Epidural naloxone reduces intestinal hypomotility but not analgesia of epidural morphine

PURPOSE: Epidural morphine is associated with decreased bowel motility and increased transit time. Low doses of intravenous naloxone reduce morphine-induced pruritus without reversing analgesia, but the effect of epidural naloxone on bowel motility has not been studied. Therefore we evaluated bowel motility and analgesia when naloxone was co-administered with morphine into the epidural space. METHODS: Forty-three patients having combined thoracic epidural and general anesthesia for subtotal gastrectomy were randomly assigned to one of two study groups. All received a bolus dose of 3 mg epidural morphine at the beginning of surgery, followed by a continuous epidural infusion containing 3 mg morphine in 100 ml bupivacaine 0.125% with either no naloxone (control group, n = 18) or a calculated dose of 0.208 microg x kg(-1) x hr(-1) of naloxone (experimental group, n = 25) for 48 hr. We measured the time to the first postoperative passage of flatus and feces to evaluate the restoration of bowel function, and visual analog scales (VAS) for pain during rest and movement. Scores were assessed at 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 36 and 48 hr postoperatively. RESULTS: The experimental group had a shorter time to the first postoperative passage of flatus (5 1.9 +/- 1 6.6 hr vs 87.0 +/- 19.5 hr, P < 0.001 ) and feces (95.3 +/- 25.0 hr vs 132.9 +/- 29.4 hr, P < 0.001). No differences were found in either resting or active VAS between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Epidural naloxone reduces epidural morphine-induced intestinal hypomotility without reversing its analgesic effects.     

Epidural analgesia with bupivacaine reduces postoperative paralytic ileus after hysterectomy

This study was undertaken to compare the effects of postoperative bupivacaine epidural analgesia with those of intermittent injections of ketobemidone (a synthetic opioid) on postoperative bowel motility in patients who had had hysterectomies. The epidural group (N = 20) received continuous epidural anesthesia with bupivacaine postoperatively for 26-30 hours and the control group (N = 20) received intermittent injections of ketobemidone for postoperative pain relief. Postoperative bowel movements and propulsive colonic motility were estimated from the first passage of flatus and feces and by following radiopaque markers by serial abdominal radiographs. In the epidural group, the times for first passing of flatus (31 +/- 22 hours; mean +/- SD) and feces (70 +/- 44 hours) were significantly shorter than in the control group (flatus 58 +/- 14 hours and feces 103 +/- 26 hours). The average position of the markers was significantly more distally in the epidural group immediately after operation and the markers continued to move forward during the first postoperative day. In the control group, the markers did not move during this period. The results demonstrate that postoperative bowel peristalsis returned earlier in the patients given epidural analgesia with bupivacaine for pain relief than in patients given a narcotic.     

Effect of epidural analgesia on postoperative paralytic ileus in chronic schizophrenia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Postoperative paralytic ileus is frequently encountered in chronic schizophrenic patients who undergo abdominal surgery. We investigated whether epidural analgesia with local anesthetics minimizes postoperative ileus in schizophrenic patients who are treated long term with antipsychotic drugs. METHODS: We measured the VAS pain after surgery and the time that elapsed before the first passage of flatus and/or feces after the end of surgery in schizophrenic patients provided analgesia with systemic buprenorphine (group A) and schizophrenic patients receiving epidural analgesia with local anesthetics (group B). RESULTS: The frequency of patients who did not pass flatus and/or feces for more than 120 hours postoperatively was significantly higher in group A. Postoperative pain scores of group A at 8 and 24 hours after the end of anesthesia were 36.0 +/- 12.8 and 31.7 +/- 10.7 (0 to 100 mm scale), which were significantly higher than 25.4 +/- 13.2 and 20.5 +/- 9.4 scores in group B. CONCLUSIONS: Epidural analgesia with local anesthetics in chronic schizophrenic patients undergoing abdominal surgery minimizes postoperative ileus compared to patients receiving systemic buprenorphine.     

Ropivacaine epidural anesthesia and analgesia versus general anesthesia and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia with morphine in the perioperative management of hip replacement. Ropivacaine Hip Replacement Multicenter Study Group.

