The effect of pre-operative administration of gabapentin on post-operative pain relief after herniorrhaphy

Background: Gabapentin, an anticonvulsant, recently has been suggested as an effective post-operative "analgesic" agent. The objective of the present study was to examine the analgesic effectiveness and opioid-sparing effects associated with the use of a single dose of gabapentin as a prophylactic analgesic. Materials and Methods: In a randomized double-blinded clinical trial, 50 American Society of Anesthesiologists I and II patients with an age range of 40-60 years who were the candidate for inguinal herniorrhaphy under spinal anesthesia were randomly assigned to receive 400 mg gabapentin or placebo 2 h prior to surgery. Post-operatively, the pain was assessed on a visual analog scale (VAS) at 2, 4, 12 and 24 h at rest. Morphine 0.05 mg/kg intravenously was used to treat post-operative pain on patient′s demand. Total morphine consumption in the first 24 h after surgery was also recorded. Results: Patients in the gabapentin group had significantly lower VAS scores at the all-time intervals of study than those in the placebo group (P < 0.05). The total morphine consumption in the first 24 h after surgery was also significantly lower in gabapentin group than in the placebo group (0.9 ± 1.23 vs. 1.8 ± 1.5; P = 0.003). There was no significant difference between the first time of analgesic request among the two groups. Conclusion: In conclusion, prophylactic administration of gabapentin decreases pain scores and analgesic consumption in the first 24 h after repair of inguinal hernia

Comparison of gabapentin, pregabalin and placebo as premedication for attenuation of hemodynamic response to laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation

Background: Tracheal intubation and direct laryngoscopy are powerful noxious stimuli that can elicit sever hemodynamic responses. These hemodynamic responses should be attenuated by appropriate use of premedication, smooth induction of anesthesia and rapid tracheal intubation. Gabapentin and pregabalin have been suggested in several studies to be efficient. Gabapentin is an antiepileptic drug and a structural analogue of gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) but it does not act through GABA receptors and pregabalin, is also an antiepileptic agent. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of gabapentin and pregabalin as premedication for attenuation of hemodynamic response to laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation. Methods: In a prospective double blinded randomized clinical trial, during April 2015 to March 2016 in Urmia Imam Khomeini Hospital, a total of ninety normotensive adult consented patients, candidate to elective abdominal surgery aged 20-50 years, American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA) class I, of both gender were randomized into three groups. Patients in group I received oral placebo, group II received oral gabapentin 900 mg and group III patients received oral pregabalin 150 mg two hours prior to induction of anesthesia. Anesthetic technique was same in three groups and all groups were assessed for hemodynamic changes such as heart rate, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure, after the premedication, before and after induction of anesthesia, and 1, 3 and 5 minutes. after laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation. Results: Significant increase in heart rate and systolic blood pressure and diastolic arterial pressure was observed in placebo group after tracheal intubation, while statistically significant attenuation of hemodynamic changes was seen in gabapentin and pregabalin groups. (P=0.001) No adverse outcome was reported in the study groups. Conclusion: Oral gabapentin premedication is effective for control of hemodynamic pressor response of laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation. The study data showed that the pregabalin have the same effect. Pregabalin and gabapentin are both useful and safe for control of hemodynamic pressor response as premedication

Comparison the effects of paracetamol with sufentanil infusion on postoperative pain control after craniotomy in patients with brain tumor

Background: Patients experience severe pain after craniotomy surgery that leads to discomfort. Our target in this study that performed in interventional method is an evaluation of sufentanil and paracetamol effect on postoperative pain control in patients undergone craniotomy surgery at Urmia Imam Khomeini Hospital. Materials and Methods: Totally, 45 patients between the ages 18 and 65 were studied. The effect of sufentanil and paracetamol medicines in pain management, hemodynamic stability, and side effects compared with control group that were receiving morphine (subcutaneous [SC]) in 3 groups of 15 people at time 0, 2, 4, 12 and 24-h were evaluated. Collected data were included and monitoring blood pressure, O 2 Sat, heart rate (HR) and pain, nausea, vomiting and use of morphine. Results: According to the analysis of results, there was a significant difference between 3 groups on postoperative pain (P < 0.05). In patients that used sufentanil, pain score of visual analog scale (VAS) is lowest and in the paracetamol group the highest VAS score was seen. There was a significant difference in HR between 3 groups (P < 0.05). Maximum average of HR was observed in the paracetamol group. There was a significant difference in mean arterial pressure between 3 groups (P < 0.05). In paracetamol group, there was the highest value (99.3). There was no significant difference in Glasgow Coma scale and SPO 2 between 3 groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Sufentanil compared to morphine (which is routinely used for patients pain control after craniotomy surgery) has better pain control, less nausea and vomiting, and better hemodynamic stability. Although paracetamol has the least nausea and vomiting, it has the lowest quality of pain relief

