Ultrasound-Guided Regional Analgesia for Post-Cesarean Pain

Pain management after a surgical intervention is one of the fundamental pillars for optimal patient recovery. In obstetric patients, this management may affect the mother and the newborn. The gold standard for analgesic management is the use of intrathecal morphine due to its long-lasting effect; however, adverse effects related to the use of opioids are evidenced, whether administered intrathecally or systemically in case of contraindication to the neuraxial approach or if a long-acting opioid is not available. Cesarean sections have been associated with moderate-to-severe postoperative pain. Multimodal analgesic management seeks to minimize the undesirable effects on the mother-newborn binomial in order to increase maternal satisfaction. The most studied regional blocks for this surgery are the transversus abdominis plane block and the ilioinguinal-iliohypogastric block, which shows contradictory evidence at the time of evaluate pain where there is no significant difference compared with intrathecal morphine, but there were fewer side effects with the TAP block group when assessing pruritus, nausea, and vomiting. Quadratus lumborum and erectus spinae plane block demonstrate its usefulness with better pain management compared with TAP block regardless of them having a higher level of complexity due to the visceral pain control; but there is no evidence with methodologic quality enough that demonstrates better outcomes compared with intrathecal morphine.

Neuraxial administration of morphine combined with lidocaine induces regional antinociception in inland bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps)

OBJECTIVE To assess the antinociceptive efficacy and safety of neuraxial morphine in inland bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps). ANIMALS 10 healthy adult bearded dragons. PROCEDURES Animals were sedated with alfaxalone (15 mg/kg) SC prior to neuraxial injections. In a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover design, animals received preservative-free morphine (0.5 mg/kg) combined with lidocaine (2 mg/kg) or lidocaine (2 mg/kg) only (control treatment). For both treatments, saline (0.9% NaCl) solution was used for dilution to a total volume of 0.3 mL/kg. If the initial injection did not result in motor block of the pelvic limbs or cloaca relaxation within 10 minutes, a second injection was performed. Measurements consisted of bilateral mechanical stimulation of the limbs and at 25%, 50%, and 75% of the trunk’s length as well as cloacal tone to assess spread and duration of motor block. Pelvic limb withdrawal latencies in response to a thermal noxious stimulus were measured over a 48-hour period to assess antinociception. RESULTS Success rate following the first injection was 90% (18/20 injections) and increased to 100% following a second injection. Motor block occurred within 5 minutes with both treatments. Pelvic limb withdrawal latencies were significantly prolonged following neuraxial morphine versus control treatment for at least 12 hours after injection. By 24 hours, no effect of morphine on pelvic limb latencies was detectable. CLINICAL RELEVANCE These results demonstrated that neuraxial administration of morphine results in regional antinociceptive effects for at least 12 hours and has no clinically relevant adverse effects in healthy bearded dragons. This technique has potential for providing regional analgesia in this species.

Case Report: Discontinuous Spontaneous Ventilating Anesthesia for McKeown Esophagectomy by Laryngeal Mask: A Case Series—A Novel Approach of Discontinuous Spontaneous Ventilating Anesthesia for Esophagectomy

Double lumen endobronchial ventilation in McKeown esophagectomy is common for esophageal cancer. In spite of most patients could be extubated immediately after surgery under adequate multimodal analgesia, still some patients require extended mechanical ventilation or airway support post-surgery because of pain or difficult respiration. The present study reported a novel challenge for McKeown esophagectomy with discontinuous spontaneous ventilating anesthesia by the laryngeal mask. Three esophageal cancer patients underwent McKeown esophagectomy under discontinuous spontaneous ventilating anesthesia with local and regional analgesia and appropriate sedation. Two of them were accomplished under non-intubated video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (NIVATS), and then, the abdominal and neck surgery was managed under laryngeal mask airway with appropriate muscle relaxation. One patient was endured high PetCO2 level, and converted to regular double lumen endobronchial intubation for safety. However, from the two successful cases, we still proved that the discontinuous spontaneous ventilating anesthesia achieved the same anesthetic effect as bronchial intubation under general anesthesia for McKeown esophagectomy, which reduced the postoperative pharyngeal discomfort, might be beneficial to the patients for enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS).

A guide to regional analgesia for Total Knee Arthroplasty

Regional analgesia has been introduced successfully into the postoperative pain management after total knee arthroplasty, reducing pain scores, opioid use and adverse effects. Combination of regional analgesia techniques is associated with better pain management and lower side effects than single regional techniques. Adductor canal block provides good analgesia and considerably lower detrimental effect in muscular strength than femoral nerve block, enhancing surgical recovery. Infiltration techniques may have equivalent analgesic effect than epidural analgesia and peripheral nerve blocks, however there should be awareness of dose dependent toxicity. Novel long-acting local anesthetics role for regional analgesia is still to be determined, and will require larger randomized trials to support its advantage over traditional local anesthetics. Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2021;6:1181-1192. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.6.210045

EP.FRI.309 Rib fractures – an overlooked part of general surgical take? An audit and creation of a local pathway

Introduction Battle et al devised a validated scoring system to stratify patients with rib fractures (RF) at risk of complications based on age; number of fractures; oxygenation; respiratory illness and anticoagulation use. Risk of complications increases with score e.g. ≤10 and ≥31 give estimated complications risk of 13% and 88% respectively (2). Method We conducted a local retrospective audit of 45 patients admitted with RF over 26 months. Initial and subsequent analgesia was recorded. Four subgroups were created based on Batlle score: ≤10, 11-20, 21-30, ≥31. Outcomes included complications, length of stay (LOS) and mortality. Results Whilst overall median score was 18, we observed 20% (n = 9) scored ≥31. Initially, oral analgesia alone was given to 64% of patients; 66% went on to require lidocaine patch and 15% required patient controlled analgesia. Only 2.2% (n = 1) received regional analgesia. Despite 35.6% (n = 16) scoring ≥21, only four proactive critical care referrals were made. Overall pneumonia rate was 20% (n = 9); 44% (n = 4) in the ≥31 group. There were two deaths overall, both in the ≥31 group. Median LOS was 3 days; however 44% (n = 4) of the ≥31 group required ≥7 days. Conclusion One in five RF cases scored ≥31 and consequently had the worst outcomes. There was initial suboptimal analgesia, inadequate early escalation of higher risk patients to critical care and low rates of regional blocks. Consequently, we have created a local pathway based on Battle score (2) to standardise risk stratification and management of these patients in order to improve outcomes.