La titration intraveineuse de morphine

Sedation for adult ICU patients: A narrative review including a retrospective study of our own data

The optimization of patients' treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) needs a lot of information and literature analysis. Many changes have been made in the last years to help evaluate sedated patients by scores to help take care of them. Patients were completely sedated and had continuous intravenous analgesia and neuromuscular blockades. These three drug classes were the main drugs used for intubated patients in the ICU. During these last 20 years, ICU management went from fully sedated to awake, calm, and nonagitated patients, using less sedatives and choosing other drugs to decrease the risks of delirium during or after the ICU stay. Thus, the usefulness of these three drug classes has been challenged. The analgesic drugs used were primarily opioids but the use of other drugs instead is increasing to lessen or wean the use of opioids. In severe acute respiratory distress syndrome patients, neuromuscular blocking agents have been used frequently to block spontaneous respiration for 48 hours or more; however, this has recently been abolished. Optimizing a patient's comfort during hemodynamic or respiratory extracorporeal support is essential to reduce toxicity and secondary complications.

Evaluation of intravenous lidocaine in head and neck cancer surgery: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Pain after major head and neck cancer surgery is underestimated and has both nociceptive and neuropathic characteristics. Extended resection, flap coverage, nerve lesions, inflammation, and high-dose opioid administration can also lead to hyperalgesia and chronic postoperative pain. Opioids are frequently associated with adverse events such as dizziness, drowsiness, nausea and vomiting, or constipation disturbing postoperative recovery and extending the length of hospital stay. Patients eligible for major head and neck cancer surgery cannot benefit from full multimodal pain management with locoregional anesthesia. Intravenous lidocaine, investigated in several studies, has been found to decrease acute pain and morphine consumption. Some data suggest also that it can prevent chronic postsurgical pain. Evidence supporting its use varies between surgical procedures, and there is no published study regarding systemic lidocaine administration in major head and neck cancer surgery. We hypothesized that intravenous lidocaine infused in the perioperative period would lead to opioid sparing and chronic postsurgical pain reduction.

METHODS/DESIGN

A total of 128 patients undergoing major head and neck surgery will be included in this prospective two-center, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Patients will be randomly assigned to lidocaine or placebo treatment. After induction of general anesthesia, an intravenous lidocaine bolus will be administered (1.5 mg.kg^- 1), followed by a continuous infusion (2 mg.kg^- 1.h^- 1) which will be reduced in the postanesthesia care unit (1 mg.kg^- 1.h^- 1). The primary outcome measure is morphine consumption 48 h after surgery. The secondary outcomes include intraoperative remifentanil consumption, morphine consumption 24 h after surgery, and chronic postsurgical pain that will be assessed 3-6 months after surgery.

DISCUSSION

Recent evidence suggests that intravenous lidocaine can lead to opioid sparing and chronic postsurgical pain reduction for certain types of surgery. This is the first trial to prospectively investigate the efficacy and safety of intravenous lidocaine in major head and neck cancer surgery.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02894710 . Registered on 11 August 2016.

Nebulized versus intravenous morphine titration for the initial treatment of severe acute pain in the emergency department: study protocol for a multicenter, prospective randomized and controlled trial, CLIN-AEROMORPH

BACKGROUND

Intravenous morphine titration (IVMT) is the French gold standard for opioid treatment in the emergency department (ED). Nebulized morphine titration (NMT) may represent an alternative without venous access, but it has not been adequately studied in adults. We test the hypothesis that NMT is at least as effective as IVMT to initially manage severe acute pain in the ED.

