High opioid exposure is a prognostic factor for shorter overall survival, according to a study presented here at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium. The study involved patients with stage IV non-hematologic malignancies. For these and other patients with advanced cancer, pain is a challenging problem. “Opioids are […]
Read MoreThe opioid tramadol is an effective analgesic for patients with clinically suspected acute appendicitis, according to the results of a prospective study presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). “Tramadol…can provide significant reduction in abdominal pain and tenderness without altering the diagnostic confidence of the surgeon…in patients with suspected […]
Read MoreJ Clin Anesth, 2015 Sep 28. Authors: Pakpirom J et al OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the length of postanesthetic care unit (PACU) stay and recovery profiles of elderly patients after general anesthesia between sevoflurane and desflurane. DESIGN: Randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial. SETTING: Tertiary care hospital, university hospital. PATIENTS: Eighty elderly patients […]
Read MoreAuthors: Moore RA et al BACKGROUND: This is an updated version of the original Cochrane overview published in Issue 9, 2011. That overview considered both efficacy and adverse events, but adverse events are now dealt with in a separate overview.Thirty-nine Cochrane reviews of randomised trials have examined the analgesic efficacy of individual drug interventions in […]
Read MoreJ Clin Anesth, 2015 Sep 28. Authors: Kim HY et al STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare analgesic efficacy of ultrasound (US) guidance alone and US guidance combined with nerve stimulation (NS) for continuous femoral nerve block (CFNB) in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). DESIGN: Prospective, randomized double-blind trial. SETTING: Postanesthesia care unit and general ward. PATIENTS: Fifty […]
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