Combined general/epidural anesthesia (ropivacaine 0.375%) versus general anesthesia for upper abdominal surgery

Combination of Interscalene Brachial Plexus Block with General Anesthesia Attenuates Stress and Inflammatory Response in Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery

Abstract In arthroscopic shoulder surgery, general anesthesia (GA) is the common method of anesthesia. Recently, the combined usage of interscalene brachial plexus block with general anesthesia (ISB/GA) was reported to have a lower incidence of adverse side effects than GA alone. However, to date, no study has compared stress and inflammatory responses between these two methods. Since stress and inflammatory responses are critical on intraoperative management and postoperative recovery, we integrated the laboratory and clinical methods and compared the stress and inflammatory factors, such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, glucose, lactate, inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), as well as the clinical outcomes to determine whether ISB/GA provides an advantage on stress and inflammatory inhibition. Data showed that ISB/GA resulted in significantly lower epinephrine, norepinephrine, and glucose levels perioperatively. Six hours after operation, the TNF-α and IL-6 levels were also significantly lower in the ISB/GA group. ISB/GA patients had lower blood pressure, a more stable heart rate, lower visual analog scale score, and less opioid consumption during and after surgery. Our results indicate that ISB/GA is a better choice for arthroscopic shoulder surgery, owing to less stress and inflammatory responses during and after operation, which provides better clinical outcomes. Therefore, we recommend ISB/GA as a preferred anesthesia method for arthroscopic shoulder surgery.

Peridural Anesthesia and Cancer-Related Survival after Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer-A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background: In patients with prostatic and breast cancer the application of peridural anesthesia (PDA) showed a beneficial effect on prognosis. This was explained by reduced requirements for general anesthetics and perioperative opioids as well as a lower perioperative stress level. The impact of PDA in patients with more aggressive types of cancer has not been completely elucidated. Here, we analyzed the prognostic influence of PDA on overall survival after surgery as primary in patients that underwent radical resection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Methods: Records of 98 consecutive patients were reviewed. In 70 of these cases PDA was applied. Patient characteristics such as demographics, TNM stage, and operative data were retrospectively collected from medical records and analyzed. Survival data were analyzed by Cox’s proportional hazard regression model. Results: Overall, no significant prognostic influence of PDA on recurrence or overall survival (p = 0.762, Hazard Ratio [HR] 0.884, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.398–1.961) was found. However, there was a trend towards a longer overall survival (p = 0.069, HR 0.394, 95% CI 0.144–1.078) associated with PDA in a subgroup of patients with better differentiation of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Conclusion: The observation of longer survival associated with PDA in our subgroup of patients with better-differentiated pancreatic carcinomas is in line with previous reports on various other less aggressive tumor entities. Our results indicate that PDA might improve the oncological outcome of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Mid-axillary transversus abdominis plane block and stress response after abdominal hysterectomy: A randomised controlled placebo trial

BACKGROUND

The hormonal response to surgical trauma can have detrimental effects on patients. Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block, which can improve analgesia after total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH) might attenuate the peri-operative stress response.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the ability of the TAP block to reduce stress response, opioid consumption and pain following TAH and multimodal analgesia.

DESIGN

Randomised, placebo-controlled double-blind study.

SETTING

The current study was conducted at a university hospital from July 2016 to September 2017.

PATIENTS

Fifty patients scheduled for TAH were included. Anaesthesia and postoperative analgesia were standardised.

INTERVENTION

After induction of anaesthesia, patients were allocated into two groups: ultrasound-guided bilateral mid-axillary TAP block with 20 ml of bupivacaine 0.25% (Group T) or 0.9% saline (Group C).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Levels of free serum cortisol, metanephrine and normetanephrine at 60 min and 6, 12 and 24 h after surgical incision. Pain scores and opioid consumption during the first 24 h after surgery.

