P-P08 Towards effective analgesia in acute pancreatitis: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials

Background The optimal analgesic strategy for patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) remains unknown. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aims to compare the efficacy of several analgesic modalities trialled in AP. Methods A systematic search of PubMed, MEDLINE and EMBASE was conducted up until June 2021, according to PRISMA Guidelines to identify all randomised control trials (RCTs) comparing analgesic modalities in AP. The primary outcome measure was improvement in pain scores as reported on visual analogue scale (VAS) on day 0, day 1 and day 2. Results Twelve RCTs were identified including 542 patients. Seven trial drugs were compared: opiates, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), placebo, local anaesthetic, epidural, paracetamol and metamizole. A weighted single-arm effects estimate showed global improvement in VAS across all modalities from baseline to day 2. On visual inspection, epidural analgesia appears to provide the greatest improvement in pain scores within the first 24hrs, however at 48hrs it was comparable to opiates. Within the first 24hrs, NSAIDs offered similar pain-relief to opiates, while placebo also showed equivalence to other modalities but then plateaued. Local anaesthetics demonstrated least overall efficacy. VAS scores for opiate and non-opiate analgesics were comparable at baseline and day 1. The identified RCTs demonstrated significant heterogeneity in pain-relief reporting with relatively small datasets per study. Conclusions Given the incidence of AP there is remarkable paucity of level 1 evidence to guide pain management. Epidural administration is most effective analgesic modality within the first 24hrs of AP. NSAIDs are an effective opiate sparing alternative during the first 24hrs.

Invasive treatment of chronic vertebral pain

Background. The need to find new effective treatments for chronic pain today is beyond doubt. Pain resistant to nonsteroidal analgesics and gabapentin stimulates the introduction of invasive treatments for chronic pain. Materials and methods. The efficacy of the combination of diclofenac and gabapentin with epidural administration of dexamethasone 8 mg and epidural neurolysis of 30% ethyl alcohol in 1% lidocaine solution was compared. Results. The combination of diclofenac and gabapentin, as well as the use of epidural glucocorticoids, has not shown sufficient efficacy. After the use of glucocorticoids, a long-term assessment on the visual analog scale was at the level of 3.5 points, which corresponded to the results of a one-time neurolysis. At 2 injections of the neurolytic mixture or more, the score on the visual analog scale was lower by 1.5 points compared to the results of glucocorticoid administration. After the 3rd stage of neurolysis, the lack of need for analgesics to correct vertebral pain is accompanied by a reliable absence of conversions to other methods of analgesia. Conclusions. The safety and efficacy of three-time epidural neurolysis with 30% ethyl alcohol in 1% lidocaine solution allow recommending this procedure to patients with chronic resistant vertebrogenic pain, especially in case of low efficacy and poor tolerability of nonsteroidal analgesics.

Pain management during labor: use of intermittent drug delivery devices for improvement of obstetric and neonatal outcome and reduction of healthcare burden: A large non-inferiority randomized clinical trial

Background Automated continuous epidural administration of local anesthetics provides a more stable analgesic block with decreasing of healthcare staff compared to manual boluses administration (TOP-UP) but is associated to high rate of operative vaginal delivery. We hypothesized that the use of programmed intermittent automated boluses (PIEB) is able to provide a good quality of analgesia and decreasing of anesthesiologic workload without increasing the rate of instrumental vaginal birth in comparison with TOP-UP technique. Laboring nulliparous woman aged between 18 and 46 years were randomized to epidural analgesia with 0.0625% levobupivacaine and sufentanil administered by PIEB or by TOP-UP techniques. Primary outcome was instrumental vaginal delivery rate and secondary outcomes were quality of analgesia, total and time-related drugs doses used, motor block, newborn outcome, and anesthesiologic workload. Results Six hundred twenty-nine were randomized, and 628 were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. The rate of instrumental vaginal delivery was similar in the PIEB and TOP-UP groups (13.2% vs 9.7%, OR 1.4 95% CI 0.8 to 2.5; p 0.21). There was no difference between groups regarding mode of delivery (cesarean section vs vaginal birth), newborn outcome, and motor block. Patients in the PIEB group received more total and time-related drugs doses and a better quality of analgesia. Anesthesiological workload was significantly reduced in the PIEB group. Conclusions Our study demonstrated that epidural anesthesia with programmed intermittent epidural boluses by an automated device provides an effective and safe management of labor analgesia with improvement of pain control and sparing of man workload compared to manual top-up protocols.