The aim of our study was to compare epidural anesthesia and analgesia (EDA) with ropivacaine versus general anesthesia followed by IV patient-controlled analgesia with morphine (GA/PCA) after hip replacement regarding pain, side effects, and discharge from the postanesthesia care unit. After ethics committee approval, randomization, and informed consent, 90 patients were enrolled. In Group EDA, epidural anesthesia (ropivacaine 10 mg/mL, 15-25 mL) was followed by an epidural infusion (2 mg/mL, 4-6 mL/h for 24 h, plus top-up doses of 6-10 mL for 48 h). GA/PCA patients received general anesthesia (isoflurane/N2O/fentanyl) followed by IV patient-controlled analgesia with morphine postoperatively. Pain was assessed by using visual analog scales (0-100 mm) at rest and during physiotherapy. Pain at rest was less in the EDA (n = 43) group than in the GA/PCA (n = 45) group (at 10 h: 11.8+/-12.9 vs. 28.4+/-17.1 [P< 0.001]; at 24 h: 14.3+/-11.7 vs. 24.0+/-17 [P<0.01]; in 48 h: 14.3+/-9.3 vs. 21.1+/-17.4 [P = 0.1]). Whereas EDA patients were deemed ready for discharge from the postanesthesia care unit earlier than GA/PCA patients (5.6+/-8.9 vs. 39.7+/-41.5 min), the actual discharge time was comparable. The median time for first passage of flatus was shorter in the EDA group than in the GA/PCA group (26 vs. 47 h). Nausea and vomiting were more common in the GA/PCA group than in the EDA group (16% vs. 28% and 11% vs. 22%, respectively), whereas hypotension (11% vs. 4%) and bradycardia (14% vs. 2%) were less frequent. Under the conditions of the present study, EDA with ropivacaine provided pain control after hip replacement superior to that provided by IV patient-controlled analgesia with morphine, particularly during the first 24 h. Both approaches to pain management were equally safe. IMPLICATIONS: Compared with general anesthesia and postoperative IV patient-controlled analgesia with morphine, epidural anesthesia and analgesia with the new local anesthetic ropivacaine enables patients to be discharged sooner from a postanesthesia care unit and provides superior pain relief during the first 24 h after hip replacement.     

Epidural clonidine enhances postoperative analgesia from a combined low-dose epidural bupivacaine and morphine regimen.

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, the value of adding clonidine to a low-dose epidural regimen for postoperative pain treatment was assessed. Twenty-four patients scheduled for hysterectomy during combined thoracic epidural (bupivacaine and morphine) and general anesthesia were studied. Postoperative analgesia consisted of epidural bupivacaine (5 mg/h) and morphine (0.1 mg/h) for 12 h. In addition, the patients randomly received clonidine (75 micrograms), followed by an infusion of 18.75 micrograms/h or saline solution (placebo) epidurally. Pain was evaluated at rest, during cough, and during mobilization every hour. Sensory level of analgesia was evaluated by pinprick. We found no significant difference in pain scores at rest between the clonidine and placebo groups but an enhanced analgesic effect by clonidine during cough and mobilization (P less than 0.05). Arterial blood pressure decreased significantly during clonidine infusion and remained lower than in the control group throughout the study. We conclude that a continuous low-dose epidural clonidine infusion enhances analgesia from a combined low-dose epidural bupivacaine and morphine regimen after hysterectomy; however, the concomitant decrease in arterial blood pressure during epidural clonidine deserves further study before such a regimen can be recommended.     