RESULTS

There was no statistically significant difference between the median [IQR] peri-operative levels of stress hormones and pain scores between groups. Compared with baseline value 9.90 [4.2 to 23.1], free serum median cortisol levels were significantly high at 6 h in Group T, 23.6 [10.1 to 42.9] P = 0.015 and Group C 23.6 [9.9 to 46.3] P = 0.014. Only Group C showed significant elevation from the baseline median levels of plasma metanephrine at 60 min, 52.8 [33.4 to 193.2] P = 0.001, 6 h, 92.70 [2.4 to 202.6] P = 0.005 and normetanephrine at 60 min 83.44 [28.98 to 114.86] P = 0.004, 6 h 78.62 [36.6 to 162.31] P = 0.0005 and 24 h 80.96 [8.6 to 110.5] P = 0.025. Mean ± SD opioid consumption was similar in both groups: 39.60 ± 14.87 in Group T vs. 43.68 ± 14.93 in Group C (P = 0.338).

CONCLUSION

Mid-axillary TAP block does not improve stress response and analgesia in patients undergoing TAH receiving multimodal analgesia.

TRAIL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT03443271.

Epidural Anesthesia-Analgesia and Recurrence-free Survival after Lung Cancer Surgery: A Randomized Trial

BACKGROUND

Regional anesthesia and analgesia reduce the stress response to surgery and decrease the need for volatile anesthesia and opioids, thereby preserving cancer-specific immune defenses. This study therefore tested the primary hypothesis that combining epidural anesthesia-analgesia with general anesthesia improves recurrence-free survival after lung cancer surgery.

METHODS

Adults scheduled for video-assisted thoracoscopic lung cancer resections were randomized 1:1 to general anesthesia and intravenous opioid analgesia or combined epidural-general anesthesia and epidural analgesia. The primary outcome was recurrence-free survival (time from surgery to the earliest date of recurrence/metastasis or all-cause death). Secondary outcomes included overall survival (time from surgery to all-cause death) and cancer-specific survival (time from surgery to cancer-specific death). Long-term outcome assessors were blinded to treatment.

RESULTS

Between May 2015 and November 2017, 400 patients were enrolled and randomized to general anesthesia alone (n = 200) or combined epidural-general anesthesia (n = 200). All were included in the analysis. The median follow-up duration was 32 months (interquartile range, 24 to 48). Recurrence-free survival was similar in each group, with 54 events (27%) with general anesthesia alone versus 48 events (24%) with combined epidural-general anesthesia (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.60 to 1.35; P = 0.608). Overall survival was also similar with 25 events (13%) versus 31 (16%; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.64 to 1.96; P = 0.697). There was also no significant difference in cancer-specific survival with 24 events (12%) versus 29 (15%; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.61 to 1.91; P = 0.802). Patients assigned to combined epidural-general had more intraoperative hypotension: 94 patients (47%) versus 121 (61%; relative risk, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.55; P = 0.007).

CONCLUSIONS

Epidural anesthesia-analgesia for major lung cancer surgery did not improve recurrence-free, overall, or cancer-specific survival compared with general anesthesia alone, although the CI included both substantial benefit and harm.

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE

Transversus abdominis plane block with general anesthesia blunts the perioperative stress response in patients undergoing radical gastrectomy

Background

Surgical stress induces the release of neuroendocrine mediators and cytokines during perioperative period, which may have adverse effects on cancer patients. While the surgical stress responsse can be affected by anesthetic technique. Therefore, we designed this study to assess whether subcostal transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block can affect perioperative neuroendocrine stress response, postoperative analgesia and postoperative recovery in patients undergoing radical gastrectomy under general anesthesia.

Methods

Sixty-five patients were recruited. Patients randomly received general anesthesia (control group), or general anesthesia combined with TAP block (40 mL of 0.375% ropivacaine) (TAP group). The primary outcome was neuroendocrine levels including norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E), cortisol (Cor), glucose (Glu), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 during 48 h after surgery. Secondary outcomes included pain score, hemodynamic variables and recovery characteristics.

Results

Data from 61 of 65 patients were analyzed. The levels of NE, E, Cor, and Glu were blunt by TAP block during perioperative period. The levels of IL-6 and IL-10 were significantly lower in TAP group than in control group. TAP block efficiently relieved postoperative acute pain up to 12 h postoperatively with more stable perioperative hemodynamics compared with control group.

