Effects of dexamethasone on local infiltration analgesia in total knee arthroplasty: a randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: Intraoperative local infiltration analgesia has gained increasing popularity in joint replacement surgery. Because there is considerable variation among drug combinations, analgesic effects of each drug are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to clarify the efficacy of the addition of steroid to local anaesthetics in local infiltration analgesia during total knee arthroplasty. METHODS: Forty patients were randomly allocated to the steroid or control group. Patients in the steroid group received peri-articular injection of ropivacaine, dexamethasone and isepamicin, while dexamethasone was omitted from the analgesic mixture in the control group. Primary outcome was pain severity at rest using 100 mm visual analogue scale. RESULTS: Pain severity in the steroid group was lower than control group and there were significant differences between groups at post-operative day 1 and 3. Reduction in post-operative pain was associated with a decrease in serum C-reactive protein and interleukin 6 in drainage fluid. The number of patients who were able to perform straight leg raise within post-operative day 2 was 15/20 in the steroid group, which was significantly higher than the control group 5/20. CONCLUSION: Adding steroid to local anaesthetics in local infiltration analgesia reduced inflammation both locally and systemically, resulting in significant early pain relief and rapid recovery in total knee arthroplasty.

Local infusion analgesia using intra-articular double lumen catheter after total knee arthroplasty: a double blinded randomized control study.

PURPOSE: Although intra-operative local infiltration analgesia has gained increasing popularity in joint replacement surgery, it is not clear whether postoperative local infusion analgesia using an indwelling catheter provides clinically important additional effects. We, therefore, conducted a randomized controlled trial to clarify the efficacy of the originally developed local infusion analgesia technique in total knee arthroplasty. METHODS: Forty patients were randomly allocated to the local infusion analgesia or control group. Patients in the local infusion analgesia group received intermittent bolus intra-articular injection of analgesics consisting of ropivacaine, dexamethasone, and isepamicin until postoperative 48 h. Primary outcome was pain severity at rest using 100-mm visual analogue scale. RESULTS: Pain severity in patients of the local infusion analgesia group was lower than control group, and there were significant differences between groups at POD1 (p = 0.025) and POD3 (p = 0.007). Reduction of postoperative pain was associated with a decrease in C-reactive protein level and earlier achievement of straight leg raise. In addition, postoperative drain volume was reduced in the local infusion analgesia group. CONCLUSION: Although larger studies are needed to examine its safety, the local infusion analgesia alone provided clinically significant analgesic effects and rapid recovery in total knee arthroplasty.

The endoscopically measured effects of airway maneuvers and the lateral position on airway patency in anesthetized children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy.

Obstruction of the upper airway is a major challenge for anesthesiologists administering general anesthesia in spontaneously breathing children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy. Lateral positioning is a simple treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. In this study, we examined the effects of body position shifting and common airway maneuvers such as chin lift and jaw thrust on airway patency (stridor score and upper airway dimensions by endoscopy) in anesthetized children scheduled for adenotonsillectomy. Eighteen children aged 1-11 yr were anesthetized with sevoflurane. During spontaneous breathing with 5% sevoflurane and 100% oxygen, upper airway dimensions and stridor score were recorded. After baseline recording, chin lift and jaw thrust were performed in both the supine and the lateral decubitus position. Chin lift, jaw thrust, and lateral position increased the airway dimensions and improved the stridor score. Moreover, lateral positioning enhanced the effects of these airway maneuvers on airway patency. We concluded that lateral positioning combined with airway maneuvers provided better airway patency for anesthetized children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy.

The effects of chin lift and jaw thrust while in the lateral position on stridor score in anesthetized children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy.

Obstruction of the upper airway is a major challenge for anesthesiologists administering general anesthesia in spontaneously breathing patients, especially in pediatric anesthesia with adenotonsillar hypertrophy. Lateral positioning is a simple treatment for obstructive sleep apnea and also decreases collapsibility of the pharynx in anesthetized adults with obstructive sleep apnea. In this study, we examined the effects of body position shifting and common airway maneuvers, such as chin lift and jaw thrust, on airway patency (stridor score) in anesthetized children scheduled for adenotonsillectomy. Thirty children aged 1-10 yr were anesthetized with sevoflurane. During spontaneous breathing of 5% sevoflurane, stridor score was recorded. After baseline recording, chin lift and jaw thrust were performed on patients in both the supine and the lateral decubitus positions. Chin lift and jaw thrust improved the stridor score. Furthermore, lateral positioning dramatically enhanced the effects of these airway maneuvers on airway patency. Jaw thrust combined with lateral positioning provided easy airway management for the anesthesiologists. We conclude that lateral positioning combined with airway maneuvers significantly improved airway patency compared with the airway maneuvers alone for patients in the supine position.