A randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study to investigate the use of conscious sedation in conjunction with paracervical block for reducing pain in termination of first trimester pregnancy by suction evacuation. Effects of prostaglandin treatment and paracervical blockade on postoperative pain in patients undergoing first trimester abortion in general anesthesia. Paracervical block with and without conscious sedation: a comparison of the pain levels during egg collection and the postoperative side effects. Patient-controlled versus nurse-administered sedation with propofol during colonoscopy. A prospective randomized trial. A randomized comparison of patient-controlled versus standard analgesic requirements in patients undergoing cholecystectomy. Effect of the intensity of transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation on the postoperative analgesic requirement. Coronary artery bypass grafting using two different anesthetic techniques: Part 2: Postoperative outcome. Sedation, topical pharyngeal anesthesia and cardiorespiratory safety during gastroscopy. [The effect of anesthesiologic technique on the mental state of elderly patients submitted for orthopedic surgery of the lower limbs].
This study evaluated the role of conscious sedation in pain relief during termination of first trimester pregnancy by suction evacuation (SE) under local anaesthesia.
                A hundred women undergoing SE before 12 weeks gestation were randomized by computer using the sealed envelope method to receive placebo (saline) or conscious sedation (2 mg midazolam and 25 microg fentanyl) i.v. 5 min before cervical dilatation. Paracervical block was given to all patients, 2 min later. Pain scores during and after SE, post-operative side-effects and satisfaction level were compared.
                No statistically significant differences in pain scores were found between the two groups. Post-operative side-effects such as dizziness (P = 0.015) and drowsiness (P < 0.001) were significantly more severe in the conscious sedation group. However, patients in the conscious sedation group reported better satisfaction levels than the control group (P = 0.003).
                The use of conscious sedation significantly improved patient satisfaction during termination of first trimester pregnancy by SE under local anaesthesia, despite a lack of improvement in pain relief and the presence of increased severe dizziness/drowsiness in the post-operative period. The postoperative analgesic efficacy of a paracervical blockade (PCB) as an adjunct to general anesthesia (GA) during outpatient abortion (dilatation and curettage) is unclear, and the present study was initiated to evaluate if PCB is of significant importance per- or postoperatively.
                Two hundred women (aged 18-49 years) were assigned to one of four groups; group 1 received vaginal prostaglandin (PG) (PGE1, gemeprost 1 mg) for softening of the cervix preoperatively and surgery was performed in GA, group 2 received preoperative PG and surgery was performed in GA + PCB; group 3 did not receive PG treatment and surgery was performed in GA and group 4 were subjected to GA + PCB without preoperative PG.
                Women receiving preoperative prostaglandin treatment (groups 1 and 2) reported significantly higher pain intensity already preoperatively, but also postoperatively as compared to patients not treated with PG. The patients subjected to prostaglandin treatment (groups 1 and 2) also had a significantly higher consumption of analgesics as compared to non-PG treated groups (3 and 4). The addition of PCB did not influence pre- and postoperative pain intensity significantly or consumption of analgesics. Patients receiving PG also reported significantly more nausea than the others although nausea was of low intensity. Patients receiving PG were, however, discharged earlier than the others from the hospital.
                Preoperative treatment of the cervix with prostaglandins was associated with significantly higher pain intensity both pre- and postoperatively, and increased need for analgesics postoperatively and more intense nausea. PCB given just before surgery did not result in significant postoperative analgesia. More efficient techniques for pain control should be developed for women subjected to first trimester abortion with preoperative PG treatment. To compare the pain levels during egg collection and the subsequent postoperative side effects in patients receiving a paracervical block (PCB) with and without conscious sedation.
                A prospective, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study.
                A tertiary assisted reproduction unit.
                150 patients undergoing egg collection.
                Randomized to receive PCB only (control group) and PCB in conjunction with conscious sedation (sedation group).
                Vaginal and abdominal pain levels; severity of postoperative side effects.
                The median pain levels during vaginal punctures were 12.0 (2.5th--97.5th centiles: 0--84.3) and 30.0 (2.5th--97.5th centiles: 0--100) in the sedation and placebo groups, respectively. The corresponding median abdominal pain levels were 16.5 (2.5th--97.5th centiles: 0--100) and 43.0 (2.5th--97.5th centiles: 0--100). The pain levels were significantly higher in the placebo group than the sedation group. There were no significant differences between the two groups in the severity of nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and drowsiness.