Conclusions

Subcostal TAP block blunts perioperative stress response and provides efficient analgesia, with good hemodynamic stability and minimal adverse effects.

Lower rate of delayed graft function is observed when epidural analgesia for living donor nephrectomy is administered

Background

The beneficial effects of epidural analgesia (EDA) in terms of pain control and postoperative convalescence are widely known and led to a frequent use for patients who underwent living donor kidney nephrectomy. The objective of this study was to determine whether general anesthesia (GA) plus EDA compared to GA only, administered for living donor nephrectomy has effects on postoperative graft function in recipients.

Methods

In this monocentric, retrospective cohort analysis we analyzed the closed files of all consecutive donor- recipient pairs who underwent living donor kidney transplantations from 2008 to 2017. The outcome variable was delayed graft function (DGF), defined as at least one hemodialysis within seven days postoperatively, once hyperacute rejection, vascular or urinary tract complications were ruled out. Statistical analyses of continuous variables were calculated using the two-tail Student’s t test and Fisher exact test for categorical variables with a significance level of p < 0.05, respectively.

Results

The study enclosed 291 consecutive living donor kidney transplantations. 99 kidney donors received epidural analgesia whereas 192 had no epidural analgesia. The groups showed balanced pretransplantational characteristics and comparable donors´ and recipients’ risk factors. 9 out of all 291 recipients needed renal replacement therapy (RRT) during the first 7 days due to delayed graft function; none of these donors received EDA. The observed rate of DGF in recipients whose kidney donors received epidural analgesia was significantly lower (0% vs. 4.6%; p = 0.031).

Conclusions

In our cohort we observed a significantly lower rate of DGF when epidural analgesia for donor nephrectomy was administered. Due to restrictions of the study design this observation needs further confirmation by prospective studies.

A Comparative Study for Post Operative Analgesia in the Emergency Laparotomies: Thoracic Epidural Ropivacaine with Nalbuphine and Ropivacaine with Butorphanol

BACKGROUND

Adequate postoperative pain therapy for emergency abdominal surgeries is important far beyond the perioperative period because sensitization to painful stimuli can cause postoperative morbidity. A prospective, double-blind, randomized study was carried out to compare the quality of postoperative analgesia and side-effect profile between epidurally administered butorphanol and nalbuphine as an adjuvant to 0.2% ropivacaine.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of eighty patients, 43 men and 37 women between the age of 18 and 65 years of American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Class I E and II E, who underwent intestinal perforation repair surgery were randomly allocated into two groups ropivacaine with butorphanol (RB) and ropivacaine with nalbuphine (RN), comprising of 40 patients each. Group RB received 0.2% ropivacaine containing 2 mg butorphanol while Group RN received 0.2% ropivacaine containing 10 mg nalbuphine through thoracic epidural catheter. Quality of analgesia, cardiorespiratory parameters, side-effects, and the need of rescue intravenous analgesia were observed.

RESULTS

The demographic profile and ASA Class were comparable between the groups. RN group had good quality of analgesia and stable cardiorespiratory parameters for the initial 6 h of postoperative period, after which they were comparable in both groups. Furthermore, the need of rescue analgesia was higher (20%) in the RB group during the first 6 h. The side-effect profile was comparable with a little higher incidence of nausea in both groups.

CONCLUSION

Thoracic epidurally administered ropivacaine with nalbuphine is more effective than ropivacaine with butorphanol for immediate postoperative pain relief in patients undergoing emergency exploratory laparotomy.

Advances in understanding role of enhanced recovery after surgery and damage control surgery in acute abdominal disease

Enhanced recovery after surgery and damage control surgery have been gradually applied to clinical surgery in recent years, aimed to reduce perioperative stress response in surgical patients. Research on the perioperative period of selective surgery proves that enhanced recovery after surgery and damage control surgery play an important role in reducing perioperative stress reaction, especially in patients with acute abdominal pain. This article briefly summarizes the recent progress in understanding the role of enhanced recovery after surgery and damage control surgery in acute abdominal disease.

