Long-term quality of sleep after remifentanil-based anaesthesia: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Clinical and pre-clinical data agree that opioids disrupt sleep architecture. Recently, remifentanil has been suggested to cause possible long-term disturbances of sleep quality. This randomized controlled clinical trial was designed to substantiate or refute a possible long-term effect of remifentanil on the quality of sleep. METHODS: One hundred patients undergoing elective surgery were randomized to receive either fentanyl or remifentanil-based anaesthesia. Before operation (T0) and 3 (T3) and 6 (T6) months after operation, the quality of sleep was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). RESULTS: Overall, the quality of sleep for patients in the remifentanil or fentanyl group was not significantly different at any time point. Patients in the fentanyl group screened as good sleepers before operation showed no differences across time course of the study in PSQI scores. In contrast, good sleepers in the remifentanil group had significantly impaired sleep quality for at least 3 months after operation. Patients who were before operation screened as poor sleepers showed no significant changes in PSQI scores at T3 and T6 in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: The intraoperative use of remifentanil in a general patient population does not significantly alter the quality of sleep in the postoperative period. However, it may result in a significant reduction in the quality of sleep in patients before operation considered good sleepers. These changes were not observed in the group of patients receiving fentanyl. The relevance of these findings in terms of patient recovery and quality-of-life warrants further investigation. Trial Registration. ACTRN12610000362099.

Feasibility of infusion pumps for continuous spinal administration of local anesthetics in post-operative pain therapy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: For completion of perioperative care and for general ethical considerations, any intraoperatively used catheter technique should be utilizable for post-operative pain therapy. Continuous spinal anesthesia (CSA) is an established form of local anesthetic application. However, for its use in post-operative therapy, infusion pumps are required that are technically able to deliver low rates and are distinctive in design to avoid possible pump or medication swaps. Because of a lack of devices specifically designed for CSA, we investigated the potential deployability of infusion pumps for post-operative pain therapy via CSA microcatheters, which were originally designed and approved for different applications. METHODS: The accuracy of infusion rates of three different pumps was measured in a liquor model environment. Furthermore, we investigated safety and user-friendliness by interviewing 30 anesthesiologists and 15 pain nurses. RESULTS: Except for the first hour of infusion, all pumps provided comparable and adequate flow profiles. However, interviews revealed significant risk factors for all pumps in terms of swapping devices, lines or medications and misprogramming the units. DISCUSSION: All pumps tested were technically able to deliver accurate flow rates; however, because the non-CSA-specific design involves the risk of medication overdosage and syringe swaps, none of the systems tested can be recommended for routine use in post-operative CSA, irrespective of the fact that it was an off-label application anyway. Therefore, to ensure patient safety, continuous spinal administration of local anesthetics via microcatheters is a questionable method of post-operative pain therapy as long as non-specific pumps are used.

[Scoliosis surgery in children from the viewpoint of anaesthesiology]. / Skoliosechirurgie bei Kindern aus anästhesiologischer Sicht.

Anaesthesia for scoliosis surgery in children is a challenge for the paediatric anaesthesiologist. The large range of underlying pathologies causing deranged physiology in an inhomogeneous patient group ranging from neonates to adolescents necessitates diligent and individual preparation for each case. Due to the invasiveness of the operation demanding anaesthetic care is necessary. This review highlights current approaches to monitoring, anaesthetic regimen, positioning of the patient, blood conservation and transfusion, age-related pathophysiology, ventilation and postoperative pain therapy. The introduction of neurophysiologic spinal cord monitoring requires certain adaptations of the anaesthetic regimen to suit technological advances.

Effectiveness and safety of postoperative pain management: a survey of 18 925 consecutive patients between 1998 and 2006 (2nd revision): a database analysis of prospectively raised data.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 30-80% of postoperative patients complain about moderate to severe post-surgical pain, indicating that postoperative pain treatment is still a problem. METHODS: We analysed prospectively collected data on patients in a university hospital receiving systemic and epidural patient-controlled analgesia and continuous peripheral nerve block (CPNB) documented by the acute pain service team in a computer-based system. RESULTS: Of 18 925 patients visited in the postoperative period between 1998 and 2006, 14 223 patients received patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA), 1591 i.v. patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA), 1737 continuous brachial plexus block, and 1374 continuous femoral/sciatic nerve block. Mean dynamic and resting pain scores (VAS 0-100) were significantly lower for peripheral or neuroaxial regional analgesia compared with patient-controlled systemic opioid analgesia (P<0.05). The risk of a symptomatic spinal mass lesion including epidural haematoma (0.02%; 1:4741) or epidural abscess (0.014%; 1:7142) after PCEA was 1:2857 (0.04%). Neurological complications after CPNB occurred in two patients who received interscalene brachial plexus block. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that PCEA, IV-PCA, and CPNB are safe and efficient. Although all of these treatment strategies provide effective analgesia, PCEA and CPNB provided superior pain relief compared with IV-PCA. We demonstrated that serious complications of analgesic techniques are rare but possibly disastrous necessitating a close supervision by an acute pain service. We found a low rate of adverse effects including hypotension and motor impairment and a low incidence of epidural haematoma for thoracic PCEA compared with lumbar PCEA.