                Patients who received only a PCB during the egg collection experienced 2.5 times higher levels of vaginal and abdominal pain as compared to those who received both PCB and conscious sedation. The use of PCB along is not recommended for all patients but it may be considered with selected patients after they have been given extensive counseling. Patient-controlled sedation (PCS) with propofol, is well tolerated and reduces recovery time and staff required during endoscopic interventions. "Who" administers the drug proves economically crucial. With the aim of maintaining safety, medical quality, and patient satisfaction, this study investigates PCS versus nurse-administered propofol sedation (NAPS) in a cohort of consecutive patients.
                One hundred and fourteen patients, aged 22-90 yr, undergoing only colonoscopy participated in this prospective randomized trial. Patients were randomly assigned to either PCS or NAPS. If patients declined randomization for different reasons of reluctance to PCS they were assigned to a standard nurse-sedated control group. All patients received pethidine presedation for analgesia. Visual analogue scales followed patient anxiety level, tolerability, pain, and satisfaction, and endoscopist's assessment of the procedure.
                Given the choice, 35% of the patients who were rather younger and more anxious declined randomization to PCS. The mean total dose of propofol needed in this group was higher, but the patients had a tendency to rate the global tolerance and the pain of the examination as less comfortable compared to the two randomized groups. Self-administration of propofol created a significantly different drug profile and higher medication costs. With regard to the safety parameters there was no difference between PCS and NAPS. In their global assessments, the patients and endoscopists tended to prefer NAPS.
                Individual patient characteristics and attitudes toward self-control are crucial for PCS. While being a viable option for patients who are able and willing to handle, this technique is not applicable in a considerable portion of everyday patients. In the current study, 55 patients undergoing elective cholecystectomy were randomly allocated to receive postoperative analgesia (morphine sulfate) administered through either patient-controlled intravenous (PCA) or standard intramuscular (IM) routes. There were no significant differences in length of hospitalization or required dose of morphine sulfate. Patients randomized to PCA reported significantly improved subjective relief from pain and a smaller percentage of time in pain during each of the first two postoperative days. In addition, they reported less sedation and less interference with both postoperative breathing and pulmonary recovery than patients who received IM morphine. Theoretically, PCA regimens can deliver narcotic analgesia at a higher and more varied rate (with fewer side effects) compared with standard IM narcotic delivery, which is more limited by considerations of clinical doses. In PCA dosing, patients should experience less time in pain and sedation. The results of the current study support this premise. Given the inherent side effects associated with both opioid and nonopioid analgesic drugs, a nonpharmacologic therapy that could decrease the need for analgesic medication would be valuable. We designed a sham-controlled study to assess the effect of the intensity of transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation (TAES) on postoperative patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) requirement for hydromorphone (HM), the incidence of opioid-related side effects, and the recovery profile after lower abdominal surgery. One hundred one healthy consenting women undergoing lower abdominal procedures with a standardized general anesthetic technique were randomly assigned to one of four postoperative analgesic treatment regimens: Group I (n = 26) PCA only; Group II (n = 25), PCA + sham-TAES (no electrical stimulation); Group III (n = 25), PCA + low-TAES (4-5 mA of electrical stimulation); Group IV (n = 25), PCA + high-TAES (9-12 mA of electrical stimulation). The PCA device was programmed to deliver HM, 0.2-0.4 mg intravenously boluses "on demand," with a minimum lockout interval of 10 min. The TAES skin electrodes were placed at the Hegu acupoint on the nondominant hand and on both sides of the surgical incision. The TAES frequency was set in the dense-and-disperse mode, alternating at 2 Hz and 100 Hz every 3 s, with stimulation of the hand and incision alternated every 6 s. The patients in Groups II-IV were instructed to use TAES every 2 h for 30 min while awake. After discontinuation of PCA, oral pain medications were administered on demand. The postoperative PCA-HM requirement, pain scores, opioid-related side effects, and requirements for antiemetic and antipruritic medication were recorded. High-TAES decreased the HM requirement by 65% and reduced the duration of PCA therapy, as well as the incidence of nausea, dizziness, and pruritus. Low-TAES produced a 34% decrease in the HM requirement compared with only 23% in the "sham" TAES group. We conclude that high-TAES produced a significant decrease in the PCA opioid requirement and opioid-related side effects after low intraabdominal surgery. The aim of the present investigation was to study the effects of intraoperative and postoperative epidural pain management during and after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) on the recovery time, postoperative pulmonary and cardiac parameters, visual analog scale (VAS) scores, and sedation scores (SS) compared with patients anesthetized with general anesthesia (GA) whose postoperative pain was relieved with intermittent intravenous (IV) administration of nicomorphine. Fifty-four patients were studied postoperatively after uncomplicated CABG. In the thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) group (n = 27), intraoperative analgesia was based on high TEA in combination with GA. In the GA group (n = 27), IV anesthesia with high-dose sufentanil and midazolam was used. Postoperative pain management in the GA group consisted of intermittent IV administration of nicomorphine, 0.1 mg/kg every 6 hours, whereas for the TEA group continuous high TEA with 0.125% bupivacaine plus sufentanil, 1:1,000,000 (0.05 mL/cm body length/hr) was used. Patients in the TEA group awakened earlier (148 [34] minutes vs 335 [51] minutes), resumed spontaneous respiration earlier (326 [79] minutes vs 982 [52] minutes), and were extubated earlier (463 [79] minutes vs 1140 [58] minutes). VAS score, SS, and postoperative PaO2 were significantly (P less than or equal to 0.01) better in the TEA group. The incidence of tachycardia (15 vs 2 patients) and postoperative myocardial ischemia (12 vs 4 patients) was higher in the GA group. It is concluded that intraoperative and postoperative pain treatment with epidurally administered bupivacaine plus sufentanil improved the recovery time, as well as pulmonary and cardiac outcome after CABG, when compared with IV postoperative pain treatment after intraoperative GA with sufentanil and midazolam. In a prospective, double-blind study, we examined the effects of routine sedation and pharyngeal anesthesia on cardiorespiratory parameters during gastroscopy.