Epidural anaesthesia with goal-directed administration of ropivacaine improves haemodynamic stability when combined with general anaesthesia in elderly patients undergoing major abdominal surgery

The use of epidural ropivacaine may result in significant haemodynamic fluctuations during combined epidural and general anaesthesia. We designed this study to investigate whether epidural anaesthesia with a goal-directed approach, when combined with general anaesthesia, improved haemodynamic stability in elderly patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. Seventy-five elderly patients undergoing major abdominal surgery were randomly and evenly assigned to one of three groups receiving intraoperative epidural anaesthesia with either ropivacaine 0.1% (Group 1), ropivacaine 0.375% (Group 2) or ropivacaine 0.375% for abdominal wall pain and ropivacaine 0.1% for visceral pain (Group 3). General anaesthesia was induced using a target-controlled infusion of combined propofol and remifentanil. The remifentanil target concentration was adjusted according to the mean arterial pressure and heart rate, and vasoactive agents were administered to maintain stable haemodynamics. The need for vasoactive drug administrations was 1.4 (standard deviation 0.9) in Group 3 (n=24), representing a significantly lower frequency of administration compared with Groups 1 (n=24) and 2 (n=24) (P <0.05 versus Group 1; P <0.01 versus Group 2). The total intraoperative dose of remifentanil was significantly greater in Group 1 (P <0.01 versus Group 2; P <0.05 versus Group 3) but did not differ significantly between Groups 2 and 3. Goal-directed epidural anaesthesia with different ropivacaine concentrations can improve haemodynamic stability when combined with general anaesthesia for elderly patients undergoing major abdominal surgery.

Anesthesia-based evaluation of outcomes of lower-extremity vascular bypass procedures

BACKGROUND

This report examines the effects of regional versus general anesthesia for infrainguinal bypass procedures performed in the treatment of critical limb ischemia (CLI).

METHODS

Nonemergent infrainguinal bypass procedures for CLI (defined as rest pain or tissue loss) were identified using the 2005 to 2008 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database using International Classification of Disease, ninth edition, and Current Procedure Terminology codes. Patients were classified according to National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data as receiving either general anesthesia or regional anesthesia. The regional anesthesia group included those specified as having regional, spinal, or epidural anesthesia. Demographic, medical, risk factor, operative, and outcomes data were abstracted for the study sample. Individual outcomes were evaluated according to the following morbidity categories: wound, pulmonary, venous thromboembolic, genitourinary, cardiovascular, and operative. Length of stay, total morbidity, and mortality were also evaluated. Associations between anesthesia types and outcomes were evaluated using linear or logistic regression.

RESULTS

A total of 5,462 inpatient hospital visits involving infrainguinal bypasses for CLI were identified. Mean patient age was 69 ± 12 years; 69% were Caucasian; and 39% were female. In all, 4,768 procedures were performed using general anesthesia and 694 with regional anesthesia. Patients receiving general anesthesia were younger and significantly more likely to have a history of smoking, previous lower-extremity bypass, previous amputation, previous stroke, and a history of a bleeding diathesis including the use of warfarin. Patients receiving regional anesthesia had a higher prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Tibial-level bypasses were performed in 51% of procedures, whereas 49% of procedures were popliteal-level bypasses. Cases performed using general anesthesia demonstrated a higher rate of resident involvement, need for blood transfusion, and operative time. There was no difference in the rate of popliteal-level and infrapopliteal-level bypasses between groups. Infrapopliteal bypass procedures performed using general anesthesia were more likely to involve prosthetic grafts and composite vein. Mortality occurred in 157 patients (3%). The overall morbidity rate was 37%. Mean and median lengths of stay were 7.5 days (± 8.1) and 6.0 days (Q1: 4.0, Q3: 8.0), respectively. Multivariate analyses demonstrated no significant differences by anesthesia type in the incidence of morbidity, mortality, or length of stay.

