Comparison of patient satisfaction and cost in spinal and general anesthesia for lumbar disc surgery.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate patient satisfaction and cost in spinal and general anesthesia for lumbar disc surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was performed on 66 ASA class I-II patients with one level lumbar disc herniation (LDH). In this prospective study, patients were assigned randomly to either spinal anesthesia or general anesthesia groups. Hemodynamic variables, intraoperative opioid requirements, postoperative pain scores and analgesic requirements and complications were recorded. Patients were handed a questionnaire about the procedure they underwent to determine patient satisfaction. The costs of preoperative and postoperative anesthesia procedures, medications, and hospitalization were calculated individually. RESULTS: Spinal anesthesia and general anesthesia were similar concerning hemodynamic stability, first urination time, first mobilization time, postoperative analgesic requirement, and pain. Patients in group S needed less additional dose of fentanyl intraoperatively than the patients in group G. Patient satisfaction was significantly higher in Group S when compared to Group G. Total cost was higher in Group G compared to Group S. CONCLUSION: We conclude that successful LDH surgery can be performed using either anesthesia type. As long as patients are selected carefully, spinal anesthesia is a safe, comfortable, and a more economical alternative.

Comparison of different extubation techniques in lumbar surgery: prone extubation versus supine extubation with or without prior injection of intravenous lidocaine.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of coughing and breath holding in patients undergoing lumbar surgery extubated in prone position, supine position, or supine position with intravenous lidocaine before extubation. About 105 ASA I to II patients undergoing lumbar surgery were extubated in prone position in group P (n = 35), in supine position in group S (n = 35) and in supine position with intravenous 1.5 mg/kg lidocaine 10 minutes before extubation in group SL (n = 35). The number of patients who coughed and demonstrated breath holding was noted at emergence period. The time of loss of monitoring while repositioning the patient was recorded. The frequency of cough in group S was higher compared with group P at 1 minute after extubation (P = 0.008). Two and three minutes after extubation, the patients in group S demonstrated higher cough incidence compared with groups P and SL (P < 0.05). The incidence of breath holding in the first 6 minutes was lower in group P (n = 11) compared with groups S (n = 29) and SL (n = 25)(P = 0.001). The loss of monitoring time was longer in groups S (62 +/- 40 s) and SL (53 +/- 39 s) when compared with group P (0 s) (P < 0.01). Prone emergence and supine emergence with intravenous lidocaine provides an alternative approach to conventional supine emergence and prone extubation offers less cough and breath holding and continuation of monitoring.

Comparison of low-dose intrathecal and epidural morphine and bupivacaine infiltration for postoperative pain control after surgery for lumbar disc disease.

This prospective, blinded, placebo-controlled study was performed to compare the postoperative analgesic efficacy of low-dose intrathecal and epidural morphine with paraspinal muscle infiltration of bupivacaine in lumbar discectomy cases. Eighty ASA I-III adult patients undergoing elective surgery for lumbar disc disease were enrolled in the study. Patients were randomized to four groups by envelopes. Study groups were as follows: group 1 (n = 20), intrathecal morphine 0.1 mg; group 2 (n = 20), epidural morphine 2 mg; group 3 (n = 20), 30 mL of bupivacaine 0.25% paraspinal muscle infiltration; group 4 (n = 20), 30 mL of saline paraspinal muscle infiltration before wound closure. Recorded parameters were time to response to painful and verbal stimuli and postoperative pain assessed at 30 minutes and 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24 hours by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Numeric Pain Scale (NPS). Hemodynamic data, sedation scores, and side effects were also recorded. Meperidine and naproxen sodium were used for postoperative analgesia. Follow-up was performed by a blinded investigator. Mean VAS scores were lower in groups 1 and 2 at 30 minutes (P < 0.05). Mean VAS score of group 2 was lower than that of group 4 at 4 hours postoperatively (P < 0.05). Mean NPS scores were lower in groups 1 and 2 at 2, 4, and 6 hours (P < 0.05) and in group 2 at 8 hours compared with the other groups. The number of patients requiring meperidine at early postoperative phase (0-6 hours) was less in groups 1 and 2 compared with groups 3 and 4 (P < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the late postoperative analgesic requirements, after correction for multiple testing. In conclusion, low-dose intrathecal and epidural morphine provide lower postoperative pain scores and a reduction in early postoperative analgesic requirement with insignificant side effects compared with paraspinal bupivacaine or saline infiltration.