• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.87-90
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• 1988

In recent years the use of epidural opiates has increased and although this method of pain relief has shown good results in clinical practice It is still subject to certain drawbacks, the most serious of which appears to be delayed respiratory depression. Since ketamine administered systemically is unlikely to produce respiratory depression it seemed worthwhile to investigate the possibility of exploiting the potent analgesic property to ketamine by its epidural administration. The analgesic effect of ketamine 4 mg, administered epidural space, was evaluated. The duration of pain relief varied from less than 3 hours in 20% to over 24 hours in 30% of the cases. In 62.5% of the cases pain relief exceeded 6 hours. There was no evidence of respiratory depression, and there no postoperative neurologic sequelae. The present results indicated the need for further studies to compare the efficacy and safety of epidural ketamine with the response to epidural opioids for the relief of postoperative pain.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.266-271
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• 1995

Recently, continuous epidural infusion of narcotics and local anesthetics have been used for postoperative pain relief. This study was designed to compare the analgesic efficacy and side effects of continuous epidural infusion of narcotics and local anesthetics with those of intramuscular administration of meperidine, for postoperative pain relief after cesarean section. Forty patients were divided into 2 groups of 20 patients each ; Continuous epidural group and control (IM meperidine) group. Before each operation, the epidural group had an epidural catheter placed (L1-2) and following each operation, a bolus of 1%~8ml of lidocaine was injected, followed by continuous infusion of morphine 3 mg/day, fentanyl 300g, 2% mepivacaine 20 ml, 0.5% bupivacaine 20 ml and normal saline 40 ml. The control group received meperidine 50mg IM injection as needed. We evaluated analgesic efficacy with VAS (Visual analogue scale) and side effect at 1, 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 hour intervals after the operation. The results were as follows: 1) Continuous epidural group was superior to the control group with respect to postoperative analgesia. 2) Side effects (pruritus, nausea & vomiting) were more frequent in the epidural group.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.103-115
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• 2007

The aim of this study was to compare the reaction of the cardiovascular system, and the anesthetic effect among 3 experimental groups, epidural administration of medetomidine as a single agent, the combination of buprenorphine and medetomidine, and the combination of fentanyl and medetomidine. Twenty one dogs were anesthetized with isoflurane and allowed to breathe spontaneously. Epidural, arterial, and venous catheters were inserted. The tip of epidural catheter was positioned at the level of the space between the sixth and seventh lumbar vertebra. After a stable plane of anesthesia was achieved, these dogs were each administered one of the following treatments epidurally : medetomidine $10{\mu}g/kg$ (Group M), a combination of medetomidine $5{\mu}g/kg$ and buprenorphine $10{\mu}g/kg$ (Group M/B), and a combination of medetomidine $5{\mu}g/kg$ and fentanyl $10{\mu}g/kg$ (Group M/F). Heart rate (HR), Respiratory rate (RR), End-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2), and arterial blood pressure were measured before drug administration (base line) and 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 min postinjection. Blood gas analysis was performed before injection and 5, 15, 25, 35, 45, 60 min postinjection. Isoflurane was discontinued 80 min postinjection and pain/motor function were evaluated up to 260 min postinjection every 15 min. At the early stage of drug introduction (until 5 min), the HR was decreased significantly in all 3 groups compared with base line. In Group M, HR was significantly decreased compared with the other 2 groups. With time (starting 20 min after drug introduction), the HR was decreased significantly in Group M/B in respect to base line. However, no significant difference was seen number-wise in all 3 groups. During 60 min after drug introduction, the systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressures were highest in Group M and lowest in Group M/F. Among 3 groups, drug action and motor loss duration were longest in Group M/F. Analgesic effect observed in the M/F group was the most prominent and long-lasting, compared to those seen in the other 2 groups. Given the fact that the recovery of motor function takes place in a short period of time after analgesic effects disappeared, additional use of M/F depending on the patient's condition would be a good way to achieve effective pain management. However, proper care should be taken to ensure the function of cardiovascular system in the patient because the administration of M/F under isoflurane anesthesia results in a significant decline in arterial blood pressure ($65{\pm}10mmHg$).

