Randomized, controlled study of long-acting local anesthetic (levobupivacaine) in femoral artery sheath management during and after percutaneous coronary intervention. Effects of 3 analgesic regimens on the perception of pain after removal of femoral artery sheaths. Effect of local anesthesia and intravenous sedation on pain perception and vasovagal reactions during femoral arterial sheath removal after percutaneous coronary intervention. [Acute pain management in proximal femoral fractures: femoral nerve block (catheter technique) vs. systemic pain therapy using a clinic internal organisation model]. Evaluation of two local anaesthetic sprays for the relief of post-episiotomy pain. Postoperative pain relief in children. A comparison between caudal bupivacaine and intramuscular diclofenac sodium. Alkalisation of lignocaine-adrenaline reduces the amount of pain during subcutaneous injection of local anaesthetic. Intravenous remifentanil vs. epidural levobupivacaine with fentanyl for pain relief in early labour: a randomised, controlled, double-blinded study. Randomised control trial of pH buffered lignocaine with adrenaline in outpatient operations.
To assess the effect of long-acting local anesthetic (levobupivacaine) in addition to lidocaine for the management of femoral artery sheaths during and after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
                Femoral artery sheaths are commonly used during PCI. Sheath removal is often delayed after the procedure by which time short-acting local anesthetic agents may no longer be effective.
                Sixty patients were randomized to either usual care or the administration of local levobupivacaine after PCI. Patients were asked to report their pain experienced on a visual analogue score.
                Thirty patients received additional levobupivacaine (0.5%) and 30 received standard care. There were no procedural differences between the groups, except that more patients in the control group received intravenous (IV) morphine at the time of sheath removal. There was no difference between the control group and levobupivacaine group in pain scores at the time of sheath insertion. (2.0 +/- 0.4 versus 1.8 +/- 0.3; p = 0.80). Both groups recorded low pain scores while waiting for sheath removal, and the score was slightly (but not significantly) lower in the levobupivacaine group (1.3 +/- 0.2 versus 0.8 +/- 0.2; p = 0.09). Pain scores were lower in the levobupivacaine group during sheath removal 2.2 +/- 0.4 versus 1.1 +/- 0.2; p = 0.02). There were no differences in terms of blood pressure between the groups at any time point.
                Levobupivacaine reduced the need for IV opiate and provided better analgesia than lidocaine alone in patients undergoing PCI. Effective pain management after removal of femoral artery sheaths after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty is highly individualized and requires frequent, accurate assessment and administration of analgesics as needed.
                To determine which of 3 analgesic regimens is most effective in decreasing patients' perception of pain with the fewest side effects after removal of a femoral artery sheath.
                130 adult who had undergone percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and were in an 8-bed cardiac short-stay unit in a 1400-bed acute care hospital.
                Patients were randomized to receive either intravenous morphine, intravenous fentanyl, subcutaneous lidocaine around the sheath site, or an intravenous placebo before sheath removal. Rescue analgesia (intravenous fentanyl) was made available to all groups. Patients used a visual analog scale to assess pain within 10 minutes before, 1 minute after, and 20 minutes after sheath removal. Pain levels, frequency of side effects, and use of rescue analgesia were compared among groups.
                Age, sex, number of stents, and frequency of hematomas did not differ significantly among groups. Pain ratings, use of rescue analgesia, and side effects (nausea, vomiting, or vasovagal symptoms) were not significantly different among treatment groups. Ratings of pain were slightly higher immediately after sheath removal in all groups.
                For most patients, removal of femoral artery sheaths and manual compression for hemostasis are relatively pain-free. Pain scores among patients given analgesia with subcutaneous lidocaine, intravenous morphine, or intravenous fentanyl were not significantly different from pain scores among control patients. There is no consensus with respect to the use of analgesia during femoral arterial sheath removal after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We performed a randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of intravenous sedation and local anesthesia during femoral sheath removal after PCI on patient comfort and the incidence of vasovagal reactions.
                All patients undergoing PCI whose femoral sheaths were to be removed with assisted manual compression were eligible. Patients were randomized to receive either intravenous sedation (Fentanyl and Midazolam) or local anesthesia (1% lignocaine) infiltrated around the sheath site or both or neither. The primary endpoint of the study was the patients reported worst pain according to a Visual Analogue scale (VAS) after sheath removal. The incidence and predictors of vasovagal reactions during sheath removal and occurrence of vascular complications was also determined.