Comparing the effect of pregabalin, gabapentin, and acetaminophen on post-dural puncture headache

Introduction: Post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) is a common complication of lumbar puncture for any purpose. To avoid the need for invasive methods of treating PDPH such as blood patch, the search for novel pharmacological agents to manage PDPH continues. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of acetaminophen, gabapentin and pregabalin in controlling PDPH in patients who underwent surgery under spinal anesthesia. Materials and Methods: A total of 90 patients who underwent elective orthopedic surgery under spinal anesthesia and suffered from PDPH consequently were enrolled in this randomized trial. Patients were categorized randomly into three groups. Group A, B and C have received Acetaminophen, Gabapentin and Pregabalin (3 times a day for 3 days), respectively. The effect of medications on the severity of PDPH was evaluated and compared using visual analog scale (VAS). Results: The mean VAS score was significantly lower in pregabalin group compared with others 24, 48 and 72 h after the onset of headache (P = 0.001 for all of them) and lower in Gabapentin group compared with Acetaminophen group 24, 48 and 72 h after the onset of headache (P = 0.001 for all analyses). No adverse outcome was reported in groups. Conclusion: Pregabalin and gabapentin are both useful and safe in management of PDPH, but pregabalin is more effective in this regard

Evaluating the quality of intravenous regional anesthesia following adding dexamethasone to lidocaine

Objectives: The quality of anesthesia in intravenous regional anesthesia (IVRA) has been evaluated in many studies so far. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of adding the dexamethasone to lidocaine on the quality of IVRA. Materials and Methods: A double-blind clinical trial was set up involving 50 hand surgery candidates, 20 to 55 years old, and with American Society of Anesthesiologists class of I and II. Patients were randomly allocated into two groups of 25 cases and received either 3 mg/kg of lidocaine (control group) or 3 mg/kg of lidocaine plus 8 mg of dexamethasone (study group). The onset and recovery times from sensory and motor blocks, the starting time of tourniquet pain, the amount of narcotics needed during patients′ recovery, and probable side-effects were all compared between the two groups. Results: No significant differences were detected concerning age, gender, length of surgery and the mean time of starting of tourniquet pain between the two groups. The mean times of both sensory (P = 0.002) and motor (P = 0.004) blocks onset were significantly shorter in the study group. The mean time of recovery from sensory block was significantly longer in the study group (P = 0.01). The average amount of narcotics needed during the recovery was significantly lower in the study group (P = 0.01). No side-effect was detected. Conclusion: We conclude that adding the dexamethasone to lidocaine can improve the quality of anesthesia in IVRA

Comparison of pulseoximetry oxygen saturation and arterial oxygen saturation in open heart intensive care unit

Background: Pulseoximetry is widely used in the critical care setting, currently used to guide therapeutic interventions. Few studies have evaluated the accuracy of SPO2 (puls-eoximetry oxygen saturation) in intensive care unit after cardiac surgery. Our objective was to compare pulseoximetry with arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) during clinical routine in such patients, and to examine the effect of mild acidosis on this relationship.Methods: In an observational prospective study 80 patients were evaluated in intensive care unit after cardiac surgery. SPO2 was recorded and compared with SaO2 obtained by blood gas analysis. One or serial arterial blood gas analyses (ABGs) were performed via a radial artery line while a reliable pulseoximeter signal was present. One hundred thirty seven samples were collected and for each blood gas analyses, SaO2 and SPO2 we recorded.Results: O2 saturation as a marker of peripheral perfusion was measured by Pulseoxim-etry (SPO2). The mean difference between arterial oxygen saturation and pulseoximetry oxygen saturation was 0.12%±1.6%. A total of 137 paired readings demonstrated good correlation (r=0.754; P<0.0001) between changes in SPO2 and those in SaO2 in samples with normal hemoglobin. Also in forty seven samples with mild acidosis, paired readings demonstrated good correlation (r=0.799; P<0.0001) and the mean difference between SaO2 and SPO2 was 0.05%±1.5%.Conclusion: Data showed that in patients with stable hemodynamic and good signal quality, changes in pulseoximetry oxygen saturation reliably predict equivalent changes in arterial oxygen saturation. Mild acidosis doesn’t alter the relation between SPO2 and SaO2 to any clinically important extent. In conclusion, the pulse oximeter is useful to monitor oxygen saturation in patients with stable hemodynamic

