Dexamethasone versus Dexmedetomidine as Adjuvants in Ultrasound Popliteal Sciatic Nerve Block for Hallux Valgus Surgery: A Mono-Centric Retrospective Comparative Study.

Background and Aim: Ultrasound popliteal sciatic nerve block (UPSNB) is commonly performed in foot and ankle surgery. This study aims to assess the use of dexmedetomidine and dexamethasone as adjuvants in UPSNB for hallux valgus (HV) surgery, comparing their efficacy in producing motor and sensory block and controlling postoperative pain. The adverse event rate was also evaluated. Methods: This mono-centric retrospective study included 62 adult patients undergoing HV surgery: 30 patients received lidocaine 2% 200 mg, ropivacaine 0.5% 50 mg and dexamethasone 4 mg (Group 1), whereas 32 patients received lidocaine 2% 200 mg, ropivacaine 0.5% 50 mg, and dexmedetomidine 1 mcg/Kg (Group 2). At first, the visual analogue scale (VAS) was evaluated after 48 hours. The other outcomes were time to motor block regression, evaluation of the first analgesic drug intake, analgesic effect, adverse effects (hemodynamic disorders, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV)) and patient satisfaction. The continuous data were analyzed with student's t-test and the continuous one with χ2. Statistical significance was set at a p-value lower than 0.05. Results: No significant difference was found in VAS after 48 hours (4.5 ± 1.6 vs 4.7 ± 1.7, p = 0.621) to motor block regression (18.9 ± 6.0 vs 18.7 ± 6, p = 0.922). The number of patients that took their first analgesic drug in the first 48 h (p = 0.947 at 6 hours; p = 0.421 at 12 hours; p = 0.122 at 24 hours and p = 0.333 at 48 hours) were not significant. A low and similar incidence of intraoperative hemodynamic disorders was recorded in both groups (hypotension p = 0.593; bradycardia p = 0.881). Neither PONV nor other complication was found. Patients in Group 1 reported a lower degree of interference with sleep (p = 0.001), less interference with daily activities (P = 0.002) and with the affective sphere (P = 0.015) along with a more satisfactory postoperative pain management (p < 0.001) as compared to Group 2. Conclusion: No significant differences were observed in the duration of motor and sensory blockade between patients in both groups. Additionally, both groups showed good pain control with a low rate of adverse effects, even if there was no clinical difference between the groups. However, patients who received dexamethasone reported experiencing less interference with their sleep, daily activities and overall emotional well-being, and overall pain control.

Potential Role of Focal Microvibration (Equistasi®) in the Management of Chronic Pain: A Pilot Study.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic pain is one of the leading causes of medical consultation with a dramatic psychophysical and socioeconomic impact. Focal microvibration (Equistasi®) is a revolutionary technology that converts the thermal energy of the skin into vibration. Equistasi® was shown to be effective in the treatment of gait and balance dysfunction in many pathological conditions such as Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. Our aim was to explore the efficacy of focal microvibration in the management of chronic pain. METHODS: We randomized 60 patients with pain of different origin into two groups: an experimental group (group E) treated with Equistasi, and a control group (group C) treated with standard pharmacological therapy. Pain, disability, and working capacity were evaluated by Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and Work Ability Index (WAI) at the baseline and after 7 (T7), 15 (T15), 30 (T30), 60 (T60), and 90 (T90) days. RESULTS: According to BPI, average and worst pain in the last 24 h significantly decreased in group E at T15 and this result persisted up to T90; pain interference on general activity, mood, waling ability, normal work, relations with other people, sleep, and enjoyment of life decreased in group E with a significant improvement from T15. Lifting activity and work ability in relation to demands also significantly improved in group E. No significant changes in BPI, ODI, and WAI scores were recorded in group C during the follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Focal microvibration can be an effective tool for managing chronic pain in combination with other therapies.

The PATIENT Approach: A New Bundle for the Management of Chronic Pain.

