Topical pharyngeal anesthesia with articaine for gastroscopy: a double-blinded, randomized cross-over study in healthy volunteers.

OBJECTIVES: The benefits of topical pharyngeal anesthesia for gastroscopy remain under debate. Articaine, a local anesthetic with fast onset and offset of action as well as low systemic toxicity, could be a promising choice for topical anesthesia. The objective of this study was to assess whether topical pharyngeal anesthesia with articaine is beneficial in sedated gastroscopy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This randomized double-blinded cross-over study included nine volunteers who underwent two gastroscopies under conscious sedation. One was performed with topical pharyngeal anesthesia with articaine and the other with placebo. Hemodynamic parameters including autonomic nervous system state were recorded prior to and during the endoscopic procedure. The endoscopist and the volunteer assessed the endoscopy after the examination. RESULTS: Topical pharyngeal anesthesia with articaine resulted in less discomfort during esophageal intubation and higher patient satisfaction with the procedure. Topical pharyngeal anesthesia with articaine did not increase satisfaction or facilitate the procedure as rated by the endoscopist. There were no clinically relevant differences in hemodynamic parameters. CONCLUSION: The use of articaine for topical pharyngeal anesthesia results in less intubation-related discomfort and better satisfaction.

Goal-directed fluid management associates with fewer postoperative fluid collections in pancreatoduodenectomy patients.

BACKGROUND: The association between perioperative fluid management and complications in pancreatoduodenectomy patients remains controversial. We explored the association between fluid management and radiological signs of complications. METHODS: We examined pancreatoduodenectomy patients operated between July 2014 and December 2015 (n = 125) and between January 2017 and June 2018 (n = 124). The first cohort received intraoperative fluid management according to a goal-directed strategy and the second cohort was treated conventionally. We analyzed fluid administration, edema visible in computed tomography (CT) scans seven days postoperatively, and radiological signs of complications occurring up to 30 days. We performed multivariable logistic regression analyses to identify risk factors for fluid collections. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference in postoperative edema via CT scans emerged between the fluid management groups. However, the intraperitoneal space expanded in patients with severe Clavien-Dindo complications compared with patients experiencing mild or no complications (19.1% (IQR 10.4-40.5) vs 2.5% (IQR -7.9-16.6), p = 0.004). Fluid collections were less frequent in the goal-directed group than in the conventional fluid management group (16.8% vs 34.7%, p = 0.001). Risk factors for fluid collections included main pancreatic duct size ≤3 mm, less intraoperative fluid volume accompanying conventional fluid management, a lower postoperative urine output, and postoperative congestive heart failure. The goal-directed group received more intraoperative fluids than the conventional fluid management group and postoperative urine output was higher in the goal-directed group on postoperative days 1-3. CONCLUSIONS: Optimization of intraoperative fluid management through target-controlled strategies and early diuresis were associated with a lower frequency of fluid collections in postoperative CT.

Optimal Perioperative Fluid Therapy Associates with Fewer Complications After Pancreaticoduodenectomy.

BACKGROUND: Optimal fluid management in pancreaticoduodenectomy patients remains contested. We aimed to examine the association between perioperative fluid administration and postoperative complications. METHODS: We studied 168 pancreaticoduodenectomy patients operated in 2015 (n = 93) or 2017 (n = 75) at Helsinki University Hospital. In 2015, patients received intraoperative fluids following a goal-directed approach and, in 2017, according to anesthesiologist's clinical practice (conventional fluid management). We analyzed the differences in perioperative fluid administration between the groups, specifically examining the occurrence of severe complications (Clavien-Dindo ≥ III), pancreatic fistulas, cardiovascular complications, and the length of hospital stay. RESULTS: The goal-directed group received more intraoperative fluids than the conventional fluid management group (12.0 ml/kg/h vs. 8.3 ml/kg/h, p < 0.001). Urine output (770 ml vs. 575 ml, p = 0.004) and intraoperative fluid balance (9.4 ml/kg/h vs. 6.3 ml/kg/h, p < 0.001) were higher in the goal-directed group than in the conventional fluid management group. Severe surgical complications (19.4% vs. 38.7%, p = 0.009) as well as clinically relevant pancreatic fistulas (1.1% vs. 10.7%, p = 0.011) occurred more frequently in patients receiving conventional fluid management. Moreover, the conventional fluid management group experienced longer hospital stays (9.0 vs. 11.5 days, p = 0.02). Lower intraoperative fluid volume accompanying conventional fluid management was associated with a higher risk of severe postoperative complications compared with higher volume in the goal-directed group (odds ratio 2.58 (95% confidence interval 1.04-6.42), p = 0.041). CONCLUSIONS: The goal-directed group experienced severe complications less frequently. Our findings indicate that optimizing the intraoperative fluid administration benefits patients, while adopting a too-restrictive approach represents an inferior choice.