                Intravenous sedation and topical pharyngeal anesthesia are used to alleviate the discomfort during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Cardiorespiratory changes during gastroscopy are common.
                Two hundred fifty two consecutive outpatients undergoing gastroscopy were assigned into 4 groups: (1) sedation with intravenous midazolam and placebo throat spray (midazolam group), (2) placebo sedation and pharyngeal anesthesia with lidocaine throat spray (lidocaine group), (3) placebo sedation and placebo throat spray (placebo group), and (4) no intravenous cannula nor throat spray (control group). Arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2), systolic and diastolic blood pressure and continuous electrocardiogram were recorded before, during, and after the endoscopic procedure.
                Gastroscopy increased heart rate in all study groups. Premedication with intravenous midazolam or lidocaine spray alleviated this rise (P<0.001, repeated measures analysis of variance) and decreased the incidence of tachycardia. Similarly, sedation with midazolam or topical pharyngeal anesthesia decreased the rise in systolic blood pressure (P<0.001). Midazolam produced lower SaO2 values during gastroscopy compared with lidocaine, placebo or control groups (P<0.001). However, episodes of desaturation (SaO2 </=92) were no more common in the midazolam group than in other groups.
                Premedication with midazolam alleviated the rise in heart rate and systolic blood pressure but induced a statistically significant decrease in arterial oxygen saturation. However, gastroscopy proved to be a safe procedure both with and without sedation. Influence of anesthetic technique on mental status in elderly patients submitted to major orthopedic procedures of lower limbs. Mental impairment is a common occurrence in elderly patients after major orthopedic surgery. Few studies have been published so far on this topic in spite of its relevant clinical and economic implications.
                1) To verify whether anesthesia has a causative role in postoperative mental confusion in elderly patients; 2) to compare the effects of General Anesthesia (GA) and Spinal Anesthesia (SA) on mental status.
                Controlled, comparative study.
                Sixty patients aged > or = 70, ASA I-II, submitted to femoral neck repair.
                Anesthesia Dept. and Orthopedic Dept. of a District Hospital in Italy.
                The day before surgery the mental status of elected patients was evaluated employing a modified Organic Brain Syndrome (OBS) scale (Gustafsson). The better the mental status, the lesser the OBS score. It was possible therefore to distinguish "oriented" from "confuse" patients (38 vs 22) if they scored < or = 6 or > 6 respectively. Patients from each group were than randomly assigned to receive either GA or selective SA. Neither group was premedicated. GA was induced with propofol 1 mg/kg and maintained with O2/N2O 40/60% and isoflurane; atracurium was employed to facilitate mioresolution. Spinal anesthesia was performed with hyperbaric 1% bupivacaine. All patients were monitored in the Recovery Room (RR) for at least one hour. Occurrence of hypotension and/or hypoxia in the Operating Room (OR) or the RR was immediately treated. Mental status was reassessed on the 1st and 2nd postoperative day and results were compared with the corresponding preoperative OBS scores both in GA patients and in SA patients.
                No statistically significant differences were found between pre- and postoperative OBS scores in both GA and SA group, whether "oriented" or "confuse".
                Mental status of elderly patients submitted to femoral neck repair doesn't seem to be influenced by the anesthetic technique chosen, independent of preoperative psychic conditions.
Conscious sedation, GA and some non-pharmacological interventions decreased procedural and postoperative pain, while being safe and satisfactory to patients. Data on the widely used PCB is inadequate to support its use, and it needs to be further studied to determine any benefit.