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain is one of the most challenging diseases for physicians as its etiology and manifestations can be extremely varied. Many guidelines have been published and many therapeutic options are nowadays available for the different types of pain. Given the enormous amount of information that healthcare providers must handle, it is not always simple to keep in mind all the phases and strategies to manage pain. We here present the acronym PATIENT (P: patient's perception; A: assessment; T: tailored approach; I: iterative evaluation; E: education; N: non-pharmacological approach; T: team), a bundle which can help to summarize all the steps to follow in the management of chronic pain. METHODS: We performed a PubMed search with a list of terms specific for every issue of the bundle; only English articles were considered. RESULTS: We analyzed the literature investigating these topics to provide an overview of the available data on each bundle's issue; their synthesis lead to an algorithm which may allow healthcare providers to undertake every step of a patient's evaluation and management. DISCUSSION: Pain management is very complex; our PATIENT bundle could be a guide to clinicians to optimize a patient's evaluation and treatment.

Impact of Ultrasound-Assisted Method on Success Rate of Spinal Anesthesia Performed by Novice Trainees: A Retrospective Comparative Study.

In current practice, single-shot spinal anesthesia has traditionally been performed using the conventional surface-anatomic-Landmark-Guided technique. This "blind" technique has significant critical issues such as a high risk of complications due to the numerous attempts at spinal needle placement and the negative impact on the learning curve of the trainees. Ultrasound-Assisted spinal anesthesia could reduce these critical issues and allow trainees to perform the procedure more easily and with fewer complications for the patient. We performed a before-and-after monocentric retrospective comparative study at the University of Naples "Federico II" (Naples, Italy). Inclusion criteria were as follows: patients aged 18 years or older; ASA physical status between I and IV; and elective orthopedic surgery under single-shot spinal anesthesia performed by supervised trainees between January 2022 and December 2022. In the selected cohort, 88 patients were included in group A (Landmark-Guided spinal anesthesia) and 91 in group B (Ultrasound-Assisted spinal anesthesia). The number of attempts by trainees (p-value < 0.005), procedure performing time (<0.001), and patient discomfort (<0.001) were significantly lower in group B than in group A. Ultrasound-Assisted single-shot spinal anesthesia performed by novice trainees reduces the number of attempts, complication rate, periprocedural pain, and patient discomfort.

Impact of ventilation strategies on pulmonary and cardiovascular complications in patients undergoing general anaesthesia for elective surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Many RCTs have evaluated the influence of intraoperative tidal volume (tV), PEEP, and driving pressure on the occurrence of postoperative pulmonary complications, cardiovascular complications, and mortality in adult patients. Our meta-analysis aimed to investigate the association between tV, PEEP, and driving pressure and the above-mentioned outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs from inception to May 19, 2022. The primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications; the secondary outcomes were intraoperative cardiovascular complications and 30-day mortality. Primary and secondary outcomes were evaluated stratifying patients in the following groups: (1) low tV (LV, tV 6-8 ml kg-1 and PEEP ≥5 cm H2O) vs high tV (HV, tV >8 ml kg-1 and PEEP=0 cm H2O); (2) higher PEEP (HP, ≥6 cm H2O) vs lower PEEP (LP, <6 cm H2O); and (3) driving pressure-guided PEEP (DP) vs fixed PEEP (FP). RESULTS: We included 16 RCTs with a total sample size of 4993. The incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications was lower in patients treated with LV than with HV (OR=0.402, CI 0.280-0.577, P<0.001) and lower in DP than in FP group (OR=0.358, CI 0.187-0.684, P=0.002). Postoperative pulmonary complications did not differ between HP and LP groups; the incidence of intraoperative cardiovascular complications was higher in HP group (OR=1.385, CI 1.027-1.867, P=0.002). The 30-day mortality was not influenced by the ventilation strategy. CONCLUSIONS: Optimal intraoperative mechanical ventilation is unclear; however, our meta-analysis showed that low tidal volume and driving pressure-guided PEEP strategies were associated with a reduction in postoperative pulmonary complications.

Robot-Assisted versus Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal Surgery: A Systematic Review and Metanalysis of Intra- and Post-Operative Complications.