Randomized comparison of the feasibility of three anesthetic techniques for day-case open inguinal hernia repair.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Comparison of local anesthetic infiltration (LAI), spinal anesthesia (SPIN) and total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) for open inguinal herniorrhaphy. We hypothesized that patients receiving LAI could be discharged faster than SPIN and TIVA patients. DESIGN: Randomized, prospective trial. SETTING: University hospital day-surgery center. PATIENTS: 156 adult male patients (ASA 1-3) undergoing day-case open inguinal herniorrhaphy. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomized to either LAI (lidocaine+ropivacaine), SPIN (bupivacaine+fentanyl) or TIVA (propofol+remifentanil). Perioperative Ringer infusion was 1.5mL/h. Urinary bladder was scanned before and after surgery. Interviews were performed on postoperative days 1, 7 and 90. MEASUREMENTS: Duration of surgery, duration of the patients' stay in the operating room and time until their readiness for discharge home. Patient satisfaction and adverse effects were registered. MAIN RESULTS: Surgery lasted longer in LAI group (median 40min) than in SPIN group (35min) (P=.003) and TIVA group (33min) (P<.001). Although surgery was shortest in TIVA group, TIVA patients stayed longer in the operating room than LAI patients (P=.001). Time until readiness for discharge was shorter in LAI group (93min) than in TIVA (147min) and SPIN (190min) groups (P<.001). Supplementary lidocaine infiltration was given to 32 LAI patients, and IV fentanyl to 29 LAI and 4 SPIN patients. Ephedrine was required in 34 TIVA, 5 LAI and 5 SPIN patients. One SPIN and three LAI patients had to be given TIVA and another SPIN patient LAI to complete the operations. Urinary retention was absent. Discomfort in the scar (26%) three months postoperatively was not anesthesia-related. CONCLUSIONS: Logistically, LAI was superior because of the fastest recovery postoperatively. The anesthetic techniques were adequate for surgery in all but a few LAI and SPIN patients. Lack of urinary retention was probably related to the small IV infusion volumes.

Perioperative Paravertebral Regional Anaesthesia and Breast Cancer Recurrence.

AIM: Retrospective and basic science data suggest that perioperative regional anaesthesia (PRA) may reduce tumour recurrence after cancer surgery. This retrospective archive study tested the anti-metastatic effect of PRA. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We screened the database of the Helsinki University Hospital for patients with breast cancer who had either perioperative paravertebral block (PVB) or sham block (SHAM) in 2000-2003. The exclusion criteria were previous cancer, no cancer, and loss to follow-up. The end-points were disease-free (DFS), distant recurrence-free (DRFS), breast cancer-specific (BCSS) and overall (OS) survival. RESULTS: The median follow-up time of the 45 PVB and 41 SHAM patients analysed was 12 years. DFS was 79% and 83%, DRFS 84% and 92%, BCSS 81% and 95%, OS 74% and 93% in the PVB and SHAM groups, respectively (p-value for OS = 0.035). CONCLUSION: The results do not demonstrate any anti-metastatic effect of PRA.