The comparative analysis of MRI data in the early period after lumbar microdiscectomies with epidural injection of polyacrylamide hydrogel

Objective: To perform a comparative analysis of MRI data obtained in the early postoperative period after repeated lumbar microdiscectomies in patients with and without epidural injection of “Nubiplant” polyacrylamide hydrogel (HG). Material and methods: The MRI data of the lumbar spine in the early postoperative period after repeated removal of herniated disc (on the 3-15th day) in 84 (100%) patients were analyzed: 30 (35,7%) patients were injected intraoperatively epidurally with “Nubiplant” HG to prevent epidural fibrosis (main group (MG) and in 54 (64,3%) patients the HG was not injected (control group (CG). Results: Comparative analysis of MRI data on the 3-15th day after surgery showed that the frequency of epidural edema and hemorrhage signs within the postoperative area in the MG was significantly lower as compared to the CG (p = 0,0444 and p = 0,0288 respectively). To assess the accuracy of the epidural administration of an artificial biopolymer Nubiplant during lumbar microdiscectomy, in the early postoperative period the following MRI criteria could be helpful: i) absence of the dural sac deformation and dislocations of the spinal root; ii) well-defined margin of the adjacent spinal root; iii) homogeneous MRI signals of the Nubiplant zone; iv) absence of Nubiplant areas outside the postoperative area; v) sufficient sectoral coverage of the adjacent root with epidurally administered Nubiplant (optimally >1800). Nubiplant” HG in the patients of the MG was evaluated, and MRI criteria for assessing the correctness of its introduction were proposed. Conclusions: In the early period after repeated lumbar microdiscectomies (on the 3-15th day), intraoperative epidural injection of “Nubiplant” HG was accompanied by a significant decrease of epidural edema and hemorrhage signs within the postoperative area. The proposed criteria of correctness of HG “Nubiplant” introduction allow unifying the approaches in radiological assessment of this patients.

Comparison of effects of low dose ropivacaine with levobupivacaine on quality of analgesia, maternal satisfaction and neonatal outcome during labor through combined spinal epidural approach: A double blind randomized study

Regional techniques in labor analgesia have proven to be very effective, with bupivacaine being the most commonly used drug. This study compares the efficacy of local anaesthetics with lower cardiotoxicity and neurotoxicity such as levobupivacaine and ropivacaine in low doses, administered intrathecally followed by Patient Controlled Epidural Analgesia (PCEA). The primary outcome and secondary outcome of the study was to compare the quality of analgesia (verbal rating score) and maternal satisfaction respectively. The Double blind prospective randomized study included 60 parturients of ASA I and II with 37-41 weeks of singleton pregnancy in active labor, cervical dilatation >4 cm, with no obstetrical or medical complication, requesting painless labor, randomized into two groups (30 each) by a computer generated randomized sequence:Group R- received intrathecal 2.5 mg ropivacaine followed by epidural administration of 10 ml 0.125% ropivacaine Group L- received intrathecal 2.5 mg levobupivacaine followed by epidural administration of 10 ml 0.125% levobupivacaine. The primary and secondary outcome of the study was to compare the quality of analgesia and maternal satisfaction respectively. Statistical testing was conducted with the statistical package for social science system version (SPSS) 17.0. Group R had late onset and shorter duration of action with lesser motor blockade, however the results were statistically insignificant. Group L had slightly less total consumption of local anaesthetic and better maternal satisfaction, but was statistically insignificant. Patients in both groups had statistically similar pain scores at various intervals. Both levobupivacaine and ropivacaine are highly effective for labor analgesia using the combined spinal epidural (CSE) technique.

Spinal subdural hematoma and subdural anesthesia following combined spinal–epidural anesthesia: a case report