METHODS/DESIGN

We designed a multicenter (10 French EDs), single-blind, randomized and controlled trial. Adults between 18 and 75 years with visual analog scale (VAS) ≥ 70/100 or numeric rating scale (NRS) ≥ 7/10 will be enrolled. We will randomize 850 patients into two groups to compare two routes of MT as long as VAS >  30 or NRS >  3. In group A (425), patients will receive an initial NMT for 5-25 min associated with titration of an intravenously (IV) administered placebo of physiologic serum (PS). In group B (425), patients will receive IVMT plus nebulized PS placebo. NMT is defined as a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3 5-min nebulized boluses of 10 mg or 15 mg (weight ≥ 60 kg), at 10-min fixed intervals. IVMT is defined as a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 6 boluses of 2 mg or 3 mg (weight ≥ 60 kg), at 5-min fixed intervals. Nebulized placebo titration will be performed every 10 min. IV titration of PS will be performed every 5 min. In both groups, after 25 min, if VAS > 30/100 or NRS > 3/10, routine IVMT will be continued until pain relief. Pain severity, vital signs, bronchospasm, and Ramsay score will be recorded every 5 min. The primary outcome is the rate of relief obtained 1 h from the start of drug administration. Complete pain relief in both groups will be compared with a non-inferiority design. Secondary outcomes are pain relief at 30 min (the end of NMT) and at 2 h and median pain relief. We will compare final doses, and study the feasibility and tolerance of NMT (protocol deviations, respiratory or hemodynamic depression, sedation, and minor vegetative side effects). Co-analgesia will be recorded. Discharge criteria from the ED and hospital are defined.

DISCUSSION

This trial is the first multicenter randomized and controlled NMT protocol for severe pain in the ED using the titration concept. We propose an original approach of combined titration with an endpoint at 1 h and a non-inferiority design.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03257319 . Registered on 22 August 2017.

Continuous Infusion of Ketamine for Out-of-hospital Isolated Orthopedic Injuries Secondary to Trauma: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Objective. Although ketamine has recently been demonstrated to provide a morphine-sparing effect, no previous study reports the effect of continuous infusion of ketamine for analgesia in out-of-hospital environments. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of a continuous infusion of ketamine (IK group) vs. a continuous infusion of saline (IS group) on morphine requirements in out-of-hospital trauma patients suffering from severe acute pain. Methods. In this prospective, multicenter, randomized, single-blind clinical study, patients suffering from isolated orthopedic injuries secondary to trauma with severe acute pain received a low-dose intravenous (IV) bolus of ketamine (0.2 mg·kg^-1) combined with an IV bolus of morphine (0.1 mg·kg^-1) and were randomized either in the IK group (IV continuous infusion of ketamine 0.2 mg·kg^-1·h^-1), or in the IS group (IV continuous infusion of saline at the same volume). The primary endpoint was morphine requirements in terms of total dose of morphine (excluding the baseline bolus) injected at the end of prehospital emergency care at hospital admission (final time, Tf). The secondary endpoint was evaluation of pain with visual analogic scale (VAS). Results. Sixty-six patients were enrolled. Total morphine dose was not significantly reduced with continuous infusion of ketamine (0.048 [0.000; 0.150] vs. 0.107 [0.052; 0.150] in IK and IS groups), with similar mean duration of care (median 35.0 min). Analgesia was as efficient without any significant difference in VAS at Tf between groups (3.1 ± 2.3 (IK group) vs. 3.7 ± 2.7 (IS group), p = 0.5). Conclusions. Continuous ketamine infusion did not reduce morphine requirements in severe acute pain trauma patients in the out-of-hospital emergency settings.

[Postoperative intravenous morphine titration in PACU after bariatric laparoscopic surgery]

OBJECTIVE

There is limited information available regarding intravenous (IV) morphine administration in obese patients in PACU. The aim of this study was to compare two IV morphine titration (IMT) regimen in two surgical centers.

STUDY DESIGN

Observational study.

PATIENTS

Laparoscopic bariatric surgery in one private (Saint-Grégoire Clinic) and one public (University Hospital of Amiens) surgical center.

METHODS

A strict and common protocol of IMT was implemented if PACU of both centers according to the recommendations of the French Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care. When pain score increased to>30, IMT was titrated every 5 min in 3mg increments until pain relief (VAS≤30 mm). Pain level, dose of morphine (per total and ideal body weight), effectiveness, and side events were recorded.

RESULTS

Data were recorded for 159 adult patients (129 women). Mean age and BMI were 42±12 yrs and 43.8±6.9 kg/m(2). Ninety-eight patients were eligible for IMT regimen but only 76 patients received IV morphine (47.8 %). Mean dose was 7.3 mg±3.5mg [1-19 mg], (60.4 μg/kg and 115.8 μg/kg). IMT was less frequent, mean dose was greater (8.6±4.2 vs 6.2±2.9 mg) and number of patients with pain relief was higher (73.7 vs 35.6 %) in the public hospital. No severe adverse events have been recorded and there was no difference in both centers regarding these events.