The efficacy of thoracic epidural neostigmine infusion after thoracotomy

Few anesthesia studies have explored perioperative continuous epidural infusion of neostigmine. We examined such a regimen in thoracotomy patients. Ninety patients were randomized to one of three groups in this double-blind trial. Before anesthesia induction, an epidural catheter was inserted in all patients at T5-8 levels under local anesthesia. Pre-neo patients received bolus 500-microg epidural neostigmine before anesthesia induction followed by infusion of 125 microg/h until the end of surgery. Post-neo patients received epidural saline during the same time periods plus bolus 500-microg epidural neostigmine at end of surgery. Patients in the control group received saline placebo during all three periods. Patients in the neostigmine groups postoperatively received patient-controlled epidural analgesia with morphine 0.02 mg/mL, bupivacaine 0.08 mg/mL, and neostigmine 7 microg/mL. Control patient-controlled epidural analgesia excluded neostigmine. Data were recorded for 6 postoperative days. Daily patient-controlled epidural analgesia consumption (mL) for Pre-neo patients was significantly less than that of post-neo and control group patients for postoperative days 1-6 (at least 10% and 16% less, respectively; P < 0.05). There was a modest decrease in pain intensity on postoperative days 3-6 for pre-neo patients versus other groups (P < 0.05). These results suggest that continuous thoracic epidural neostigmine started before anesthesia provided preemptive, preventive analgesia and an analgesic-sparing effect that improved postoperative analgesia for these patients without increasing the incidence of adverse effects.     

Postoperative protein sparing with epidural analgesia and hypocaloric dextrose

OBJECTIVE: We examined the hypothesis that epidural analgesia prevents the increase in amino acid oxidation after elective colorectal surgery in patients receiving hypocaloric infusion of dextrose. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Increased oxidative protein loss after surgery may adversely affect postoperative outcome. We have previously shown that effective segmental pain relief by epidural analgesia improves postoperative substrate utilization, resulting in less protein catabolism. METHODS: We randomly allocated 10 patients to receive general anesthesia combined with epidural analgesia using bupivacaine/fentanyl and 10 to receive general anesthesia followed by patient-controlled analgesia with intravenous morphine. All patients received a peripheral 72-hour infusion of dextrose 10% from the day before until the second day after surgery. The dextrose infusion rate was adjusted to provide 50% of the patients' resting energy expenditure. The primary end point was whole-body leucine oxidation as determined by a stable isotope tracer technique (l-[1-C]leucine). RESULTS: In the intravenous analgesia group, leucine oxidation increased from 19 +/- 4 to 28 +/- 6 micromol kg h after surgery. Epidural analgesia prevented this increase of leucine oxidation (preoperative 21 +/- 6 micromol kg h, postoperative 21 +/- 5 micromol kg h). This difference was statistically significant (P = 0.01; analysis of variance for repeated measures). CONCLUSION: Perioperative epidural analgesia and hypocaloric dextrose infusion suppress the postoperative increase in amino acid oxidation, thereby saving more than 100 g of lean body mass per day.     

A randomized controlled trial of the anticatabolic effect of epidural analgesia and hypocaloric glucose

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The goal of the present study was to investigate whether epidural analgesia exerts a protein-sparing effect after colorectal surgery in the presence of hypocaloric glucose supply initiated with surgical skin incision. METHODS: We randomly allocated 10 patients to receive general anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia with bupivacaine, followed by epidural analgesia using bupivacaine/fentanyl, and 10 patients to receive general anesthesia, followed by patient-controlled analgesia with intravenous morphine. All patients received a 48-hour infusion of glucose 10% from surgical skin incision until the second day after surgery. The glucose infusion rate provided 50% of the patient's resting energy expenditure. Kinetics of protein and glucose metabolism were assessed by a stable-isotope tracer technique (L-[1-(13)C]leucine and [6,6-(2)H(2)]glucose). RESULTS: The rate of appearance of leucine increased in the intravenous-analgesia group (112 +/- 29 to 130 +/- 25 micromol/kg/h) 2 days after surgery, and this increase was more pronounced than in the epidural analgesia group (preoperative 120 +/- 24, postoperative 123 +/- 22 micromol/kg/h, P < .05). Leucine oxidation rate increased in the intravenous analgesia group from 17 +/- 8 to 23 +/- 8 micromol/kg/h and in the epidural group from 17 +/- 6 to 19 +/- 7 micromol/kg/h without the difference between the groups reaching statistical significance (P = .067). Nonoxidative leucine disposal remained unaltered in both groups. No differences in glucose metabolism were seen between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Epidural analgesia inhibits the increase in whole-body protein breakdown in patients receiving perioperative hypocaloric glucose infusion initiated with surgical skin incision. However, oxidative protein loss, protein synthesis, and glucose metabolism are not affected by epidural analgesia.     