BACKGROUND: The use of robotic surgery is attracting ever-growing interest for its potential advantages such as small incisions, fine movements, and magnification of the operating field. Only a few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have explored the differences in perioperative outcomes between the two approaches. METHODS: We screened the main online databases from inception to May 2023. We included studies in English enrolling adult patients undergoing elective gastrointestinal surgery. We used the following exclusion criteria: surgery with the involvement of thoracic esophagus, and patients affected by severe heart, pulmonary and end-stage renal disease. We compared intra- and post-operative complications, length of hospitalization, and costs between laparoscopic and robotic approaches. RESULTS: A total of 18 RCTs were included. We found no differences in the rate of anastomotic leakage, cardiovascular complications, estimated blood loss, readmission, deep vein thrombosis, length of hospitalization, mortality, and post-operative pain between robotic and laparoscopic surgery; post-operative pneumonia was less frequent in the robotic approach. The conversion to open surgery was less frequent in the robotic approach, which was characterized by shorter time to first flatus but higher operative time and costs. CONCLUSIONS: The robotic gastrointestinal surgery has some advantages compared to the laparoscopic technique such as lower conversion rate, faster recovery of bowel movement, but it has higher economic costs.

Electric impedance tomography and protective mechanical ventilation in elective robotic-assisted laparoscopy surgery with steep Trendelenburg position: a randomized controlled study.

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) reconstructs functional lung images and evaluates the variations of impedance during the breathing cycle. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of protective mechanical ventilation on ventilation distributions recorded by the EIT during elective robotic-assisted laparoscopy surgery with steep Trendelenburg position. This prospective, randomized single center study included patients with healthy lungs undergoing elective robot-assisted laparoscopic urological surgery in general anesthesia. Patients were randomly assigned to either protective lung ventilation or conventional ventilation. In the protective ventilation group, tidal volume (TV) was set at 6 ml/Kg predicted body weight (PBW), with PEEP 6 cmH2O, and recruitment maneuvers (RM) as needed. In the conventional ventilation group, TV was set at 9 ml/Kg PBW, with PEEP 2 cmH2O and RM only as needed. Ventilation distribution was assessed using an EIT device. This study included 40 patients in the functional image analysis. Significant differences were found in ventilation distribution in the region of interest (p < 0.05). Driving pressure was significantly lower in protective ventilation group (p < 0.05). Peak and plateau pressures were not different between the groups while statical significance was found in tidal volume and respiratory rate. EIT may be a valuable tool for monitoring lung function during general anesthesia. During elective robotic-assisted laparoscopy surgery with steep Trendelenburg position, protective mechanical ventilation may have a more homogenous distribution of intraoperative and postoperative ventilation. Larger sample size and long-term evaluation are needed in future studies to assess the benefit of EIT monitoring in operation room.Clinical trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04194177 registered at 11th December 2019.

Preoperative anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic: A single-center observational study and comparison with a historical cohort.

Background: Preoperative anxiety is a common sensation experienced by patients undergoing surgical interventions. It can influence intraoperative and postoperative management through the activation of the neuroendocrine system, leading to tachycardia, hypertension, pulmonary complications, higher consumption of anesthetic drugs, and increased postoperative pain. Our aim was to investigate the level of preoperative anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic; we also compared it to the preoperative anxiety of a historical cohort before the outbreak. Methods: This is a single-center observational study. We enrolled 314 patients during the pandemic from May 2021 to November 2021, and our historical cohort consisted of 122 patients enrolled from July 2015 to May 2016 in the university hospital "Federico II" of Naples. The Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used to evaluate preoperative anxiety. In particular, APAIS measures preoperative anxiety and the need for information, and STAI assesses state and trait anxiety through STAI-Y1 and STAI-Y2, respectively. We analyzed APAIS and STAI scores in our population stratified on the basis of age, gender, marital status, previous surgical experiences, and type of surgery, and we compared them to our historical cohort. Statistical analysis was performed through a t-test and ANOVA for parametric data, and the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests for non-parametric data. Linear regression was used to investigate the correlation between demographic data and the scores of STAI and APAIS in both groups. Results: Our results showed that state and preoperative anxiety remained stable, whereas trait anxiety increased in all the subgroups analyzed. Discussion: Even if state anxiety is considered a variable characteristic of the emotional sphere and trait anxiety a stable element, our findings suggested that COVID-19 deeply influenced trait anxiety, thus altering the patients' psychological foundations.