Randomised comparison of hyperbaric articaine and hyperbaric low-dose bupivacaine along with fentanyl in spinal anaesthesia for day-case inguinal herniorrhaphy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Low-dose mixture of hyperbaric bupivacaine and fentanyl is commonly used in day-case spinal anaesthesia. Using hyperbaric articaine, the onset may be faster and duration more predictable than with bupivacaine-fentanyl. We compared these two spinal anaesthetics for inguinal herniorrhaphy. METHODS: Adult patients were randomised to spinal anaesthesia with hyperbaric articaine 84 mg (group A, n = 40) or hyperbaric bupivacaine 7 mg along with fentanyl 10 µg (group B+F, n = 40). A blinded observer tested the block characteristics. Aiming at sensory block spread to T10 dermatome, the operating table was tilted head-end up or down 10° (once or twice), as required. Postoperative telephone interviews were performed. RESULTS: All patients in group A had a sensory block to T10 in a median time of 4 (range 2-20) min. In group B+F, the median onset time of T10 analgesia was 10 (2-30) min (P < 0.001), but T10 analgesia was not reached in seven of 40 B+F patients. A head-up tilt was needed in 37 of 40 group A patients to prevent from too extensive cephalad spread of block, and 34 of 40 group B+F patients needed a head-down tilt to enhance cephalad spread of analgesia. To treat hypotension, 6.4 mg of ephedrine was required, on average, in group A and 1.8 = mg in group B+F (P = 0.01). Median time to recovery from sensory block was significantly shorter in group A (2.5 h) than in group B+F (3 h; P = 0.002). General anaesthesia was needed in three patients (group A, two patients: sensory block too short; group B+F, one patient: sensory block too limited). CONCLUSION: Hyperbaric articaine leads to faster onset of block and faster recovery than bupivacaine along with fentanyl. Hypotension is more common with articaine. The onset and extension of the spinal block are unpredictable when using these techniques.

Epidural analgesia diminished pain but did not otherwise improve enhanced recovery after laparoscopic sigmoidectomy: a prospective randomized study.

BACKGROUND: The primary hypothesis for this study was that epidural analgesia reduces the use of opioids and thus advances bowel function and oral intake and shortens hospital stay after laparoscopic sigmoidectomy performed according to principles of enhanced recovery after surgery. METHODS: For this study, 60 patients with complicated diverticular disease were randomized to the epidural anesthesia group or the control group before surgery. Postoperative oxycodone consumption, pain, and recovery parameters were followed for 14 days. RESULTS: The epidural group needed less oxycodone than the control group until 12 h postoperatively. They experienced significantly less pain related to coughing and motion until postoperative day 2. In the epidural group, fewer patients experienced significant pain, and the duration of postoperative pain was shorter. Postoperative oral intake, bowel function, hospital stay, and overall complication rate were similar in the two groups. However, the control group had more postoperative hematomas. CONCLUSIONS: Epidural analgesia significantly alleviates pain, reducing the need for opioids during the first 48 h after laparoscopic sigmoidectomy. However, epidural analgesia does not alter postoperative oral intake, mobilization, or length of hospital stay.

Preincisional paravertebral block reduces the prevalence of chronic pain after breast surgery.

We reported earlier that preincisional paravertebral block (PVB) provides significant immediate postoperative analgesia after breast cancer surgery. In the same patients (n = 60), a 1-yr follow-up was performed to find out whether PVB could also reduce the prevalence of postoperative chronic pain. The follow-up consisted of a 14-day symptom diary and telephone interviews 1, 6, and 12 mo after surgery. The 14-day consumption of analgesics was similar in the 30 PVB and the 30 control patients. However, 1 mo after surgery, the intensity of motion-related pain was lower (P = 0.005) in the PVB group. Six months after surgery, the prevalence of any pain symptoms (P = 0.029) was lower in the PVB group. Finally, at 12 mo after surgery, in addition to the prevalence of pain symptoms (P = 0.003) and the intensity of motion-related pain (P = 0.003), the intensity of pain at rest (P = 0.011) was lower in the PVB group. These findings were independent of whether or not axillary dissection had been performed. The incidence of neuropathic pain was low (two and three patients in the PVB and control groups, respectively). In addition to providing acute postoperative pain relief, preoperative PVB seems to reduce the prevalence of chronic pain 1 yr after breast cancer surgery.