Comparison of bupivacaine and fentanyl as an adjuvant of epidural morphine for postoperative analgesia

We conducted a retrospective study to determine whether bupivacaine or fentanyl is a better adjuvant to epidural morphine for postoperative analgesia using 108 patients. Following epidural lidocaine anesthesia with or without light general anesthesia for major gynecological surgeries, 59 patients received epidural morphine (EPM) 2 mg (group M), 21 patients received morphine 2 mg plus 0.25% plain bupivacaine 6–10 ml epidurally (group B), and 28 patients received morphine 2 mg plus fentanyl 100 μg epidurally (group F). The analgesic interval, defined as the duration from EPM injection to the first request of analgesics for incisional pain, was significantly longer in group F than in group M (29±11vs 19±17 h,P<0.05), but similar to group B (22±14 h). Group F patients required the least amount of analgesics for incisional pain of the three groups during the first 24 h postoperatively (P<0.01). The incidence of adverse effects was similar among all three groups. In conclusion, fentanyl appears to be a better adjuvant to epidural morphine than bupivacaine.     

Intraoperative intravenous ketamine in combination with epidural analgesia: postoperative analgesia after renal surgery

We designed this double-blinded, randomized, controlled study to evaluate the effect of small-dose ketamine IV in combination with epidural morphine and bupivacaine on postoperative pain after renal surgery. An epidural catheter was inserted, and the administration of morphine and bupivacaine was started before surgery. Forty patients were assigned to one of two groups (ketamine or control). The ketamine group was administered a ketamine bolus and infusion during surgery. The median visual analog pain scale (VAS) scores at rest were significantly lower in the ketamine group during the first 6 h (P < 0.01). VAS pain scores on coughing were also significantly lower in the ketamine group (P < 0.01). Cumulative postoperative total analgesic consumption was less in the ketamine group on Days 1 and 2 (P < 0.001). The first analgesic demand time was shorter in the control group (9.2 +/- 11.5 min) than in the ketamine group (22.3 +/- 17.1 min) (P < 0.0001). The incidence of nausea and pruritus was more frequent in the control group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, postoperative analgesia was more effective when spinal cord and brain sensitization were blocked by a combination of epidural morphine/bupivacaine and IV ketamine. IMPLICATIONS: Renal nociception conducted multisegmentally by both the spinal nerves (T10 to L1) and the vagus nerve cannot be blocked by epidural analgesia alone. We demonstrated that IV ketamine had an improved analgesic or opioid-sparing effect when it was combined with epidural bupivacaine and morphine after renal surgery.     

Epidural blood flow and regression of sensory analgesia during continuous postoperative epidural infusion of bupivacaine

Epidural blood flow was measured in seven patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery during combined lumbar epidural and general anesthesia. After an initial dose of 20 ml plain bupivacaine 0.5%, a continuous epidural infusion of bupivacaine 0.5% (8 ml/hr) was given for 16 hours for postoperative pain relief. The epidural blood flow was measured by a local 133Xe clearance technique in which 15-35 MBq 133Xe diluted in 1 ml saline was injected through the epidural catheter on the day before surgery (no bupivacaine), 30 minutes after the initial dose of bupivacaine on the morning before surgery, and 8, 12, and 16 hours later during the continuous infusion. Initial blood flow was 6.0 +/- 0.7 ml/min per 100 g tissue (mean +/- SEM). After epidural bupivacaine, blood flow increased in all seven patients to 7.4 +/- 0.7 ml (P less than 0.02). Initial level of sensory analgesia was T4.5 +/- 0.17 (mean +/- SEM). Postoperatively, two patients maintained the initial level of sensory analgesia and low pain score throughout the 16-hour study. In these two patients epidural blood flow remained constant after the initial increase. Flow increased further to 10.3 +/- 0.8 ml/min per 100 g tissue (P less than 0.03) in the other five patients as the level of sensory analgesia regressed postoperatively. These data suggest that changes in epidural blood flow during continuous epidural infusion of bupivacaine, and thus changes in rates of vascular absorption of bupivacaine from the epidural space, may be an important factor contributing to differences in rates of regression of sensory analgesia.     

