Intrathecal betamethasone for cancer pain: A study of its analgesic efficacy and safety.

BACKGROUND: A preliminary study has shown effective cancer pain relief by intrathecal betamethasone (ITB). However, further evidence is needed to support this new approach. METHODS: Cancer patients with opioid-resistant pain received lumbar intrathecal administration of betamethasone 2 or 3 mg once a week for 28 days. Immediate and short-term analgesia (using a percentage pain reduction scale and a numerical rating scale, NRS) and long-term analgesia (using NRS) were assessed. Patients were classified into two groups according to the most painful site of metastasis: vertebral column and/or surrounding nerve plexus metastases (group A) and other metastases distal from the vertebral column (group B). RESULTS: A total of 104 patients received ITB. Pain relief was observed not only in the lower half but also in the upper half of the body. The proportion of group A patients who experienced immediate analgesia was 81% (47/58), which was significantly greater than that of group B (P < 0.001). A decrease in NRS scores 1 day after ITB administration was observed in significantly more patients in group A than in group B (P < 0.001). Long-term analgesia was also recorded in a greater proportion of patients in group A than in group B in the 7-day (59%, 38/64 vs 6%, 2/33) and 28-day periods (71%, 40/56 vs 31%, 8/26) (P < 0.001). No adverse effects related to neurotoxicity were recorded. CONCLUSION: Intrathecal injection of betamethasone produced analgesia for opioid-resistant cancer pain, and may be a potent therapeutic option for intolerable pain from vertebral column and/or surrounding nerve plexus metastases.

[Case of successful management with mirtazapine for prolonged pain after esophagectomy].

This case report describes a successful outcome of mirtazapine treatment in a patient with difficult post-thoracotomy pain. A 63-year-old man received thoracotomy for the resection of esophageal tumor. The pain continued 2 years after the operation. Allodynia was present in the region of the intercostal nerves from the surgical wound. Remedies such as clonazepam, amitriptyline, gabapentin, and acetaminophen were not effective, and epidural block effect was only temporal. The patient experienced a reduction in shooting pain after taking pregabalin; however, he still suffered from persistent pain and, mirtazapine was additionally administrated. One month after this, shooting and persistent pain was reduced, and the patient's appetite was improved, which had been present since the thoracotomy. Since then, his weight slightly increased and the administration of mirtazapine was stopped in accordance with the patient's request. The pain became worse again. Therefore, mirtazapine, commonly used as an antidepressant agent, was considered to be beneficial for neuropathic pain as an analgesic adjuvant.

A comparison between sevoflurane and propofol when combined with continuous epidural blockade in adult patients.

PURPOSE: The effects of sevoflurane and propofol, in combination with continuous epidural blockade, on blood pressure control and time of recovery from anesthesia were compared. METHODS: Adult patients were allocated to either a sevoflurane (n=54) or a propofol (n=64) group. Anesthesia was induced with either inhalation of 5% sevoflurane or intravenous administration of 2 mg·kg-1 propofol. After an injection of vecuronium, the trachea was intubated and anesthesia was maintained with continuous epidural blockade, air/oxygen, and sevoflurane or propofol. The systolic arterial pressure was maintained within ±30% of that obtained on the ward. RESULTS: The number of cases requiring a change in the dose of either anesthetics or vasoactive agents was not different between the groups. However, the arterial pressure and heart rate were more stable in the propofol group than in the sevoflurane group (P<0.05). The length of time before tracheal extubation was shorter in the sevoflurane group (10.4±5.2 min, mean±SD) than the propofol group (15.0±11.2 min,P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Propofol anesthesia, in combination with continuous epidural blockade, results in more stable intraoperative hemodynamics than sevoflurane anesthesia, but requries a longer recovery time and results in larger interindividual variability than sevoflurane anesthesia.

Airway troubles related to the double-lumen endobronchial tube in thoracic surgery.

PURPOSE: Several case reports indicate critical respiratory complications in relation to the double-lumen endobronchial tube (DLT). A prospective survey for the airway problems in using the DLT is presented. METHODS: One hundred adult patients undergoing thoracotomy for lung cancer were investigated. Tube malposition and airway obstruction were searched using a fiber-optic scope. The endobronchial cuff was positioned just below the trachcal carina while the trachea was intubated with a DLT (Rüsch). The distances of displacement, from the tracheal carina to the bronchial cuff, were measured during anesthesia using an epidural catheter, which had marks every 5 mm. The distances for correcting the tube position were measured at both the bronchial cuff and the level of the teethPaO2,PaCO2 andSPO2 were also measured. RESULTS: Malposition (displacement over 5 mm from the correct position) was found in 42 patients, and 40 of them were in a withdrawal direction, occurring at the postural change and during one-lung ventilation, especially during manipulation of the lung hilum. Correcting distances at the level of the teeth were 15.3-3-times longer than those at the bronchial cuff. Airway deformities and gradual withdrawal of the bronchial cuff were found in association with surgical manipulation. Obstruction occurred at the tips of the tracheal tube in four patients and the bronchial tube in six patients, and at the tip of both in two patients. Hypoxemia (PaO2<60 mmHg) occurred in four patients and hypercapnea (PaCO2>60 mm Hg) in two patients. CONCLUSION: Most of the DLT obstructions were associated with withdrawal malposition. Great attention to DLT displacement and airway deformity is advised.