                A total of 611 patients were randomized into this study. The mean pain score was highest in the local anesthesia only arm as compared to the sedation only arm, the combined local and sedation arm and the neither sedation or local arm (p=0.001). vasovagal reactions were experienced by 35 patients (5.1%) with the highest percentage in the local anesthesia only group (9.8%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified a higher pain score (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.12-1.24, p=0.001), use of glyceryl trinitrate during sheath removal (OR 9.05, 95% CI 5.06-16.1, p<0.001), a lower body mass index (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.08-1.18, p=0.009) and the left anterior descending artery as the treated vessel (OR 5.2, 95% CI 3.41-7.87, p<0.001) as independent predictors of the occurrence of a vasovagal reaction. There was no significant difference in vascular complications between the 4 study groups.
                The routine use of fentanyl and midazolam prior to sheath removal leads to a reduction in pain perception and vasovagal incidence, whilst the routine use of local infiltration during sheath removal should be discouraged as it leads to more pain and a trend to more vasovagal reactions. The aim of this study was to compare safety and efficacy of catheter-mediated femoral nerve block analgesia with systemic pain therapy in patients with proximal femoral fractures in the pre-operative and post-operative setting using a protocol for coordinating pain management.
                In a prospective randomised trial of patients attending the emergency department, 100 individuals were selected with a clinically diagnosed proximal femoral fracture. Patients were divided into two equal groups A and B. Group A (n=50) received a catheter-mediated femoral nerve block with 1% prilocaine (40 ml) and post-operatively 0.2% ropivacaine (30 ml) 6 hourly. Group B (n=50) initially received intravenous metamizol (1 g) and a fixed combination of oral tilidine (100 mg) + naloxone (8 mg). Patients aged 90 years or more received a reduced dose (tilidine 75 mg + naloxone 6 mg). In the post-operative period regular oral ibuprofen (400 mg, 8 hourly) in addition to oral tilidine (50 mg) + naloxone (4 mg) was given as required for break through pain. Pain intensity was measured using a verbal rating scale (VRS) from 1 to 5: pain free (=1), mild pain (=2), moderate pain (=3), severe pain (=4), excruciating pain (=5). Pain scores were recorded at rest (R), during passive anteflection (30 degrees) of the hip (PA) on arrival and at 15 and 30 min after initial administration of analgesia. Thereafter, recordings were made 4 times a day up to the third post-operative day.
                Pain scores were comparable for both groups on admission (VRS in R 2.50 vs. 2.46; VRS during PA 4.30 vs. 4.34). Significant pain relief was achieved in both groups following initial administration of analgesia, but the total pain scores in group A were significantly lower than in group B (VRS in R 1.22 vs. 1.58, p<0.01 and VRS during PA 2.66 vs. 3.26; p<0.001). No difference was noted between the two groups during the first 3 post-operative days. No severe complications occurred as a result of analgesia, however, the catheter was dislodged in 20% of patients in group A resulting in the need for systemically administered analgesia.
