The effective analgesic dose of dexamethasone after laparoscopic hysterectomy.

BACKGROUND: Apart from being antiemetic, glucocorticoids have an analgesic property. The optimal dose of dexamethasone in the management of pain after surgery has not been established. In this placebo-controlled, dose-finding study, we evaluated the analgesic effect of three doses of dexamethasone after laparoscopic hysterectomy. METHODS: We randomized 129 women scheduled for laparoscopic hysterectomy to receive placebo, dexamethasone 5 mg (D5), 10 mg (D10), or 15 mg (D15) IV before the induction of anesthesia. The patients were anesthetized with propofol and remifentanil in a standardized manner. Until the first postoperative morning, postoperative pain was managed with IV oxycodone using patient-controlled analgesia. The visual analog scale scores for pain and side effects, and the amounts of the analgesics were recorded for 3 days after surgery. RESULTS: The total dose of oxycodone (0-24 h after surgery) was smaller in the D15 (0.34 mg/kg [0.11-0.87]) group than in the placebo group (0.55 mg/kg [0.19-1.13]) (P = 0.003). The doses of oxycodone during Hours 0-2 after surgery were smaller in the D10 (0.17 mg/kg [0.03-0.36]) and D15 (0.17 mg/kg [0.03-0.35]) groups than in the placebo (0.26 mg/kg [0.10-0.48]) (P = 0.001, D10 versus placebo; P < 0.001, D15 versus placebo) group. During Hours 2-24 after surgery, however, the doses of oxycodone were equal in the placebo, D5, D10, and D15 groups (0.31 mg/kg [0.03-0.78], 0.22 mg/kg [0.03-0.92], 0.24 mg/kg [0.05-0.87], and 0.20 mg/kg [0-0.65], respectively). The visual analog scale scores for pain at rest, in motion, or at cough did not differ in the study groups. The incidence of dizziness was lower in the D15 group than in the placebo group (P = 0.001), the D5 group (P = 0.006), and the D10 group (P = 0.030) during the first 24 h after surgery. During the later course of recovery, the incidence of dizziness did not differ among the four study groups. CONCLUSIONS: IV dexamethasone 15 mg before induction of anesthesia decreases the oxycodone consumption during the first 24 h after laparoscopic hysterectomy. During first 2 h after surgery, dexamethasone 10 mg reduces the oxycodone consumption as effectively as the 15 mg dose.

N-acetylcysteine for the prevention of kidney injury in abdominal aortic surgery: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

In this prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial we studied the effects of IV N-acetylcysteine for prevention of renal injury in patients undergoing abdominal aortic surgery. Seventy patients without previously documented renal dysfunction were randomly allocated to receive either N-acetylcysteine (150 mg/kg mixed in 250 mL of 5% dextrose infused in 20 min, followed by an infusion of 150 mg/kg in 250 mL of 5% dextrose over 24 h) or placebo. The infusion was started after the induction of anesthesia. The primary outcome measure was renal injury as measured by the increases in urinary N-acetyl-beta-d-glucosaminidase (NAG)/creatinine ratio (indicator of renal tubular injury) and urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (indicator of glomerular injury). Renal function was assessed by measuring plasma creatinine and serum cystatin C concentrations. The urinary NAG/creatinine ratio increased significantly from baseline to before crossclamp and remained increased on day 5 in both groups. The urinary albumin/creatinine ratio increased significantly from baseline to 6 h after declamping in the N-acetylcysteine group. However, the changes in the NAG/creatinine ratio and the albumin/creatinine ratio were not significantly different between the two groups. Plasma creatinine and serum cystatin C values remained unchanged during the study period in both groups. In conclusion, N-acetylcysteine did not offer any significant protection from renal injury during elective aortic operation in patients with normal preoperative renal function, and some degree of tubular injury seems to occur before aortic crossclamp.