Ultrasound-guided bilateral superficial cervical plexus block is more effective than landmark technique for reducing pain from thyroidectomy

Tjokorda Gde Agung Senapathi, I Made Gede Widnyana, I Gusti Ngurah Mahaalit Aribawa, Made Wiryana, I Ketut Sinardja, I Ketut Wibawa Nada, AA Gde Putra Semara Jaya, I Gede Koko Swadharma Putra Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Sanglah Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia Purpose: Thyroidectomy causes postoperative pain and patient discomfort. Bilateral superficial cervical plexus block is a regional anesthesia technique that can provide analgesia during and after surgery. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of ultrasound (US)-guided versus landmark (LM) technique for bilateral superficial cervical plexus block in thyroidectomy. Patients and methods: Thirty-six patients undergoing thyroidectomy were divided into two groups randomly (n=18); either US-guided (US group) or LM technique (LM group) for bilateral superficial cervical plexus block. Patient-controlled analgesia was used to control postoperative pain. Intraoperative opioid rescue, postoperative visual analog scale (VAS) score and opioid consumption were measured. Results: The number of patients who required intraoperative opioid rescue was significantly lower in the US group (p≤0.05). There was no significant difference in postoperative VAS score at 3 hours (p>0.05), but postoperative VAS score at 6 and 24 hours was significantly lower in the US group (p≤0.05). Twenty-four hour postoperative opioid consumption was significantly lower in the US group (p≤0.05). Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided bilateral superficial cervical plexus block is more effective in reducing pain both intra- and postoperatively compared with landmark technique in patients undergoing thyroidectomy. Keywords: peripheral nerve block, superficial cervical plexus block, ultrasound-guided, pain, thyroidectom

Effectiveness of low-dose intravenous ketamine to attenuate stress response in patients undergoing emergency cesarean section with spinal anesthesia

Tjokorda Gde Agung Senapathi, I Made Gede Widnyana, Made Wiryana, I Gusti Ngurah Mahaalit Aribawa, I Wayan Aryabiantara, I Gusti Agung Gede Utara Hartawan, I Ketut Sinardja, I Putu Pramana Suarjaya, I Ketut Wibawa Nada, AA Gde Putra Semara Jaya Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University, Sanglah Hospital, Bali, Indonesia Purpose: Cesarean section is a surgical procedure. Surgical procedures will induce stress responses, which may have negative impact on postoperative recovery. Ketamine plays a role in the homeostatic regulation of inflammatory response in order to attenuate stress response. We tried to determine the effectiveness of low-dose intravenous ketamine to attenuate stress response in patients undergoing emergency cesarean section with spinal anesthesia.Patients and methods: Thirty-six pregnant women undergoing emergency cesarean section with spinal anesthesia were randomly divided into two groups (n=18). Ketamine 0.3 mg/kg (KET group) or NaCl 0.9% (NS group) was administered intravenously before the administration of spinal anesthesia. C-reactive protein (CRP) and neutrophil levels were measured preoperatively and postoperatively.Results: Elevation of CRP stress response was lower in the KET group and significantly different (P≤0.05) from that in the NS group. Neutrophil level was elevated in both the groups and hence not significantly different from each other (P>0.05). Postoperative visual analog scale pain score was not significantly different between the two groups (P>0.05), but there was a statistically significant (P≤0.05) positive and weak correlation between visual analog scale and CRP level postoperatively.Conclusion: Low-dose intravenous ketamine effectively attenuates the CRP stress response in patients undergoing emergency cesarean section with spinal anesthesia. Keywords: ketamine, stress response, pain, spinal anesthesia, cesarean sectio