Drug-related visits to a district hospital emergency room.

The role of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) as a cause of hospital visits varies depending on the type of hospitals. Our aim was to determine the incidence of drug-related emergency department visits to a district hospital, and to identify the drugs and patient groups involved. All patient visits to the emergency department of a Finnish district hospital were evaluated prospectively for 6 months. The physician on duty and a clinical pharmacologist selected all possibly drug-related visits for further scrutinising. The causality assessment (drug-related or not) was judged according to WHO criteria, based on the patients' files, including laboratory and other data. Of the 7113 evaluated visits, 167 (2.3%) were "certainly" or "probably" drug-related; 102 (1.4% of all) were related to ADRs and 65 (0.9%) to intentional overdoses. The most common ADRs were gastrointestinal symptoms (n=17) caused by antibiotics, opioids, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory or cytostatic drugs. The International Classification of Disease (ICD-10) codes on patients' files were insensitive to disclose ADRs. The ADR patients were older (mean age 57 years) than the intentional overdose patients (38 years; P<0.001). Males predominated in the intentional overdose group (38 males, 27 females) but not in the ADR patients. The majority of intentional overdoses was caused by psychotropics. The ADRs lead to hospitalisation in a higher frequency (51%) than did the intentional overdoses (35%). In conclusion, the incidence of "certainly" or "probably" drug-related visits to the district hospital emergency room was relatively low. The ICH-10 codes on patients' files were found to be insensitive to disclose the ADRs, even when they lead to hospital admission, casting doubts on the usefulness of ICH codes alone in ADR evaluation.

Single-injection paravertebral block before general anesthesia enhances analgesia after breast cancer surgery with and without associated lymph node biopsy.

Paravertebral block (PVB) seems to decrease postoperative pain and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) after breast surgery, but the studies have not been placebo controlled. We studied 60 patients scheduled for breast cancer surgery randomly given single-injection PVB at T3 with bupivacaine 5 mg/mL (1.5 mg/kg) or saline before general anesthesia. The patient and attending investigators were blinded; the PVB or the sham block was performed behind a curtain by an anesthesiologist not involved in the study. The patients given PVB with bupivacaine needed 40% less IV opioid medication (primary outcome variable) in the postanesthesia care unit, had a longer latency to the first opioid dose, and had less pain at rest after 24 h than the control patients (P < 0.01). They also had less PONV in the postanesthesia care unit (P < 0.05), were less sedated until 90 min (P < 0.05), and performed better in the digit symbol substitution test at 90 min and the ocular coordination test 60-120 min after surgery (P < 0.05). The average peak bupivacaine plasma concentration was 750 ng/mL. One patient had bilateral convulsions immediately after bupivacaine injection. We conclude that PVB before general anesthesia for breast cancer surgery reduced postoperative pain, opioid consumption, and occurrence of PONV and improved recovery from anesthesia.

Pharmacokinetics of ropivacaine in uremic and nonuremic patients after axillary brachial plexus block.

Reports on the efficacy and pharmacokinetics of local anesthetics in uremic patients have been controversial. Our study involved 29 uremic and 28 nonuremic patients. We performed axillary block with ropivacaine 300 mg (50 mL). Venous blood samples were drawn for 24 h for assay of total and unbound plasma ropivacaine, 3-hydroxyropivacaine, pipecoloxylidide (PPX), and serum alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein (AAG). Block quality was similar in both groups. No toxicity occurred. Plasma clearance of ropivacaine was smaller and the area under the concentration-time curve of ropivacaine, 3-hydroxyropivacaine, and PPX larger in the uremic patients. The plasma concentration of PPX increased until 24 h in uremic patients whose AAG concentrations were also larger throughout the study. The free fraction of ropivacaine in plasma was smaller in the uremic group when measured 60 min and 12 h after the block, but the unbound concentration of ropivacaine was larger in the uremic group at 12 h. Enhanced absorption of ropivacaine into circulation, increased binding to AAG, and probably reduced urinary excretion of the metabolites lead to larger total plasma concentrations of ropivacaine and its main metabolites in uremic patients.