Postoperative wound oxygen tension with epidural or intravenous analgesia: a prospective,randomized, single-blind clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Adequate tissue oxygen tension is an essential requirement for surgical-wound healing. The authors tested the hypothesis that epidural anesthesia and analgesia increases wound tissue oxygen tension compared with intravenous morphine analgesia. METHODS: In a prospective, randomized, blind clinical study, the authors allocated patients having major abdominal surgery (n = 32) to receive combined general and epidural anesthesia with postoperative patient-controlled epidural analgesia (epidural group, n = 16), or general anesthesia alone with postoperative patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (intravenous group, n = 16). An oxygen sensor and a temperature sensor were placed subcutaneously in the wound before closure. Wound oxygen tension (P(w)O(2)) and temperature were measured continuously for 24 h. Other variables affecting wound tissue oxygenation and visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores were also documented. RESULTS: Despite epidural patients having lower body temperatures at the end of surgery (35.7 +/- 0.3) versus 36.3 +/- 0.5 degrees C, = 0.004), they had significantly higher mean P(w)O(2) over the 24 h period, compared with the intravenous group (64.4 +/- 14 vs. 50.7 +/- 15) mmHg, mean (SD), 95% CI difference, -22 to -5, = 0.002). Area under the P(w)O(2) -24 h time curve was also significantly higher in the epidural group (930 +/- 278 vs. 749 +/- 257) mmHg x h, 95% CI difference -344 to -18, = 0.03). VAS pain scores at rest and moving were significantly lower in the epidural group at all times. CONCLUSION: Epidural anesthesia and postoperative analgesia for major abdominal surgery increases wound tissue oxygen tension compared with general anesthesia and intravenous morphine analgesia.     

Comparison of continuous epidural bupivacaine infusion plus either continuous epidural infusion or patient-controlled epidural injection of fentanyl for postoperative analgesia.

We compared the postoperative epidural analgesia provided by the continuous epidural infusion of bupivacaine supplemented with patient-controlled injection (PCA) of epidural fentanyl with that provided by a continuous infusion of bupivacaine supplemented with a continuous epidural infusion of fentanyl. Our patient population comprised 16 ASA physical status I or II patients undergoing laparotomy with a midline incision under general anesthesia combined with bupivacaine epidural analgesia. Post-operatively, a continuous epidural infusion of bupivacaine (0.1 mg.kg-1.h-1) was combined with epidural fentanyl given by either (a) PCA (15-micrograms bolus with a lockout interval of 12 min, n = 8) or (b) continuous infusion (1 microgram.kg-1.h-1, n = 8). In the case of inadequate pain relief in the latter group, the fentanyl infusion rate was increased by 10 micrograms/h. Analgesia evaluated by a visual analogue pain score and by a verbal pain score was similarly effective in both groups. The sedation score was also similar in both groups. The total dose of epidural fentanyl administered during the first 24 h was significantly lower in the PCA group than in the continuous infusion group (405 +/- 110 micrograms vs 1600 +/- 245 micrograms, P less than 0.001). The dose of fentanyl given during each 4-h interval ranged between 40 and 160 micrograms in the PCA group and 251 and 292 micrograms in the continuous infusion group. Clinically detectable respiratory depression was not observed in either group. In conclusion, epidural administration of 0.1 mg.kg-1.h-1 bupivacaine combined with fentanyl provides effective postoperative analgesia with a total dose of fentanyl required that is lower when fentanyl is administered by epidural PCA rather than by continuous epidural infusion.     