Procedural complications of central venous catheter insertion.

BACKGROUND: Central venous catheters (CVC) have complication rates as high as 20% and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In this study we wished to determine the incidence of procedural related complications at different venous access sites as well as the impact of ultrasound (US) use, operator experience and level of supervision of trainees in a prospective observational study. METHODS: Five hundred consecutive patients undergoing elective CVC insertion were prospectively followed. Data with regards to US use, operator experience, level of supervision, site of insertion and procedural complications were collected. RESULTS: The overall rate of procedural complications was 19.5%. Operators with <25 insertions caused significantly more complications (25.2% vs. 13.6%). Arterial punctures occurred significantly more frequently when US was not used (7.2 vs. 2.1%) and at the subclavian site (8% vs. 1.6%). Higher levels of supervision were significantly associated with a decreased number of complications (10.7% vs. 23.8%). Subclavian vein as access point for the CVC resulted in significantly more overall complications (29.2% vs. 17.7%). Inexperienced operators combined with SCV approach were significant predictors for increased procedural-related complications. CONCLUSION: Immediate procedural-related complications during CVC insertion are common. To reduce the incidence of procedural-related complications we advocate multiple strategies to assure central venous cannulation safety: 1) the internal jugular vein should be the primary target vessel; 2) trainees with <25 previous catheter insertions should be supervised at all times; 3) ultrasound may reduce the incidence of procedural-related complications.

Continuous spinal anesthesia versus continuous femoral nerve block for elective total knee replacement.

BACKGROUND: Continuous spinal analgesia (CSA) and continuous femoral nerve blockade (CFNB) are well-established procedures for postoperative pain relief. This study compares the efficacy, adverse effects and complications associated with these two analgesic methods in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHODS: Data were analyzed from consecutive patients undergoing TKA under either CSA or spinal anesthesia plus CFNB. Quality of analgesia was assessed based on opioid consumption and pain intensity (visual analogue scale [VAS] where 0=no pain and 10=utmost imaginable pain) until postoperative day 4. In addition, joint mobility was assessed, and any adverse reactions or side effects were noted. RESULTS: Sixty-two patients had satisfactory postoperative pain relief, and maximum pain scores were reported between 12 and 24 hrs. Median pain scores in the CSA group were significantly lower than those in the CFNB group (1.0 [0.9-1.9] vs. 2.0 [1.5-3.6] for resting pain and 2.0 [1.7-3.1] vs. 5.0 [3.0-5.5] for dynamic pain, respectively; P<0.001 for days 0 and 1; P<0.05 for all other days). Piritramide consumption was significantly higher in the CFNB group (P<0.01). There were no significant differences between the groups for postoperative mobility of the joint or patient satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Both methods demonstrated analgesic efficacy after total knee arthroplasty, although there was less pain severity and opioid consumption use reported with continuous spinal analgesia. However, the use of continuous spinal analgesia is limited by concerns about the risk profile and absence of approved devices for continuous intrathecal infusion.

Intraoperative thrombolysis in a patient with cardiopulmonary arrest undergoing caesarean delivery.

Thromboembolic events during pregnancy remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality with possible catastrophic sequelae for the patient. The decision whether to use high-risk therapeutic thrombolytics during pregnancy or perinatally is complicated and many considerations pertain. We report on the thrombolytic management of a 34-year-old woman who had an asystolic cardiac arrest secondary to massive pulmonary embolism while undergoing emergency caesarean delivery. The patient was thrombolysed during successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Return of spontaneous circulation was accompanied by massive uterine bleeding. Instead of performing a postpartum hysterectomy, the uterus was preserved through continuous manual pressure and packing for four hours by the obstetric team until haemostasis was achieved. The patient survived and was later discharged without any major neurological deficit.