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.235-243
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• 1995

A retrospective study was performed to evaluate the effects, and side effects, of epidural analgesia for postoperative pain relief of 2,381 surgical patients who received general-epidural, or epidural anesthesia only. Anesthesia records, patients charts, and pain control records were reviewed and classified according to: age, sex, body weight, department, operation site, epidural puncture site, degree of pain relief by injection mode & epidural injectate, and side effects(including nausea, vomiting, pruritus, urinary retention and respiratory depression). The results were as follows: 1) From the total of 2,381 patients, there were 1,563(66%) female patients; 1.032(43%) patients were from Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2) Lower abdomen, thorax, lower extremity and upper abdomen in the operation site; and lumbar, upper, lower thoracic in puncture site were order of decreasing frequency. Length of epidural injection for pain relief averaged $1.72{\pm}1.02$ days. 3) Ninety three percent of the patients experienced mild or no pain in the postoperative course. Analgesic quality was not affected by the kind of epidural injectate. 4) Nausea occurred in 3.2% of all patients, vomiting in 1.1%, pruritus 0.9%, urinary retention 0.6%, respiratory depression 0.08%. 5) Frequency of nausea was higher with female patients compared to male patients(p<0.05). 6) Pruritus frequency was higher with male patients than female patients(p<0.05); and more frequent with patients who received epidural injection with morphine than patients who received epidural injection without morphine(p<0.01). 7) Urinary retention was higher in female patients, and more frequent with patients who had received epidural injection with morphine than epidural injection without morphine(p<0.05). 8) There were two cases of respiratory depression. The course of treatment consisted of: cessation of epidural infusion, then administration of oxygen and intravenous naloxone. We conclude that postoperative epidural analgesia with a combination of local anesthetics and opiate is and effective method for postoperative pain relief with low incidence of side effects. However, patients should be carefully evaluated as rare but severe complications of respiratory depression may ensue.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.196-202
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• 1997

Background: Various pain treatments have been administered to relieve patients suffering from postoperative pain. Among these, epidural or intravenous opiate administration is by far the most widly applied treatment in recent times. However it was our objective to device a more effective and safe means of postoperative analgesia. Methods: We studied 110 healthy pregnant women scheduled for delivery by elective cesarean section. EPI(epidural)-group is administered morphine 1.5 mg and 0.25% bupivacaine 8 ml as bolus dose, then, a mixture of morphine 6 mg and 0.125% bupivacaine 95 ml as continuous dose via epidural route. IV(intravenous)-group is administered nalbuphine 6~7 mg as bolus dose and nalbuphine 60~70 mg with 0.9% normal saline 90 ml as continuous dose via intravenous route, at the rate of 2 ml/hr for 2 days. We compared the analgesic efficacy and side effects of these two groups using VAS pain score and time duration of constant pain level. Results: VAS pain score was similar between the two groups, but pain duration was significantly shorter in EPI-group. Incidence of pruritus was significantly lower with the IV-group, of nausea and vomiting were similar for both groups, no respiratory depression for either groups. Conclusions: Although the EPI-group had better analgesic efficacy, the IV-group had lower incidence of side effects, and simplicity and safety methods of operation. Therefore, We propose further research and consideration of administering the kinds and doses of those medications prescribe to the IV group in conjunction with other drugs for safer and better efficacy of postoperative analgesia.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.185-190
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• 1997

Background: Preemptive analgesia is an antinociceptive treatment that prevents the establishment of altered central processing which amplifies postoperative pain. A controversy exists over the effectiveness and clinical value of preemptive analgesia. We studied whether epidural bupivacaine and fentanyl prior to surgery could possibly affect postoperative pain and analgesic demands, as compared to administration of same at end of surgery. Methods: Forty patients scheduled for lower abdominal surgery were randomly assigned to one of two groups and prospectively studied in a double-blind method. Group 1(n=20) received epidural injection of 15 ml bupivacaine 0.25% with fentanyl 100 y g before surgery while group 2(n=20) received the same injection at the end of their surgery respectively. Postoperative analgesia consisted of basal plus patient-controlled mode of epidural bupivacaine and fentanyl from PCA system. Postoperative visual analog pain scores(VAPS), analgesics consumption, supplementary analgesics requirement and side effects were assessed for 3 postoperative days. Results: There were no significant difference in analgesics requirement and pain scores, at any time, during rest or after movement, in measurement between the groups. Conclusions: We conclude no clinical value of effectiveness in administering epidural bupivacaine-fentanyl before surgery as compared to administration after surgery.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.213-219
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• 1993

