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.

Opioid-free versus opioid-based anesthesia in pancreatic surgery

Background Opioid-free anesthesia (OFA) is associated with significantly reduced cumulative postoperative morphine consumption in comparison with opioid-based anesthesia (OBA). Whether OFA is feasible and may improve outcomes in pancreatic surgery remains unclear. Methods Perioperative data from 77 consecutive patients who underwent pancreatic resection were included and retrospectively reviewed. Patients received either an OBA with intraoperative remifentanil (n = 42) or an OFA (n = 35). OFA included a combination of continuous infusions of dexmedetomidine, lidocaine, and esketamine. In OBA, patients also received a single bolus of intrathecal morphine. All patients received intraoperative propofol, sevoflurane, dexamethasone, diclofenac, neuromuscular blockade. Postoperative pain management was achieved by continuous wound infiltration and patient-controlled morphine. The primary outcome was postoperative pain (Numerical Rating Scale, NRS). Opioid consumption within 48 h after extubation, length of stay, adverse events within 90 days, and 30-day mortality were included as secondary outcomes. Episodes of bradycardia and hypotension requiring rescue medication were considered as safety outcomes. Results Compared to OBA, NRS (3 [2–4] vs 0 [0–2], P < 0.001) and opioid consumption (36 [24–52] vs 10 [2–24], P = 0.005) were both less in the OFA group. Length of stay was shorter by 4 days with OFA (14 [7–46] vs 10 [6–16], P < 0.001). OFA (P = 0.03), with postoperative pancreatic fistula (P = 0.0002) and delayed gastric emptying (P < 0.0001) were identified as only independent factors for length of stay. The comprehensive complication index (CCI) was the lowest with OFA (24.9 ± 25.5 vs 14.1 ± 23.4, P = 0.03). There were no differences in demographics, operative time, blood loss, bradycardia, vasopressors administration or time to extubation among groups. Conclusions In this series, OFA during pancreatic resection is feasible and independently associated with a better outcome, in particular pain outcomes. The lower rate of postoperative complications may justify future randomized trials to test the hypothesis that OFA may improve outcomes and shorten length of stay.

The Intrathecal Morphine for Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy (IMPELD) Study: Rationale and Protocol for a Double-blinded Randomized Placebo-controlled Trial

BackgroundPercutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD), a minimally invasive spinal technique for lumbar disc herniation (LDH), has gained popularity globally and yielded satisfying results. However, PELD is often performed on awaking patients to avoid nerve injury, thus the intraoperative analgesia of PELD is sometimes insufficient. The effect of intrathecal morphine (ITM) has been well proved in various surgical specialties, and this study aims to investigate the effectiveness and safety of ITM on PELD.MethodsThe intrathecal morphine for percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (IMPELD) trial is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. The 90 eligible LDH patients undergoing PELD will be randomly assigned to receive either ITM or placebo during spinal anesthesia, at a 1:1 ratio, with a one-month follow-up period. Average intraoperative pain intensity will be the primary outcome. Secondary outcome measures include intraoperative pain intensity assessed at each 30 min intraoperatively, postoperative pain intensity, perioperative analgesia requirements, functional evaluation, radiographic characteristics, overall satisfaction, other characteristics and adverse events.DiscussionCurrently, there is a lack of scientific evidence to provide a reliable method to reduce intraoperative pain of PELD. The IMPELD trial was designed to provide evidence regarding whether 100 ug of ITM is an effective and safe coanalgesic approach for PELD procedure.Trial registrationThe trial was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (identifier ChiCTR2000039842). Registered on November 11th, 2020.

Gabapentin and intrathecal morphine combination therapy results in decreased oral narcotic use and more consistent pain scores after posterior spinal fusion for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Background Gabapentin and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) can reduce postoperative pain scores, postoperative opioid use, and time to completing physical therapy compared to PCA alone after posterior spinal fusion (PSF) for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Gabapentin combined with intrathecal morphine has not been studied. The primary purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate whether perioperative gabapentin and intrathecal morphine provide more effective pain control than intrathecal morphine alone after PSF for AIS. Methods Patients aged 11 to 18 years who underwent PSF for AIS were identified. Patients who received intrathecal morphine only (ITM group) were matched by age and sex to patients who received intrathecal morphine and perioperative gabapentin (ITM+GABA group). The ITM+GABA group received gabapentin preoperatively and for up to 2 days postoperatively. Both groups received oxycodone and the same non-narcotic adjuvant medications. Results Our final study group consisted of 50 patients (25 ITM, 25 ITM+GABA). The ITM+GABA group had significantly lower mean total oxycodone consumption during the hospitalization (0.798 vs 1.036 mg/kg, P<0.015). While the ITM group had a lower mean pain score between midnight and 8 am on POD 1 (2.4 vs 3.7, P=0.026), pain scores were significantly more consistent throughout the postoperative period in ITM+GABA group. The ITM+GABA group experienced less nausea/vomiting (52% vs 84%, P=0.032) and pruritus (44% vs 72%, P=0.045). Time to physical therapy discharge and length of hospital stay were similar. Conclusion Addition of gabapentin resulted in reduced oral opioid consumption and more consistent postoperative pain scores after PSF for AIS. The patients who received intrathecal morphine and gabapentin also experienced a lower rate of nausea/vomiting and pruritus. Trial registration All data was collected retrospectively from chart review, with institutional IRB approval. Trial registration is not applicable.

Severe urinary retention secondary to intrathecal morphine pain pump: a case report

An elderly female with multiple comorbidities presented with acute onset of severe urinary retention immediately following placement of an intrathecal morphine pain pump. This case highlights the need to closely monitor chronic pain patients with complex medical histories who may be uniquely predisposed to opioid-mediated severe urinary retention.