RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Traumatic injury of the femur resulting in femoral fracture may result in significant postoperative pain. As with other causes of acute pain, regional anesthesia may offer a benefit over conventional therapy with intravenous opioids. This study prospectively assesses the effects of femoral nerve blockade with a lateral femoral cutaneous nerve block (FN-LFCN) on intraoperative anesthetic requirements, postoperative pain scores, and opioid requirements. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventeen pediatric patients (age 2-18 years) undergoing surgical repair of a traumatic femur fracture fulfilled the study criteria and were randomly assigned to general anesthesia with either an FN-LFCN block (n = 10) or intravenous opioids (n = 7). All patients received a general anesthetic with isoflurane for maintenance anesthesia during the surgical repair of the femur fracture. Patients randomized to the FN-LFCN block group received ultrasound-guided nerve blockade using ropivacaine (0.2%/0.5% based on patient weight). At the conclusion of surgery, the airway device was removed once tracheal extubation criteria were achieved, and patients were transported to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) for recovery and assessment of pain by a blinded study nurse. RESULTS: The final study cohort included 17 patients (n = 10 for FN-LFCN block group; n = 7 for the intravenous opioid group). Although the median of the maximum postoperative pain scores in the regional group was 0, this did not reach statistical significance when compared to the median pain score of 3 in the intravenous opioid group. Likewise, no difference between the two groups was noted when comparing intraoperative anesthetic requirements, opioid requirements (intraoperative, in the post-anesthesia recovery room, and in the inpatient ward), and the time to first opioid requirement postoperatively in the inpatient ward. CONCLUSION: This prospective, randomized, double-blinded study failed to demonstrate a clear benefit of regional anesthesia over intravenous opioids intraoperatively and postoperatively during repair of femoral shaft fractures in the pediatric population.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: Dexamethasone is currently recommended for routine prophylaxis against postoperative nausea and vomiting after tonsillectomy procedures. However, some studies have raised concern that dexamethasone use may lead to higher rates of post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage. Our objective was to determine whether higher doses of dexamethasone administered perioperatively during tonsillectomy procedures are associated with an increased risk of secondary post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of 9843 patients who underwent tonsillectomy and received dexamethasone at our institution from January 2010 to October 2014. We compared the dose of dexamethasone administered to patients who did and did not develop secondary post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage using Mann Whitney U tests. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between dexamethasone dose and post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage after adjustment for demographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 280 (2.8%) patients developed secondary post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage. Patients who developed hemorrhage tended to be older (median (interquartile range) 7 (4-11) vs. 5 (3-8) years), p < 0.001) and had undergone tonsillectomy more often for chronic tonsillitis but less often for tonsillar or adenotonsillar hypertrophy or sleep disturbances. Dexamethasone dose was significantly lower on average in patients who experienced secondary post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage (median (interquartile range) 0.19 (0.14, 0.23) mg/kg vs. 0.21 (0.17, 0.30), p < 0.001). Multivariable modeling demonstrated that the dose of dexamethasone was not significantly associated with post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage after adjustment for age. CONCLUSIONS: There does not appear to be a dose-related increase in the risk of post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage for patients receiving dexamethasone during tonsillectomy procedures.
