/*methods ; *Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; Clinical Protocols ; Female ; Humans ; Injections, Intra-Articular ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Methylprednisolone/administration & dosage ; Middle Aged ; Morphine/administration & dosage ; Narcotics/administration & dosage ; Pain/prevention & control ; Pain Measurement ; Pain, Postoperative/prevention & control

OBJECTIVETo compare the efficacy of preemptive epidural analgesia combined with postoperative epidural analgesia, postoperative epidural analgesia alone and intravenous analgesia for postoperative pain relief and their effects on plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentration following radical surgery for gastric carcinoma.

METHODSSixty-six patients with gastric carcinoma scheduled for gastrectomy were randomly divided into 3 groups, namely group P (n=22), group E (n=22) and group V (n=22), to receive preemptive epidural analgesia combined with postoperative epidural analgesia, exclusive postoperative epidural analgesia, and exclusive postoperative intravenous analgesia, respectively. Hemodynamic data were recorded for all the patients during the operation, and visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess the pain intensity at 4, 8, 16, 24, 48 and 72 h after surgery. Plasma IL-6 concentration was determined before surgery and at 24, 48, 72 h after surgery.

RESULTSNo significant changes occurred in the hemodynamics during the preoperative periods. VAS and IL-6 were lower in group P than in group E and V, and group E had lower measurement than group V (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONPreemptive epidural analgesia combined with postoperative epidural analgesia provides more satisfactory pain relief and more effectively prevents IL-6 increment than exclusive epidural analgesia or intravenous analgesia after gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma.

Adult ; Amides ; administration & dosage ; Analgesia, Epidural ; methods ; Analgesics ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Fentanyl ; administration & dosage ; Gastrectomy ; methods ; Humans ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Morphine ; administration & dosage ; Pain, Postoperative ; drug therapy ; Stomach Neoplasms ; blood ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUNDContinuous interscalene nerve block (CISB) is considered to be the most effective method for postoperative analgesia after shoulder surgery with prolonged severe pain. This study was performed to evaluate the minimum effective background infusion rate and the effective background infusion rate of ropivacaine 0.2% for CISB after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery in 95% of patients.

METHODSPatients scheduled for arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery under general anesthesia at Peking University Third Hospital were prospectively enrolled from December 2011 to May 2012. Preoperatively, an interscalene catheter (ISC) was placed under the guidance of ultrasound and nerve stimulation in each patient. Consecutively, 30 patients with successful nerve block were included. A continuous infusion of ropivacaine 0.2% with a 5 ml patient-controlled bolus available hourly was started at postoperative anesthesia care unit (PACU) after completion of surgery. The initial background infusion rate was 6 ml/h, which was subsequently varied for each consecutive patient according to the analgesic effects of the previous one. The minimum effective background rate was determined using the Dixon and Massey up-and-down method. The effective background rate in 95% of patients was calculated using isotonic analysis.

RESULTSThe minimum effective background rate based on the Dixon and Massey up-and-down method was 2.8 ml/h (95% CI, 2.3-3.3 ml/h). The effective background rate in 95% of patients calculated with the isotonic regression analysis was 4.4 ml/h (95% CI, 3.8-6.5 ml/h).

CONCLUSIONThe effective background rate for patient-controlled interscalene brachial plexus analgesia after shoulder surgery in 50% and 95% of the patients was 2.8 and 4.4 ml/h, respectively.

Adult ; Aged ; Amides ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Analgesia, Patient-Controlled ; methods ; Brachial Plexus ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pain, Postoperative ; drug therapy ; Prospective Studies ; Rotator Cuff ; surgery

OBJECTIVETo establish and evaluate a rabbit model of fecal incontinence.

METHODSTwelve normal adult male New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into experimental group and control group. The nerve innervating the external anal sphincter, namely the fourth sacral nerve, was functionally located and selectively damaged with local injection of 50 g/L ropivacaine in the experimental group, and normal saline injection was administered in the control group. The changes in the resting anal pressure was examined before and after the surgery, and the electromyogram (EMG) of the external anal sphincter was recorded for comparison with the pathological changes of the fourth sacral nerve.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, the experimental group exhibited significantly decreased resting anal pressure after the surgery. The EMG of the experimental group showed abnormal nerve conduction velocity of the fourth sacral nerve, suggesting successful nerve block. Transmission electron microscope revealed irreversible pathological changes in the ultrastructure of the axons of the fourth sacral nerve.

CONCLUSIONThis method allows successful establishment of fecal incontinence in rabbits, which facilitates further in vivo study of artificial sphincters for treatment of anal incontinence.

Amides ; administration & dosage ; Anal Canal ; physiopathology ; Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Electromyography ; Fecal Incontinence ; Lumbosacral Plexus ; Male ; Nerve Block ; Rabbits ; Random Allocation

BACKGROUNDA wealth of evidence has indicated that labor epidural analgesia is associated with an increased risk of hyperthermia and overt clinical fever. Recently, evidence is emerging that the epidural analgesia-induced fever is associated with the types of the epidural analgesia and the variations in the epidural analgesia will affect the incidence of fever. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of epidural analgesia with 0.075% or 0.1% ropivacaine on the maternal temperature during labor.

METHODSTwo hundred healthy term nulliparas were randomly assigned to receive epidural analgesia with either 0.1% ropivacaine or 0.075% ropivacaine. Epidural analgesia was initiated with 10 ml increment of the randomized solution and 0.5 µg/ml sufentanyl after a negative test dose of 5 ml of 1.5% lidocaine, and maintained with 7 ml bolus doses of the above mentioned mixed analgesics every 30 minutes by the patient-controlled epidural analgesia. The measurements included the maternal oral temperature, visual analog scale pain scores, labor events and neonatal outcomes.