Background Subdural anesthesia and spinal subdural hematoma are rare complications of combined spinal-epidural anesthesia. We present a patient who developed both after multiple attempts to achieve combined spinal–epidural anesthesia. Case presentation A 21-year-old parturient, gravida 1, para 1, with twin pregnancy at gestational age 34+ 5 weeks underwent cesarean delivery. Routine combined spinal–epidural anesthesia was planned; however, no cerebrospinal fluid outflow was achieved after several attempts. Bupivacaine (2.5 mL) administered via a spinal needle only achieved asymmetric blockade of the lower extremities, reaching T12. Then, epidural administration of low-dose 2-chlorprocaine caused unexpected blockade above T2 as well as tinnitus, dyspnea, and inability to speak. The patient was intubated, and the twins were delivered. Ten minutes after the operation, the patient was awake with normal tidal volume. The endotracheal tube was removed, and she was transferred to the intensive care unit for further observation. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging suggested a spinal subdural hematoma extending from T12 to the cauda equina. Sensory and motor function completely recovered 5 h after surgery. She denied headache, low back pain, or other neurologic deficit. The patient was discharged 6 days after surgery. One month later, repeat MRI was normal. Conclusions All anesthesiologists should be aware of the possibility of SSDH and subdural block when performing neuraxial anesthesia, especially in patients in whom puncture is difficult. Less traumatic methods of achieving anesthesia, such as epidural anesthesia, single-shot spinal anesthesia, or general anesthesia should be considered in these patients. Furthermore, vital signs and neurologic function should be closely monitored during and after surgery.

COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN EPIDURAL BUPIVACAINE WITH BUPRENORPHINE AND EPIDURAL BUPIVACAINE FOR POST-OPERATIVE ANALGESIA IN ABDOMINAL AND LOWER LIMB SURGERY

Background: Epidural administration of various analgesics gained increasing popularity following the discovery of opioid receptors in the spinal cord capable of producing potent analgesia. This effect seems to be greatest when epidural anaesthesia in continued in the post-operative period as epidural analgesia. It is now clear that epidural administration of opioids. Ours was a comparative study between epidural bupivacaine with buprenorphine and epidural bupivacaine for post-operative analgesia in abdominal and lower limb surgery. Methods: 60 patients undergoing lower abdominal and lower limb surgeries of either sex with ASA grade 1 and 2 aged between 20 and 60 years for divided into two groups. After completion of the surgery and when the effect of local anaesthetic wears of and the patients complains of pain the intended study drugs were given when visual analogue pain score touched 5 cm mark. Group – A: Patients received 8ml of 0.25% bupivacaine + 0.15mg of buprenorphine. Group – B: patients received 0.25% of bupivacaine alone. In the post-operative period the following parameters were studied, 1. Onset of analgesia, 2. Duration of analgesia, 3. Vital parameters such as heart beat, blood pressure, respiratory rate, sedation score and visual analogue score were recorded, 4. Side effects like nausea, vomiting, hypotension, respiratory depression, and pruritus allergic reaction were looked for. Results: It is observed that onset of analgesia in Group A (0.25% bupivacaine + 0.15mg buprenorphine) was 7.35 min. When compared to Group B which 15.5 min, which is statically signicant (P<0.05). Duration of analgesia in Group A is 17.23 hrs compared to Group B, which is 5.2 hrs, this is statically signicant (P<0.05). Visual analogue scale was reduced in Group A compared to Group B Conclusions: Addition of buprenorphine to bupivacaine by epidural injection for post-operative analgesia improves the onset, The duration and the quality of analgesia

Comparative study on epidural administration of dexmedetomidine, dexmedetomidine–lidocaine or lidocaine in conscious rabbits

The aim of this study was to compare the cardiorespiratory, arterial blood gas and antinociceptive effects of dexmedetomidine (D), dexmedetomidine–lidocaine (DL) or lidocaine (L) administered epidurally on conscious rabbits. Eight six-month-old male New Zealand rabbits were randomly distributed into three treatments: D (2.5 μg/kg); DL (2.5 μg/kg; 2 mg/kg); and L (2 mg/kg). The drugs were injected epidurally via a catheter. Cardiorespiratory, arterial blood gas and antinociceptive variables were recorded before administration, 5 and 10 min after drug administration, then every 10 min until the animals presented a positive response to nociceptive stimulation of perineal dermatomes. Two animals had permanent paralysis after DL treatment due to hemorrhage and congestion with neuron necrosis in spinal cord segments. There was a reduction in mean arterial pressure in treatment L at 5 and 10 min, compared with the baseline, and in treatment DL at 10–30 min. Increases in pH were observed in treatment D at 5 and 10 min, and in DL at all the times evaluated, compared with the baseline. No alterations were observed in other blood gas or electrolyte variables. Antinociceptive effects were evaluated in the perineal, sacral and lumbar regions, and were restricted to the perineal region following D and L treatment. The antinociceptive effects following DL were greater than D and L alone in all of the regions. L and D promotes short-term antinociceptive effects for up to 15 min and, when used in combination with D, increased the duration and extent of sensory block by up to 45 min.