Combined epidural and general anesthesia versus general anesthesia for abdominal aortic surgery

The goal of this randomized study of high-risk surgical patients was to determine whether intraoperative thoracic epidural anesthesia in combination with light general anesthesia alters postoperative morbidity when compared to a standard technique of "balanced" general anesthesia. A total of 173 patients scheduled for abdominal aortic reconstruction were admitted to the study; 86 were to receive "balanced" general anesthesia (group 1) and 87 thoracic epidural anesthesia in combination with light general anesthesia (group 2). Preoperative evaluation included standard clinical tools, dipyridamole thallium gammatomography, and radionuclide angiography. In these patients, all of whom had peripheral artery disease, there were no significant differences in associated coronary artery disease, hypertension, and cardiovascular treatment. The distribution of left ventricular ejection fraction and the number of patients with thallium redistribution were not statistically different between the two groups. During the postoperative period, group 1 received analgesia of subcutaneous morphine (n = 35), epidural fentanyl (n = 30), or epidural bupivacaine (n = 21). In group 2, 6 patients with a nonfunctioning epidural catheter due to technical failure received a balanced general anesthesia and were eliminated from the study. During the postoperative period, group 2 received analgesia of subcutaneous morphine (n = 26), epidural fentanyl (n = 25), or epidural bupivacaine (n = 30). Cardiovascular morbidity did not differ between the two groups: 22 patients in group 1 and 19 patients in group 2 had a major postoperative cardiac event.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Prophylactic transdermal scopolamine patches reduce nausea in postoperative patients receiving epidural morphine

To evaluate the efficacy of prophylactic transdermal scopolamine in reducing nausea associated with postoperative epidural analgesia, we studied 32 healthy adult women undergoing major gynecologic surgery. The patients were randomized in a double blind fashion to receive either a cutaneous scopolamine patch or a visually identical cutaneous placebo patch. Postoperative analgesia was provided solely with epidural morphine. Nausea was treated with metoclopramide and droperidol. At 24 hours postoperatively, the mean nausea score was significantly lower with scopolamine than with placebo (1 +/- 2 vs 51 +/- 42, respectively, P less than 0.05). The number of patients reporting "zero nausea" was significantly greater with scopolamine patches than with placebo patches (13 vs 1, P less than 0.01). The mean number of times antiemetic drugs were administered per patient was lower with scopolamine than with placebo patches (0.2 +/- 0.4 vs 2.8 +/- 2.6, P less than 0.05). It is concluded that prophylactic transdermal scopolamine patches reduce nausea in postoperative patients receiving epidural morphine.     

Differential analgesic effects of low-dose epidural morphine and morphine-bupivacaine at rest and during mobilization after major abdominal surgery.

In a double-blind, randomized study, epidural infusions of low-dose morphine (0.2 mg/h) combined with low-dose bupivacaine (10 mg/h) were compared with epidural infusions of low-dose morphine (0.2 mg/h) alone for postoperative analgesia at rest and during mobilization and cough in 24 patients after elective major abdominal surgery. All patients in addition received systemic piroxicam (20 mg daily). No significant differences were observed between the groups at any assessment of pain at rest (P greater than 0.05), whereas pain in the morphine/bupivacaine group was significantly reduced during mobilization from the supine into the sitting position 12 and 30 h after surgical incision and during cough 8, 12, and 30 h after surgical incision (P less than 0.05). We conclude, that low-dose epidural bupivacaine potentiates postoperative low-dose epidural morphine analgesia during mobilization and cough. Evaluation of postoperative analgesic regimens should include assessment of pain during various activities as different analgesics may have differential effects on pain at rest and during mobilization.     

Effect of prior anesthetic solution on epidural morphine analgesia.

The quality and duration of analgesia and incidence of side effects following epidurally administered morphine after cesarean section are highly variable. Two suggested sources of this variability are prior use of epinephrine-containing solutions, which may enhance both analgesia and side effects of morphine, and prior use of 2-chloroprocaine, which may inhibit epidural morphine analgesia. To examine these proposed sources of this variability we performed two studies. In the first, designed to test epinephrine's effect, 30 women underwent testing for epidural catheter tip location with injection of 2-chloroprocaine, followed by either 0.5% bupivacaine alone or 0.5% bupivacaine with 5 micrograms/mL epinephrine for epidural anesthesia. Inclusion of epinephrine with bupivacaine decreased the bupivacaine dose needed to achieve a T-4 sensory block by 24% (P less than 0.05), but did not alter analgesic duration or the incidence of side effects of epidural morphine (5 mg). In the second study, designed to test the effect of 2-chloroprocaine, 30 women received 7 mL of either 2% 2-chloroprocaine or lidocaine for epidural catheter testing, followed by 0.5% bupivacaine for epidural anesthesia. Compared to lidocaine testing, 2-chloroprocaine decreased the duration of epidural morphine analgesia (median 16 h with 2-chloroprocaine vs 24 h with lidocaine; P less than 0.05) without altering the incidence of side effects. The authors conclude that addition of epinephrine to local anesthetic does not increase the incidence of side effects or the analgesic effect from epidurally administered morphine. 2-Chloroprocaine, even when administered in small doses remote to the time of morphine injection, interferes with the duration of epidural morphine analgesia.     