RESULTSEpidural analgesia with 0.075% ropivacaine could significantly lower the mean maternal temperature at 4 hours after the initiation of analgesia and the oxytocin administration during labor compared with the one with 0.1% ropivacaine. Moreover, 0.075% ropivacaine treatment could provide satisfactory pain relief during labor and had no significant adverse effects on the labor events and neonatal outcomes.

CONCLUSIONEpidural analgesia with 0.075% ropivacaine may be a good choice for the epidural analgesia during labor.

Adult ; Amides ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Analgesia, Epidural ; adverse effects ; Analgesia, Obstetrical ; adverse effects ; Body Temperature ; drug effects ; Female ; Fever ; chemically induced ; Humans ; Labor, Obstetric ; Pregnancy ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: This study examined the sparing effect of sufentanil on the median effective concentration (EC50) of epidural ropivacaine in elderly patients undergoing elective transurethral resection of prostate (TURP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective randomized double-blind dose-response study. Fifty eight elderly patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I-II who were scheduled for TURP surgery under epidural anesthesia were randomly allocated to a group receiving 15 mL of ropivacaine (group R) or a group receiving ropivacaine plus 5 microg of sufentanil (group RS). The concentration of ropivacaine was determined by a Dixon's up-and-down sequential allocation. The first participant received 0.3% of ropivacaine in both groups and subsequent concentrations were determined by the response of the previous patient in the same group. The EC50 of epidural ropivacaine was analyzed using the Dixon and Massey method. RESULTS: The EC50 of ropivacaine during TURP surgery was 0.186% (95% confidence interval, 0.173-0.200%) in group R, and 0.136% (95% confidence interval, 0.127-0.144%) in group RS (p<0.01). No differences in Bromage scale of motor block examination and the onset time of sensory block were observed. CONCLUSION: Administration of 5 microg of epidural sufentanil caused a 37% reduction in the EC50 of epidural ropivacaine in elderly patients who underwent TURP surgery. Thus, sufentanil addition during surgery of TURP can decrease the dose of ropivacaine anesthesia required.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Amides/*administration & dosage ; Anesthesia, Epidural/*methods ; Anesthetics, Local/*administration & dosage ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Double-Blind Method ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pain Measurement ; Prospective Studies ; Sufentanil/*administration & dosage ; *Transurethral Resection of Prostate ; Treatment Outcome

We performed a prospective, randomized, and double-blind study comparing the top-up effects of 2% lidocaine/100 microgram fentanyl/epinephrine (n=31) and 2% lidocaine/saline/epinephrine (n=30) when extending an epidural labor analgesia using low-dose ropivacaine and fentanyl. Survival analysis for the sensory blocks to the T4 level showed no statistically significant differences in onset time to T4 between the 2 groups. Onset times (min) to T4-sensory blocks for cold and pinprick were not different between the two groups. However, median maximum sensory level in the lidocaine-fentanyl group (T1 for cold and T2 for pinprick) was significantly higher than that in the lidocaine-saline group (T3 and T4, respectively). The lidocaine-fentanyl group exhibited less visceral pain (6.5% vs. 36.7%), less supplementation of lidocaine (6.5% vs. 43.3%), and less nausea (6.5% vs. 26.7%) compared with the lidocaine-saline group during the intraoperative period. It is concluded that adding fentanyl to 2% lidocaine does not speed up the onset of the block when the onset is tested with cold or sharp pinprick but improves the quality of analgesia with fewer side effects in emergency top-up for cesarean section.
Adult ; Amides/*administration & dosage ; *Analgesia, Epidural ; Analgesics, Opioid/*administration & dosage ; Anesthetics, Local/*administration & dosage ; *Cesarean Section ; Double-Blind Method ; Emergency Medical Services ; Epinephrine/administration & dosage ; Female ; Fentanyl/*administration & dosage ; Humans ; Lidocaine/administration & dosage ; Pain Measurement ; Pain, Postoperative/etiology ; Pregnancy ; Prospective Studies ; Vasoconstrictor Agents/administration & dosage

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a continuous interscalene block (CISB) by comparing it with that of a single interscalene block combined with a continuous intra-bursal infusion of ropivacaine (ISB-IB) after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. METHODS: Patients who had undergone CISB (CISB group; n = 25) were compared with those who had undergone ISB-IB (ISB-IB group; n = 25) for more than 48 hours after surgery. The visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, motor and/or sensory deficit, supplementary analgesics and adverse effects were recorded. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the postoperative VAS of the CISB and ISB-IB groups, except at 1 hour after surgery. Their supplementary analgesics of the two groups were similar. Transient motor weakness (52%) and sensory disturbance (40%) of the affected arm were observed in patients in the CISB group. The catheters came out accidentally in 22% of the CISB group but in only 4% of the ISB-IB group. CONCLUSIONS: ISB-IB provides similar analgesia to CISB. However, the ISB-IB group had a lower incidence of neurological deficits and better catheter retention.
Adult ; Aged ; Amides/*administration & dosage ; Analgesia/*methods ; Anesthetics, Local/*administration & dosage ; Arthroscopy ; Bursa, Synovial ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Infusions, Intralesional ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Nerve Block ; Pain Measurement ; Pain, Postoperative/*prevention & control ; Prospective Studies ; Rotator Cuff/*surgery ; Shoulder Joint/surgery