Daily Anesthesiology Research Analysis

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the effects of hydromorphone as an adjuvant to ropivacaine serratus anterior plane block (SAPB) on postoperative analgesia and inflammatory responses in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). METHODS: This was a prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical trial. A total of 120 lung cancer patients, aged 20-75 years, with an American Society of Anesthesiologists classification of I or II and a body mass index of 18-28 kg/m², were randomly assigned to three groups: ropivacaine combined with hydromorphone SAPB (HR group), ropivacaine SAPB (R group), and control (C group). Ultrasound-guided deep SAPB was used to inject medications. The main observed indicators were postoperative visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores, serum inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein (CRP), IL-6, TNF-α), intraoperative medication dosage, postoperative complication rates, and analgesic effects. RESULTS: Postoperative VAS pain scores were significantly reduced in the HR and R groups compared to the C group, especially at 6 h postoperatively. The median VAS score in the HR group was 2.00 (inter-quartile ratio (IQR): 2.00, 2.00), which was significantly lower than that of the C group's score of 3.00 (IQR: 3.00, 3.00; P < 0.001). The CRP levels at 24 and 48 h postoperatively in the HR group were 23.80 mg/L and 21.65 mg/L, respectively, significantly lower than the C group's levels of 56.65 mg/L and 82.75 mg/L, P < 0.001. The levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were also significantly lower in the HR group than in the C group. Intraoperative propofol and remifentanil dosages in the HR group were reduced to 5.22 mg/kg/h and 7.59 µg/kg/h, respectively, lower than the C group's dosages of 5.93 mg/kg/h and 5.74 µg/kg/h, P < 0.001. The incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting in the HR group was 12.5%, which was lower than that in Group C (35.7%, P = 0.032). CONCLUSION: Ropivacaine adjuvant with hydromorphone in SAPB reducing postoperative pain and inflammatory in patients undergoing VATS, which contributed to rapid recovery. However, future studies should explore the long-term benefits and concenntration of hydromorphone of SAPB before it taken into clinical use. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Register on August 19, 2021, NCT number ChiCTR2100053893.

IMPORTANCE: Although intraperitoneal local anesthetics are commonly used following intra-abdominal surgical procedures, the level of evidence supporting their use for postoperative pain management remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of intraperitoneal local anesthetics on postoperative pain following intra-abdominal surgery. DATA SOURCES: Medline (PubMed), Embase (Embase.com), CENTRAL, Web of science and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were searched from their inception to July 15th, 2022. TRIAL SELECTION: Randomized controlled trials comparing IPLA to placebo, usual care or other analgesic regimens among patients of any age undergoing any type of surgery. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Trial selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment and the certainty of evidence were conducted in duplicate independently. Meta-analyses were performed using random effect models. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The co-primary outcomes were abdominal pain intensity at 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h after surgery. Secondary outcomes included postoperative nausea and vomiting, opioid use, recovery of gastrointestinal transit, length of hospital stay, postoperative chronic pain, persistent postoperative opioid use, quality of recovery and adverse events. RESULTS: A total of 150 trials (n = 11,821 participants were included in our systematic review (97% of trials among adults). Intraperitoneal local anesthetics reduced postoperative pain intensity at 6 h (-0.86 point [95%CI -1.02 to -0.70]), 12 h (-0.74 point [95%CI -0.93 to -0.55]), 24 h (-0.65 point [95%CI -0.82 to -0.48]), and 48 h (-0.51 point [95%CI -0.70 to -0.31]), but not at 72 h (-0.38 point [95%CI -1.04 to 0.27]), with very low to low certainty of evidence. Modelled risk difference for achieving the clinically important effect and subgroup analyses among participants with moderate or high pain showed potential clinically significant effect from IPLA. Opioid use at 24 h (-10.4 mg of oral morphine equivalent [95% CI -13.1 to -7.6]), postoperative nausea and vomiting (RR 0.79 [95% CI -0.71 to 0.88]), and time to gastrointestinal transit recovery (-3.80 h [95% CI -7.54 to -0.07]) were also reduced. We found no association for other outcomes. CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: Intraperitoneal local anesthetics may be associated with a small analgesic effect following intra-abdominal surgery. Considering the low to very low level of evidence supporting these findings, along with the limited data on adverse effects and long-term outcomes, their adoption as a standard of care intervention cannot be recommended at this stage. REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018115062.

AIM: Caudal epidural injection is used for lumbosacral radicular pain but there is a risk of vascular injection. An ultrasound-guided catheter-over-needle technique was proposed to reduce this risk. This study compared the incidence of vascular injections between the catheter-over-needle and Tuohy needle methods for caudal epidural injections. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This prospective, randomized clinical trial included patients aged ≥19 years with degenerative lumbar disease accompanied by radicular pain who were unresponsive to non-invasive treatments and scheduled for caudal epidural injection. The participants were randomized into two groups: catheter-over-needle and Tuohy needle groups. Under ultrasound guidance, the contrast medium was injected and observed in real time using fluoroscopy. An independent physician assessed the vascular injection rates. RESULTS: The incidence of vascular injection was significantly lower in the catheter-over-needle group (15.7%) than in the Tuohy needle group (37.5%; p=0.014). Chronic pain lasting >12 months was a significant risk factor for vascular injection (p=0.035). However, no statistically significant association was found between sacral opening depth and vascular injection, although the sacral opening depth was shorter in patients who received intravascular injections. CONCLUSIONS: The catheter-over-needle technique significantly reduces the risk of vascular injection. The depth of the sacral opening may also influence vascular injection.