Effects of thoracic paravertebral block with bupivacaine versus combined thoracic epidural block with bupivacaine and morphine on pain and pulmonary function after cholecystectomy

Twenty patients undergoing elective cholecystectomy via a subcostal incision were randomized in a double-blind study to either thoracic paravertebral blockade with bupivacaine 0.5% (15 ml followed by 5 ml/h) or thoracic epidural blockade with bupivacaine 7 ml 0.5% + morphine 2 mg followed by 5 ml/h + 0.2 mg/h, respectively for 8 h postoperatively. Mean initial spread of sensory analgesia on the right side was the same (Th3,4-Th11 versus Th2,6-Th11), but decreased (P less than 0.05) postoperatively in the paravertebral group. All patients in the epidural group had bilateral blockade, compared with three patients in the paravertebral group. In both groups only minor insignificant changes in blood pressure and pulse rate were seen postoperatively. Pain scores were significantly higher in the paravertebral group, as was the need for systemic morphine (P less than 0.05). Pulmonary function estimated by forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume and peak expiratory flow rate decreased about 50% postoperatively in both groups. In conclusion, the continuous paravertebral bupivacaine infusion used here was insufficient as the only analgesic after cholecystectomy. In contrast, epidural blockade with combined bupivacaine and low dose morphine produced total pain relief in six of ten patients.     

低剂量吗啡硬膜外单次注射联合布托啡诺鼻喷剂用于腹式子宫切除术后镇痛的有效性和安全性

目的 比较术后单次硬膜外注射吗啡-布托啡诺鼻喷剂联合镇痛与否对腹式子宫切除术后镇痛的有效性与安全性.方法 单盲、完全随机、安慰剂对照研究择期ASA Ⅰ～Ⅱ级行腹式子宫切除术的患者50例,分为A、B两组(n=25):均在L2-3硬膜外麻醉下进行手术,关腹前A组接受单次硬膜外注射吗啡0.5 mg(4 ml),鼻喷与B组等剂...     

Continuous epidural infusion of bupivacaine and morphine for postoperative analgesia after hysterectomy

The analgesic efficacy and side-effects of combined epidural infusion of bupivacaine and morphine, in comparison with these drugs alone, for postoperative analgesia after hysterectomy (60 patients) were evaluated. Before general anaesthesia, all patients had an epidural catheter placed (Th11-12) and 20 ml of 0.5%, bupivacaine was injected. In random order, epidural infusion was continued for 24 h with either 0.25% bupivacaine 4 ml.h-1 (BUPI-group), a bolus of 2 mg of morphine followed by morphine 0.2 mg.h-1 (MO-group), or a combination of the two drugs (COMB-group). A urinary bladder catheter was kept for 24 h. Supplementary postoperative pain medications were i.m. morphine 0.1 mg.kg-1 or rectal indomethacin 50 mg, on request. Immediately after awakening from general anaesthesia and transfer to the recovery room, 18/20 of the BUPI-group patients, 17/20 of the MO-group patients and 19/20 of the COMB-group patients were pain-free. In the postoperative evening and the first postoperative morning, the corresponding figures were 7/20 and 10/20 in the BUPI-group, 15/20 and 15/20 in the MO-group, and 18/20 and 15/20 in the COMB-group (postop, evening; P less than 0.01 BUPI vs. others). The number of patients requiring supplementary analgesics (morphine and indomethacin during the first 24 h was greatest in the BUPI-group P less than 0.01). The number of patients who vomited during the 24-h period was 3 in the BUPI-group, 9 in the MO-group and 5 in the COMB-group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)