Intranasal Sufentanil for Postoperative Pain Control in Lower Abdominal Pediatric Surgery

The most important role in postoperative pain management is still played by opioid administration through various modes. For the last few years, there has been an intensive search for alternative mode of opioid administration in pain management. The intranasal modes of opioid administration seems to be an attractive alternative. Sixty boys (aged 0.5-6 yr); ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) physical status I, who were candidates for lower abdominal surgery, were included in this prospective randomized, controlled study. Five minutes before extubation, patients were randomized to two groups and allocated to receive intranasal sufentanil (0.7 μg/kg) or normal saline, using a double-blinded study design. Satisfactory analgesia was achieved with intranasal sufentanil. It was effective after 10 minutes with the least pain scores (pain score 2.3±0.4 vs. 4.1±0.5) (p = 0.001). Pain scores in 15, 20 and 25 minutes were similar in sufentanil group. None of patients had bradycardia, hypotension or SpO2 (arterial O2 saturation) <95%. High bioavailability of sufentanil after intranasal administration due to direct entrance of the drug into the systemic circulation and avoidance of the hepatic first- pass effect makes sufentanil an opioid with rapid onset and limited duration. As it has minimal side effects, sufentanil is one of the best choices for postoperative pain control in children. We used 0.7 μg/kg of intranasal sufentanil and found satisfactory analgesia accompanied with least side effects

Prevalence of selected sexually and blood-borne infections in Injecting drug abuser inmates of bandar abbas and roodan correction facilities, Iran, 2002

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and other blood borne viral infections like hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are major health issues especially in young and growing population of developing countries. All around the globe correctional facilities are known as potential source of spreading such disease. During summer 2002, HIV, HCV antibodies, hepatitis B surface (HBs) antigen and rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test were checked in venous blood samples of 252 injecting drug abuser prisoners from correctional facilities in southern Iran. Overall HIV, HCV and HBV infection rate was 15.1% (38/249), 64.8% (163/249), and 4.7% (12/249), respectively. HCV infection rate of HIV positive cases was 94% (35/38). All RPR results were negative. Duration of previous drug abuse and imprisonment were correlated with HIV and HCV infection (p value = 0.0003 and 0.015 & p value =0.02 and 0.02). Considering the higher prevalence of HIV and HCV infection in correctional facilities compared to general population of Iran, warrants immediate multidisciplinary approaches targeted at controlling further spread of these infections primarily among prisoners and secondarily preventing them to act as carrier to general population

The Effect of Acupressure on Nausea and Vomiting after Cesarean Section Under Spinal Anesthesia

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is one of the most common postoperative complications. Aside from pharmacological interventions, other complementary healing modalities have been introduced to assist patients in decreasing PONV and improving postoperative outcomes. This study examined acupressure as a safe complement to the more traditional approach of using drugs to prevent and/or relieve nausea and vomiting in the Cesarean section (C/S) under spinal anesthesia. In a prospective randomized clinical trial, 152 patients who were candidate for elective C/S under spinal anesthesia were evaluated in two groups (acupressure vs control groups). Subjects in the acupressure group received constant pressure by a specific wrist elastic band (without puncture of the skin) on the Nei-Guan acupuncture point, 30 min prior to spinal anesthesia. The incidence of PONV was assessed during the surgery, at recovery room and at 1st, 2nd and 3rd two hours after the surgery. Significant differences in the incidence of the post-operative nausea and vomiting were found between the acupressure and control groups, with a reduction in the incidence rate of nausea from 35.5% to 13.2%. The amount of vomitus and the degree of discomfort were, respectively, less and lower in the study group. In view of the total absence of side-effects in acupressure, its application is worthy. Our study confirmed the effectiveness of acupressure in preventing post-operative nausea and vomiting, when applied 30 minutes prior to surger