CONCLUSION

These results provide no evidence to support the systematic avoidance of general anesthesia for lower-extremity bypass procedures. These data suggest that anesthetic choice should be governed by local expertise and practice patterns.

Effect of caudal block on sevoflurane requirement for lower limb surgery in children with cerebral palsy

BACKGROUND

Caudal block is a widely used technique for providing perioperative pain management in children. In this randomized double-blinded study, we evaluated the effects of preoperative caudal block on sevoflurane requirements in children with cerebral palsy (CP) undergoing lower limb surgery while bispectral index (BIS) values were maintained between 45 and 55.

METHODS

52 children undergoing Achilles-tendon lengthening were randomized to receive combined general-caudal anesthesia (caudal group, n = 27) or general anesthesia alone (control group, n = 25). Caudal block was performed with a single dose of 0.7 ml·kg(-1) of 1.0% lidocaine containing epinephrine at 5 μg·ml(-1). The control group received no preoperative caudal block. The endtidal sevoflurane concentrations (ET(sev)) were adjusted every minute to maintain the BIS values between 45 and 55.

RESULTS

The ET(sev) required to maintain the BIS values were not significantly different between the control and caudal groups after induction of anesthesia [2.1 (0.2) vs 2.2 (0.4); P = 0.773]. However, significantly higher ET(sev) was observed in the control group before surgical incision [2.0 (0.2) vs 1.8 (0.3); P = 0.013] and during the first 20 min after surgical incision [2.2 (0.3) vs 1.4 (0.3); P < 0.001]. There was no significant difference in BIS values between the control and caudal groups throughout the study period (P > 0.05). In the caudal group, the caudal block was successful in 25 of 27 (92.6%) patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Caudal block effectively reduced sevoflurane requirements by 36% compared to general anesthesia alone in children with CP undergoing lower limb surgery while BIS values were maintained between 45 and 55.

Epidural ropivacaine and sufentanil and the perioperative stress response after a radical retropubic prostatectomy

BACKGROUND

The effects of an epidural opioid and a local anesthetic on the perioperative stress responses have not been fully investigated in elderly patients undergoing cancer surgery. We hypothesized that the stress response after a radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) would be attenuated by epidural ropivacaine and sufentanil.

METHODS

In this randomized, double-blinded study, we included patients above 65 years of age who were scheduled for a RRP. In addition to general anesthesia, they received either epidural saline continuously (5 ml/h) (C group, n=20); 0.3% ropivacaine (R group, n=20); or 0.3% ropivacaine combined with 1 μg/ml sufentanil (RS group; n=20). We determined the concentrations of glucose, insulin, cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and prolactin before, during, and up to 48 h after surgery.

RESULTS

The concentrations of glucose and insulin increased in all the groups. The cortisol level increased in the C group while it decreased significantly in the RS group. Epinephrine and norepinephrine concentrations increased significantly after surgery in the C group, but not in the R and RS groups. The prolactin concentration increased in all the groups, and was higher in the RS group than in the other groups (P=0.002). Post-operative pain scores and analgesic requirement were lower in the R and RS groups.

CONCLUSION

Epidural ropivacaine blunted the perioperative stress responses in elderly patients undergoing a RRP. The combination of epidural ropivacaine and sufentanil was associated with the most pronounced attenuation of the stress response. ClinicalTrial.gov registration number: NCT01086956.

Anesthetic concerns in patients presenting with renal failure

Anesthesiologists often care for patients with renal insufficiency or renal failure. These patients may present to the operating room for a minor procedure such as an inguinal hernia repair or an arteriovenous fistula/graft. Alternatively, they may present for major abdominal operations or coronary artery bypass grafting. Critically ill patients presenting to the operating room may have acute kidney injury. It is imperative that the anesthesiologist understands the ramifications of renal failure and adjusts the anesthetic plan accordingly. Hemodynamic monitoring and fluid management can be challenging in this patient population. Various metabolic abnormalities can ensue that the anesthesiologist must be able to manage in the acute setting of the operating room.