Phrenic nerve block with ultrasound-guidance for treatment of hiccups: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Persistent hiccups can be more than a simple and short-lived nuisance and therefore sometimes call for serious consideration. Hiccupping episodes that last only a few minutes may be annoying, but persistent hiccups may initiate many major complications.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 72-year-old Caucasian man with spinal stenosis presented for L4-5 laminectomy under spinal anesthesia. The surgery and anesthesia, as well as the perioperative period, passed without any incident, except for persistent postoperative hiccups not responding to conservative and pharmacological treatment. Hiccups resulted in a prolonged hospital stay as they lasted until the seventh postoperative day. On that day, a right-sided ultrasound-guided phrenic nerve block with 5 ml of bupivacaine 5 mg/ml with epinephrine was performed successfully with a single-injection technique. Ten minutes after the procedure the hiccups vanished and a partial sensomotoric block of his right shoulder developed. No adverse effect occurred; our patient could be discharged on the same day and the hiccups did not return.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Ultrasound provides us with non-invasive information regarding anatomy and allows anesthesiologists to visualize needle insertion, to identify the exact location of the injected solution and to avoid such structures as arteries or veins. As such, this method should be actively utilized. In cases where both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments prove to be ineffective when treating persistent hiccups, a single-shot ultrasound-guided technique should be considered before the patient becomes exhausted.</p

Present-day challenges and future solutions in postoperative pain management : results from PainForum 2014

This paper is a summary of presentations on postoperative pain control by the authors at the 2014 PainForum meeting in People's Republic of China. Postoperative pain is often untreated or undertreated and may lead to subsequent chronic pain syndromes. As more procedures migrate to the outpatient setting, postoperative pain control will become increasingly more challenging. Evidence-based guidelines for postoperative pain control recommend pain assessment using validated tools on a consistent basis. In this regard, consistency may be more important than the specific tool selected. Many hospitals have introduced a multidisciplinary acute pain service (APS), which has been associated with improved patient satisfaction and fewer adverse events. Patient education is an important component of postoperative pain control, which may be most effective when clinicians chose a multimodal approach, such as paracetamol (acetaminophen) and opioids. Opioids are a mainstay of postoperative pain control but require careful monitoring and management of side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and somnolence. Opioids may be administered using patient-controlled analgesia systems. Protocols for postoperative pain control can be very helpful to establish benchmarks for pain management and assure that clinicians adhere to evidence-based standards. The future of postoperative pain control around the world will likely involve more and better established APSs and greater communication between patients and clinicians about postoperative pain. The changes necessary to implement and move forward with APSs is not a single step but rather one of continuous improvement and ongoing change.Peer reviewe

Voriconazole more likely than posaconazole increases plasma exposure to sublingual buprenorphine causing a risk of a clinically important interaction

This study aimed to determine possible effects of voriconazole and posaconazole on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacological effects of sublingual buprenorphine. We used a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study design with 12 healthy male volunteers. Subjects were given a dose of 0.4 mg (0.6 mg during placebo phase) sublingual buprenorphine after a 5-day oral pretreatment with either (i) placebo, (ii) voriconazole 400 mg twice daily on the first day and 200 mg twice daily thereafter or (iii) posaconazole 400 mg twice daily. Plasma and urine concentrations of buprenorphine and its primary active metabolite norbuprenorphine were monitored over 18 h and pharmacological effects were measured. Compared to placebo, voriconazole increased the mean area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC(0-a)) of buprenorphine 1.80-fold (90 % confidence interval 1.45-2.24; P <0.001), its peak concentration (C-max) 1.37-fold (P <0.013) and half-life (t (A1/2) ) 1.37-fold (P <0.001). Posaconazole increased the AUC0(0-a) of buprenorphine 1.25-fold (P <0.001). Most of the plasma norbuprenorphine concentrations were below the limit of quantification (0.05 ng/ml). Voriconazole, unlike posaconazole, increased the urinary excretion of norbuprenorphine 1.58-fold (90 % confidence interval 1.18-2.12; P <0.001) but there was no quantifiable parent buprenorphine in urine. Plasma buprenorphine concentrations correlated with the pharmacological effects, but the effects did not differ significantly between the phases. Voriconazole, and to a minor extent posaconazole, increase plasma exposure to sublingual buprenorphine, probably via inhibition of cytochrome P450 3 A and/or P-glycoprotein. Care should be exercised in the combined use of buprenorphine with triazole antimycotics, particularly with voriconazole, because their interaction can be of clinical importance.Peer reviewe

A national survey into perioperative anesthetic management of patients with a fractured neck of femur

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We made a survey among Finnish anesthesiologists concerning the current perioperative anesthetic practice of hip fracture patients for further development in patient care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>All members of the Finnish Society of Anesthesiologists with a known e-mail address (786) were invited to participate in an internet-based survey.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall response rate was 55% (423 responses); 298 respondents participated in the care of hip fracture patients. Preoperative analgesia was mostly managed with oxycodone and paracetamol; every fifth respondent applied an epidural infusion. Most respondents (98%) employed a spinal block with or without an epidural catheter for intraoperative anesthesia. Midazolam, propofol and/or fentanyl were used for additional sedation. General anesthesia was used rarely. Postoperatively, paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and occasionally peroral oxycodone, were prescribed in addition to epidural analgesia.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The survey suggests that the impact of more individualised analgesia regimens, both preoperatively and postoperatively, should be investigated in further studies.</p