The use of buprenorphine by epidural route in the prevention of postoperative pain has been controversial. High lipid solubility of buprenorphine caused the same parenteral/epidural analgesic dose ratio, and the analgesic effect of epidural buprenorphine possibly due to systemic absorption, which revealed no advantages of epidural administration against parenteral injection. On the contrary, epidural buprenorphine had longer duration of action and fewer side effects than parenteral buprenorphine, which advocated the epidural use of buprenorphine. We studied the efficacy of epidural buprenorphine by comparing epidural buprenorphine with epidural morphine in terms of latency and the duration of analgesic action, and the incidence of side effects. 0.15mg and 0.3mg of epidural buprenorphine had shorter latency than 2mg of morphine. 0.3 mg of buprenorphine had longer duration of action than 4 mg of morphine. The incidence of nausea and vomiting were slightely higher in buprenorphine group than in morphine group. Voiding difficulty and pruritus were little in buprenorphine group, while the incidence of somnolence was markedly higher in buprenorphine group. Form our results we conclude that epidural buprenorphine may be useful in the treatment of postoperative pain, and but recognize both advantages and disadvantages as compared epidural morphine.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.178-182
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• 1996

Background: To evaluate the effect of prophylactic transdermal scopolamine in reducing nausea associated with postoperative epidural morphine. Methods: 30 healthy patients scheduled for cesarean section were given local anesthetics epidurally for surgical anesthesia. After delivery of the baby, transdermal scopolamine patch($Kimite^{(R)}$ Myung Moon Pharm. Co., Seoul, Korea) was applied to the study group(n=15) and placebo patch to the control group(n=15). Postoperative analgesia was provided soley with epidural morphine. Nausea was treated with metoclopramide. Results: During 24 hours postoperatively, the mean nausea score was significantly lower in the study group than in the control group. But the nausea incidence was not significantly different between the two groups. The mean number of times antiemetic drugs which were administered to patients were lower in the study group than in the control group($1.5{\pm}0.5$ vs $3.3{\pm}1.3$, p<0.05). Conclusion: Transdermal scopolamine patch provides antiemetic effect simply, continuously and safely, preventing nausea which could occur during administration of epidural morphine after cesarean section.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.116-123
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• 2010

Background: Pamidronate is a potent inhibitor of osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. Recently, the drug has been known to relieve bone pain. We hypothesized that direct epidural administration of pamidronate could have various advantages over oral administration with respect to dosage, side effects, and efficacy. Therefore, we evaluated the neuronal safety of epidurally-administered pamidronate. Methods: Twenty-seven rats weighing 250-350 g were equally divided into 3 groups. Each group received an epidural administration with either 0.3 ml (3.75 mg) of pamidronate (group P), 0.3 ml of 40% alcohol (group A), or 0.3 ml of normal saline (group N). A Pinch-toe test, motor function evaluation, and histopathologic examination of the spinal cord to detect conditions such as chromatolysis, meningeal inflammation, and neuritis, were performed on the 2nd, 7th, and 21st day following administration of each drug. Results: All rats in group A showed an abnormal response to the pinch-toe test and decreased motor function during the entire evaluation period. Abnormal histopathologic findings, including neuritis and meningeal inflammation were observed only in group A rats. Rats in group P, with the exception of 1, and group N showed no significant sensory/motor dysfunction over a 3-week observation period. No histopathologic changes were observed in groups P and N. Conclusions: Direct epidural injection of pamidronate (about 12.5 mg/kg) showed no neurotoxic evidence in terms of sensory/motor function evaluation and histopathologic examination.

• Journal of the korean veterinary medical association
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.675-677
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• 1991

This study was designed to examine the effect of xylazine (0.07mg/kg suspended in 5ml saline) given into the epidural space in 11 Holstein cows. Analgesic state was induced at the perineal region within 10 min after administration of xylazine and at the u