Impact of pregabalin on early phase post-thoracotomy pain compared with epidural analgesia.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this randomized study was to compare the effects of pregabalin with epidural analgesia on early phase post-thoracotomy pain. METHODS: This study was conducted on 90 adult patients who underwent thoracotomy. Patients were randomly divided into two groups, an epidural analgesia group, where 45 patients received 0.2% ropivacaine hydrochloride and fentanyl through a thoracic epidural catheter, and a pregabalin group, where 45 patients received 75 mg pregabalin orally twice daily. Both groups were also administered orally with celecoxib along with each treatment. Numerical rating scale (NRS) and sleep interference rate (SIR) were evaluated on the first day, third day, and fifth day after surgery. Anesthetic induction time, operation time, recovery time, the use of additional analgesic drugs and adverse effects were also examined. RESULTS: NRS and SIR were significantly lower in the pregabalin group at all time points (P<0.05). The number of patients requiring additional analgesic drugs within 24 hours after surgery showed no difference between the two groups; however, the number was significantly decreased in the pregabalin group after post-operative day 1 (P<0.001). Adverse effects including pneumonia, dysuria, constipation and nausea were identified among many patients in the epidural analgesia group (P<0.05). Operation time and recovery time were the same for both groups, while the epidural analgesia group showed a significantly longer anesthetic induction time (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Pregabalin is considered to be a safe and effective treatment method which is an alternative to epidural analgesia for acute post-thoracotomy pain.

[Combined spinal-epidural anesthesia for cesarean section in a parturient with myotonic dystrophy].

Myotonic dystrophy (MD) is a muscle disorder characterized by progressive muscle wasting and weakness, and is the most common form of muscular dystrophy that begins in adulthood, often after pregnancy. MD might be related to occurrence of malignant hyperthermia. Therefore, the cesarean section is often performed for the parturient with MD. We had an experience of combined spinal-epidural anesthesia for cesarean section in a parturient complicated with MD. A 40-year-old woman had rhabdomyolysis caused by ritodrine at 15-week gestation and was diagnosed as MD by electromyography. Her first baby died due to respiratory failure fourth day after birth. She had hatchet face, slight weakness of her lower extremities, and easy fatigability. Her manual muscle test was 5/5 at upper extremities and 4/5 at lower extremities. She underwent emergency cesarean section for premature rupture of the membrane, weak pain during labor, and obstructed labor at 33-week gestation. We placed an epidural catheter from T12/L1 and punctured arachnoid with 25 G spinal needle. We performed spinal anesthesia using 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine 1.5 ml and epidural anesthesia using 2% lidocaine 6 ml. Her anesthetic level reached bilaterally to T7 and operation started 18 minutes after combined spinal-epidural anesthesia. Her baby was born 23 minutes after the anesthesia. As her baby was 1/5 at Apgar score, the baby was tracheally intubated and artificially ventilated. The cesarean section was finished in 33 minutes uneventfully. She had no adverse events and was discharged on the 8th postoperative day. Later her baby was diagnosed as congenital MD by gene analysis. Combined spinal-epidural anesthesia with the amide-typed local anesthetic agents could be useful and safe for cesarean section in the parturient with MD.

[Awake fiberoptic intubation with Parker Flex-Tip tracheal tube in a patient with obesity, goiter, and laryngo-tracheal shift].

A 59-year-old woman with a body mass index of 30 and an edematous, tender goiter was scheduled for subtotal thyroidectomy. She had a history of dyspnea, cough, hoarseness, sleep disturbance in the supine position, difficulty in expelling sputum, and inability to rotate her neck to the left. Chest CT showed an adenomatous goiter, measuring 42 x 57 x 105 mm, with invasion into the mediastinal space, 17 mm right glottic shift, and 21 mm right tracheal shift. Because of her goiter and laryngo-tracheal shift, we anticipated a difficult intubation and ventilation. Awake fiberoptic intubation was selected for anesthesia induction, and was easily performed using a Parker Flex-Tip tracheal tube (Parker Medical, Highland Ranch, Colorado, USA), after intravenous injection of 200 microg of fentanyl, 8% lidocaine pump spray on the larynx with a direct laryngoscope, and 5 ml of 4% lidocaine spray on the vocal cords and trachea through a bronchoscope. The operation was completed successfully without any adverse events. Awake fiberoptic intubation with a Parker Flex-Tip tracheal tube is easily performed in a patient with a difficult airway due to obesity, goiter, and laryngo-tracheal shift.