CONCLUSION

Implementation of a IMT regimen in PACU was not associated with effective pain relief after laparoscopic surgery in obese patients.

Trend of analgesic consumption and pain scores in the post anesthetic care unit (A 9-year survey in surgical cancer patients)

As part of a quality assurance program, we assessed the trend of our analgesic consumption using our anesthesia database which include anesthesia and postanesthetic care records for all patients. In recent years, emphasis was made on anesthesia personnel to decrease postoperative opioid analgesic at the expense of non-opioid analgesics in order to decrease opioid related side effects. The following items were recorded: intraoperative opioid consumption, total morphine consumption, non-opioid analgesic consumption pain and sedation scores in the postoperative care unit (PACU). The database consisted of 57,967 patients for 9 consecutive years from 2002 to 2010, mean data exhaustivity was of 95%. Total morphine consumption per patient in the operative room and in the PACU decreased significantly from 11 ± 4 mg in year 2002 to 7 ± 3 mg in 2010, P < 0.05. In the intraoperative period, remifentanil/sufentanil ratio increased significantly from 33/67 to 87/13% of patients (P < 0.05) without affecting pain scores in the PACU. This multi-year trend shows a significant decrease in overall postoperative morphine consumption, in addition we showed that computerized database can easily follow the trend of analgesic consumption and can be used therefore as a powerful tool with easy access as part of a quality assurance program.

Intraoperative strategy in patients with extended involvement of mediastinal structures

The mediastinum is a virtual space containing several vital organs and structures. Biopsy and resection of lesions located within this region often require several considerations that bear on intraoperative strategy. To optimize outcome, clinicians must be able to predict which patients are at highest risk of anesthetic complications. Superior vena cava involvement, extensive compression of the airway, and pericardial effusion have a clear impact on the decision-making of the anesthetist and surgeon, who should plan together when forming the surgical strategy.

[Prevention and relief of pain induced by otolaryngological and cervicofacial surgery]

Pain after otolaryngological and cervicofacial surgery varies greatly because of the wide variety of procedures. Preventing this pain stems from the administration of paracetamol, nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs, nefopam, and systematic recourse to morphine when remifentanil is used. Postoperatively, the most painful surgical procedures are an indication for multimodal anesthesia and patient-controlled morphinic analgesic after titration in the postoperative postanesthesia care unit. Applying antalgic protocols, also including locoregional anesthesia, depending on the type of procedure and the patient, can improve the quality of care.

[Analgesia after hip fracture repair in elderly patients: the effect of a continuous femoral nerve block: a prospective and randomised study]

INTRODUCTION

The usefulness of peripheral femoral nerve block for pain management after hip fracture has been established. This prospective and randomised study compared the analgesia effect of a continuous femoral nerve block (CF) versus two conventional analgesia procedures after hip fracture.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients. (n=62) scheduled for surgery under spinal anaesthesia were prospectively included. After surgery, analgesia (48 hours) was randomised: group FC (femoral catheter, anterior paravascular approach, initial bolus followed by continuous infusion of ropivacaine 0.2%), group P (iv 2 g propacetamol/6 hours), group M (sc morphine, 0.05 mg/kg per 4 hour). Intravenous morphine titration was performed, followed by subcutaneous (sc) morphine every 4 hours according to the VAS score. The primary end-point was the morphine requirements. Secondary end-points were VAS score, side effects, and mortality.

RESULTS

Demographic data and surgical procedures were similar between groups. After morphine titration, the VAS pain score did not differ between groups. All patients in-group M received additional morphine. Morphine mean consumption was increased in CF group: 26 mg (5-42) versus P: 8 mg (3-12) (p=0.0001) or M: 19 mg (8-33) (p<0.006) while constipation was decreased in P group vs CF. Percentage of patients requiring no morphine was similar between P (n=6; 28%) and CF (n=6; 28%) and greater than M (n=0; 0%). Hospital discharge, cardiovascular or pulmonary complications and mortality after 6 months showed no statistical difference.

