Postoperative analgesia: pain by choice? The influence of patient attitudes and patient education

Postoperative pain control can be unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons, including patients' attitudes towards pain treatment itself. To assess patients' expectations and their influence on postoperative analgesia, as well as the prevalence of pain following common gynaecological surgery, a prospective study was performed in 166 patients with either adbominal hysterectomy, mastectomy, laparoscopy or uterine curettage. After a first postoperative period with routine on-demand analgesia, a nurse specialised in pain treatment discussed the purposes and risks of pain treatment with the patients and cared for these patients in the second, subsequent study period. Following this discussion, 30 of 40 patients refusing analgesics in the first study period agreed to be given pain medication. In the groups with hysterectomy or mastectomy, pain control improved in the second postoperative period, even though the doses of analgesics administered were generally lower. Education of patients regarding the aims and risks of pain therapy is an essential part of pain control and can lead to an improvement of postoperative analgesia.     

Duration of postlaparoscopic pneumoperitoneum

Background: Patients who present with abdominal pain after recent laparoscopic surgery present a diagnostic dilemma when pneumoperitoneum is present. Previous studies do not define the duration of postlaparoscopic pneumoperitoneum. In this study, we attempted to define the duration of laparoscopic pneumoperitoneum and to identify factors which affect resolution time. Methods: We followed 57 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy (34), inguinal herniorraphy (20), or appendectomy (three). Serial abdominal films were taken until all residual gas was resolved. Results: Thirty patients resolved their pneumoperitoneum within 24 h; 16 patients resolved between 24 h and 3 days; nine patients resolved between 3 and 7 days; two patients resolved between 7 and 9 days. Mean resolution time for all patients was 2.6 ± 2.1 days. There was no apparent difference in resolution time between the three types of procedures; however, the sample size may be insufficient. Duration of the pneumoperitoneum did not correlate with gender, age, weight, initial volume of CO₂ used, length of time for the procedure, or postoperative complications. Sixteen patients had bile spillage during cholecystectomy which significantly reduced the duration of postoperative pneumoperitoneum (p < 0.008), resulting in a mean resolution time of 1.3 ± 0.9 days. While 14 patients reported postoperative shoulder pain, no correlation was found between the presence or duration of shoulder pain and the extent or duration of pneumoperitoneum. Conclusions: We conclude that the residual pneumoperitoneum following laparoscopic surgery resolves within 3 days in 81% of patients and within 7 days in 96% of patients. The resolution time was significantly less in patients sustaining intraoperative bile spillage during cholecystectomy. There was no correlation found between postoperative shoulder pain and the presence or duration of the pneumoperitoneum. Received: 22 March 1996/Accepted: 12 July 1996     

Recurrent locking of knee joint caused by intraarticular migration of bioabsorbable tibial interference screw after arthroscopic ACL reconstruction

Two cases are reported in which, after ACL reconstruction with autologous hamstring grafts, tibial polylactide interference screws migrated into the knee joint. Clinically, both patients presented with recurrent locking of the joint. In one case, a broken 15 mm-long tip of the screw was found intra-articularly. In the other case, the whole screw had migrated into the joint cavity. The degradation process of polylactic acid, operative technique and bone quality are discussed as possible reasons for these complications.     

地塞米松减轻曲马多术后镇痛时恶心呕吐的临床观察

目的 :探讨地塞米松减轻曲马多术后镇痛时恶心呕吐的临床效果。方法 :选择术后自愿硬膜外镇痛(PCEA)的病例 6 0例 ,随机分为试验组 (地塞米松 曲马多 0 .15 %布比卡因 )和对照组 (格拉司琼 曲马多 0 .15 %布比卡因 )。结果 :两组病人术后疼痛评分 (VAS法 ) ,镇静评分及恶心呕吐的发生率无明显差异 (P >0 .0 5 )。结论 :地塞米松可以减轻曲马多术后镇痛时恶心呕吐的发生 ,效果良好 ,不增加副作用 ,价格便宜     

亲属活体部分小肠移植术后早期并发症的防治

目的探讨亲属活体部分小肠移植术后早期并发症的防治。方法为3例短肠综合征患者和1例肠神经节缺失导致小肠无功能患者施行亲属活体部分小肠移植术,供、受者HLA配型均有4个以上抗原相合,供肠均取自回肠末端,长度为(150±10)cm,应用他克莫司、霉酚酸酯及甲泼尼龙预防排斥反应。术后采取抗凝、改善微循环、输注人白蛋白等措施调控患者的出、凝血功能,预防血管吻合口血栓形成和出血,给予法莫替丁或奥美拉唑预防应激性溃疡；给予头孢三代为主的抗生素、更昔洛韦以及氟康唑预防细菌、病毒及真菌感染,并注重对体表易感染部的消毒和护理；术后鼓励患者多下床活动,早期给予谷氨酰胺,尽早将营养支持治疗过渡为肠内营养,以促进移植肠功能的恢复。结果术后3d,1例患者发生肺部鲍曼不动杆菌感染,经抗生素治疗后控制。1例术后5 d移植肠系膜根部出现血肿,手术清除血肿。2例消化道分泌物及大便中发现真菌生长,给予氟康唑治疗后好转。4例在术后20 d左右均发生急性排斥反应,经加大FK506的用量,并以甲泼尼龙冲击治疗后逆转。4例患者,2例获得长期存活,至今分别存活6年8个月和3年2个月,另2例分别于术后5个月、35 d因感染死亡。结论小肠移植术后早期的并发症较多,与小肠的生理结构有关,术后早期并发症的成功防治是临床小肠移植成败的关键。     

Normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass: effect on the incidence of persistent postoperative neurological dysfunction following coronary artery bypass graft surgery

We retrospectively reviewed the records of 250 consecutive patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) from January 1994 through January 1996 to determine the incidence of persistent postoperative neurological dysfunction after CABG and to compare normothermic and moderate hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Normothermic CPB was used in 128 patients (36°–37°C) and hypothermic CPB (27°–28°C) in 122 patients. Postoperative neurological dysfunction included focal motor deficits, delayed recovery of consciousness (>24h) after surgery, and seizures within 1 week postoperatively. Persistent neurological dysfunction was diagnosed if complete resolution had not occurred within 10 days of surgery. The incidence of persistent postoperative neurological dysfunction was 4.1% in the hypothermic CPB group and 2.3% in the normothermic CPB group. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups (P=NS). These results suggest that normothermic CPB did not increase the incidence of persistent postoperative neurological dysfunction compared to hypothermic CPB.     

腹部器官移植术后并发症的磁共振检查

目的探讨磁共振在腹部器官移植并发症中的诊断价值。方法对4例肝移植、5例胰肾联合移植及2例肾移植患者进行磁共振检查，检查时间在术后28d至2年，采用GE1．5TMR机型，成像技术包括常规平扫及增强扫描。结果4例肝移植，1例发生肝动脉狭窄伴肝坏死，1例发生下腔静脉血栓形成，1例为肝静脉与下腔静脉吻合口明显狭窄，1例为左右肝管明显狭窄；5例胰、肾联合移植中，1例并发急性排斥反应，1例为移植胰慢性排斥反应伴纤维化，1例为迟发性胰腺炎，移植肾4例正常，1例并发急性排斥反应伴肾梗死；2例单纯肾移植者，1例为肾动脉局限性中度狭窄，1例为肾动脉与髂内动脉吻合口处动脉瘤形成。上述病理改变均经组织病理检查和数字减影血管造影证实。结论磁共振可作为腹部器官移植并发症的一种无损伤检查手段，对于血管并发症，有其独有的优势。     

术后恶心呕吐的危险因素分析及防治

恶心呕吐是术后常见的并发症，而且可引起切口裂开、吸入性肺炎、水电解质紊乱等严重后果。近年来，虽然对术后恶心呕吐(PONV)的发生机制进行了大量的研究，也出现了很多新型的抗呕吐药，但PONV发生率依然较高。PONV的治疗可分为非药物疗法和药物疗法，作者对药物疗法进行综述。     

Influence of statins on postoperative wound complications after inguinal or ventral herniorrhaphy

The lipid-lowering agents, statins, are the most commonly prescribed class of drugs in the western world. Because of their widespread use, many patients undergo surgical procedures while on statins. Statins, in addition to cholesterol-lowering effects, also have anticoagulant, immunosuppressive, and antiproliferative properties that may affect the risk of local wound complications. This study investigated the relationship between statins and postoperative wound complications in a large cohort of patients undergoing inguinal or ventral hernia repair. Data mining was performed in the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN)16 Data Warehouse. This database contains clinical and demographic information about all veterans cared for at the ten VA Medical Centers that comprise the South Central VA Healthcare Network in the mid-south region of the US. Aggregate data (age, body mass index, smoking history, gender, race, history of diabetes, statin use, and postoperative wound complications) were obtained for all patients who underwent inguinal or ventral hernia repair during the period October 1, 1996–November 30, 2004. During the period of the query, 10,782 patients (10,676 male, 106 female), 1,242 (11.5%) of whom received statins, underwent herniorrhaphy. Statin use did not affect the risk of wound infection or delayed wound healing. Statin use was, however, associated with an increased rate of local postoperative bleeding complications (P=0.01). When the type of hernia, age, smoking, diabetes, and body mass index were included in a multivariate analysis, statins remained borderline significant as an independent predictor of wound hematoma/postoperative bleeding (P=0.04), odds ratio 1.6 (95% CI 1.03–2.44). Patients who undergo inguinal herniorrhaphy while on statins have an increased risk of postoperative wound hematoma/hemorrhage. Focus on additional factors that may affect the propensity to postoperative bleeding and on meticulous intraoperative hemostasis are particularly important in such patients.