                All patients presenting with proximal femoral fractures should receive adequate analgesia within the emergency department even prior to radiographic imaging. Femoral nerve block should be considered as the method of choice. The insertion of a femoral nerve block catheter has the dual advantage of early analgesia permitting repeated clinical examination in addition to continued post-operative pain management. The cumbersome logistics inherent in this technique within the clinical setting limits its practical application. An initial single-shot regional nerve block followed by a systemic post-operative analgesia protocol was considered an appropriate alternative. The execution of safe, consistent and appropriate regional nerve block anaesthesia is reliant on formal guidelines and protocols as agreed by the multidisciplinary teams involved with patient-directed pain management and good clinical practice. Aerosol formulations of lignocaine (5%) and cinchocaine (2%) were compared with a water-only placebo spray in a single-dose study in 76 primiparous patients complaining of moderate or severe post-episiotomy pain. In comparison with a water-only placebo, both local anaesthetic formulations gave significant relief when administered to the perineal wound but the lignocaine spray proved to be the more effective. The only side-effect reported was slight stinging occurring immediately after administration of the lignocaine spray in 2 cases. Serum concentrations of local anaesthetic post-administration were negligible. An interesting finding was that breast-feeding patients responded less well to this form of analgesia than patients in whom lactation had been suppressed with frusemide. Two hundred and fifty children undergoing herniotomy or orchidopexy under general anaesthesia were randomly allocated to receive pre-operatively either diclofenac sodium 1 mg.kg-1 given intramuscularly or a caudal injection of bupivacaine 0.25% 1 ml.kg-1 with or without adrenaline or no analgesia. Plasma diclofenac and beta-endorphin concentrations were determined in eight and 21 patients respectively. Postoperative pain was assessed by ward nurses who were blinded to the group allocation. Comparison with the control group showed diclofenac to be an effective analgesic. Caudal bupivacaine provided more pain-free children during the early postoperative hours, but later the need for pethidine as rescue analgesic was lower among the children who had received intramuscular diclofenac. Caudal analgesia abolished the stress-induced increase in plasma beta-endorphin level which was found in the children given diclofenac and in those who served as controls. Total plasma clearance of intramuscular diclofenac sodium appears to be higher in children than in adults. A single intramuscular dose of diclofenac significantly reduces the need for an opioid analgesic in children after inguinal herniotomy or orchidopexy, and owing to its long duration of action, it offers an alternative or complementary method of pain relief to caudal analgesia. A double blind, randomised controlled trial was performed to compare the amount of pain experienced after subcutaneous infiltration of lignocaine with adrenaline, and the same anaesthetic buffered to pH 7.1-7.3, in patients undergoing liposuction (n = 8), blepharoplasty (n = 7), mammaplasty (n = 6), and in volunteers (n = 10). A linear analogue pain scale was used to access pain. In all four groups the buffered solution caused significantly less pain (p < 0.001 except for mammaplasty--p = 0.02). We hypothesised that intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV PCA) with remifentanil could provide as satisfactory pain relief for labour as epidural analgesia.
                Fifty-two parturients with singleton uncomplicated pregnancies were randomised to receive either IV PCA with remifentanil or epidural analgesia with 20 ml levobupivacaine 0.625 mg/ml and fentanyl 2 microg/ml in saline. The PCA dose of remifentanil was given over 1 min with a lockout time of 1 min. The dose was increased starting from the bolus of 0.1 microg/kg and following a dose escalation scheme up until the individual-effective dose was reached. The parturients assessed contraction pain (0-10), pain relief (0-4), sedation and nausea during 60 min.
                Forty-five parturients were included in the analysis. The median cervical opening was 4 cm before the study and 7 cm after the study. The median pain scores were 7.3 and 5.2 during remifentanil and epidural analgesia, respectively (P=0.009). The median pain relief scores were 2.5 and 2.8 (P=0.17). There was no difference between the groups in the proportion of parturients who discontinued due to ineffective analgesia, nor in the proportion of parturients who would have liked to continue the given medication at the end of the study. Sedation and low haemoglobin oxygen saturation were observed more often during remifentanil analgesia. Foetal heart rate tracing abnormalities were as common in both groups.
                In terms of pain scores, epidural analgesia is superior to that provided by IV remifentanil. However, there was no difference in the pain relief scores between the treatments. Bicarbonate buffering of local anaesthetics is known to significantly decrease the pain of their administration and yet few practising surgeons do so. A double-blind randomised cross-over clinical trial was conducted to confirm the practicality and efficacy of bicarbonate buffering of lignocaine with adrenaline in the setting of a busy local anaesthetic operating theatre. 40 patients received either buffered or control local anaesthetic solutions in equivalent sites on opposite sides of the body. The pain of each injection was rated from 0 (no pain) to 10 (extreme pain). The mean pain score for the buffered solution was significantly lower than the control solution (3.06 vs 4.34, P = 0.002). Bicarbonate buffering of lignocaine with adrenaline is effective, inexpensive and simple; its widespread use should be encouraged.
No new studies have been found since the last version of this review and the conclusions therefore remain the same. Intravenous pain regimens and levobupivacaine may have greater efficacy when compared to control for the management of pain related to femoral sheath removal. However, a definitive study is still required because the clinical difference is small. There is no evidence to support the use of subcutaneous lignocaine. There is insufficient evidence to determine if pain relief influences the rate of complications. One new study has been included as a 'study awaiting assessment' as we await further information from the study authors.