CONCLUSION

Continuous femoral nerve block provided limited pain relief after hip fracture did not reduced side effects and induced an expensive cost.

Le propofol pour réaliser une rachianesthésie en position latérale chez les victimes d’une fracture du fémur

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and efficacy of propofol before positioning elderly patients with a femoral neck fracture in the lateral decubitus position, to perform a spinal anesthetic.

METHODS

In this prospective and descriptive study, 79 consecutive patients, > 75 yr old, with a femoral neck fracture were included. Propofol, 0.5 mg x kg(-1), was administered. If loss of consciousness was not obtained (Ramsay score < or = 3/6), then additional doses of 0.25 mg x kg(-1) were given until a Ramsay score of 4 or 5 was attained. Then, the patient was turned to the lateral decubitus position, the fractured side up. The efficacy of propofol was assessed by observing a grimace during positioning and asking the patients if they had recall of pain. Hemodynamic data and oxygen saturation were collected.

RESULTS

Forty-three patients required a single injection, 34 required two injections and only two patients required three injections. No grimace and no recall of pain were recorded during the study. There was no desaturation (SpO(2) < 92 %), and hypotension, defined as a systolic blood pressure decrease > 30% from baseline, was observed.

CONCLUSION

Propofol is a simple and efficacious means of providing comfort while positioning elderly patients with a femoral head fracture before performing spinal anesthesia.

[Validation of the french translated Richmond vigilance-agitation scale]

OBJECTIVE

To test reliability of the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale (RASS) after French translation.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective psychomotor evaluation study.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Two bilingual physicians performed the translation from English to French language. The French version was then translated to English by a bilingual non physician ("backtranslation") and compared to the original version. The translated scale was tested according to usual guidelines concerning the translation of neuropsychological evaluation tools. The French version of RASS was tested on the morning of every fifth or sixth day, and 30-min after any procedure, in 43 consecutive patients admitted to a 12-bed medical-surgical intensive care unit during two months, by a group of four observers: the principal investigator, two anaesthesiology residents and one pharmacology student. Inter-rater reliability was tested using the simple and weighted Kappa coefficients (with their 95% confidence interval). A consensual and detailed "operating instructions" guide of RASS, intended for medical and nursing staff, has been added in the Annexe section.

RESULTS

Four hundred twenty measures were performed during 105 grouped observations. Reliability of the French version of RASS was substantial. Simple Kappa coefficient, testing the concordance between observers, was ranged from 0.72 (0.62-0.81) to 0.87 (0.79-0.94) and weighted Kappa coefficient from 0.95 (0.92-0.98) to 0.99 (0.98-0.99).

CONCLUSIONS

The French translation of RASS was acceptable. The translated scale preserved substantial inter-rater reliability. Monitoring of vigilance status in intensive care settings can be performed with this reliable clinical tool.

Assessment of early administration of abciximab in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in the emergency room

OBJECTIVE

Abciximab, a platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor, administered in conjunction with primary coronary stenting, improves the outcome of acute myocardial infarction, and the earlier it is administered, the greater the improvement. We sought to assess the feasibility of early administration of abciximab in the emergency room (ER) before primary coronary stenting and compare our results with those of a group of patients treated in the prehospital (ambulance) phase.

METHODS

Data and outcome of patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction who received abciximab (0.25 mg x kg(-1) then 0.125 mg x kg(-1) x h(-1)) in the ER before primary coronary stenting were compared with those of patients who received abciximab in the prehospital phase.

RESULTS

Characteristics of the group treated in the ER did not differ significantly from those of patients treated before arrival at the hospital, except for prevalence of diabetes (22 versus 5%, p<0.05) and administration of analgesic to control chest pain (22 versus 65%, p<0.05). Nor did the median time between onset of pain and abciximab administration differ significantly different (120 versus 160 min, NS). In contrast, the median delay between the beginning of abciximab administration and insertion of the cardiac catheter was significantly shorter in the ER group (35 versus 55 min, p<0.05). There were no significant differences between groups in TIMI flow grade before or after revascularization, specific revascularization performed, or outcome.

CONCLUSION

Our study provides some evidence that early administration of abciximab in the ER is safe, feasible, and justified by the delay required for coronary revascularization.