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B Zucker-Pinchoff

Publications and source records attributed to B Zucker-Pinchoff.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Subhypnotic doses of propofol do not relieve pruritus induced by intrathecal morphine after cesarean section.

UNLABELLED: The purpose of this study was to determine whether subhypnotic doses of propofol effectively relieve pruritus in women who received intrathecal morphine for postoperative analgesia after cesarean delivery. Twenty-nine women who developed pruritus after undergoing an elective cesarean section and receiving intrathecal morphine (0.25 mg) for postoperative analgesia were enrolled in this randomized, prospective, double-blind study. The women were randomly assigned to receive either 1 mL of propofol (n = 17) or 1 mL of placebo (n = 12) I.V. Pruritus was evaluated 5 min after treatment. In the absence of successful treatment, the women received another 1 mL of the same drug. Pruritus was again evaluated 5 min after the second dose. We found that pruritus was successfully treated twice in the propofol group and once in the placebo group (P = not significant). The antipruritic action of propofol lasted for up to 6 h in one woman and 15 min in the other. The one success in the placebo group lasted for 15 min. We conclude that the success rate of propofol in treating pruritus in women who received intrathecal morphine for postoperative analgesia after cesarean delivery is not significantly different from that of placebo. IMPLICATIONS: Pruritus is a common and bothersome side effect of neuraxial opioids after cesarean section. Subhypnotic doses of I.V. propofol (10 mg) have been used to treat pruritus caused by neuraxial opioids. In this prospective, randomized, double-blind study, we found that propofol does not relieve pruritus in women who underwent cesarean section and received intrathecal morphine sulfate (0.25 mg) for postoperative pain relief.

Adult↗

Treatment of incomplete analgesia after placement of an epidural catheter and administration of local anesthetic for women in labor.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 15% of women still have pain after placement of an epidural catheter and administration of local anesthetic for labor analgesia. Two techniques frequently used to treat this pain were compared: (1) withdrawal of the catheter 1 cm and repeated dosing with additional local anesthetic, and (2) repeated dosing with additional local anesthetic without any catheter manipulation. METHODS: Fifteen minutes after placement of a multiple-orifice epidural catheter 5 cm into the epidural space and administration of 13 ml 0.25% bupivacaine to the parturient in labor, the adequacy of analgesia was assessed. All women who had incomplete analgesia were randomized (first intervention) to receive an additional 5 ml 0.25% bupivacaine (local-anestheticonly group) or to receive 5 ml 0.25% bupivacaine after first withdrawing the epidural catheter 1 cm (catheter-manipulation group). If after 15 min the woman still had pain, then (second intervention) the catheter was withdrawn 1 cm and an additional 5 ml 0.25% bupivacaine was administered to the local-anesthetic-only group, whereas 5 ml 0.25% bupivacaine was given to the catheter-manipulation group without further catheter manipulation. The success rate of the second intervention was assessed 15 min later. RESULTS: Seventy-eight women were enrolled in the study, 39 to each group. In the local-anesthetic-only group, 29 (74%) women were successfully treated with the first intervention and the remaining 10 (100%) were successfully treated with the second intervention. In the catheter-manipulation group, 30 (77%) were successfully treated with the first intervention and 7 (100%; 2 patients were not studied because of investigator error) were successfully treated with the second intervention (P=NS). CONCLUSIONS: Administration of additional local anesthetic without first withdrawing the epidural catheter will effectively treat most women for whom analgesia is incomplete after the placement of an epidural catheter during labor.

Analgesia, Epidural↗

The optimal distance that a multiorifice epidural catheter should be threaded into the epidural space.

Complications can occur during epidural placement for women in labor. As many as 23% of epidural anesthetics may not provide satisfactory analgesia. The cause of this may be technical. This study was undertaken to determine the optimal distance that a multiorifice catheter should be threaded into the epidural space to maximize analgesia and minimize complications. One hundred women in labor were enrolled in this prospective, randomized, and double-blind study. Patients were randomly assigned to have the epidural catheter threaded 3, 5, or 7 cm into the epidural space. After placement of the catheter and administration of a test dose with 3 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine, an additional 10 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine was administered in two divided doses. Fifteen minutes later, the adequacy of the analgesia was assessed by a blinded observer. We found that catheter insertion to a depth of 7 cm was associated with the highest rate of insertion complications while insertion to a depth of 5 cm was associated with the highest incidence of satisfactory analgesia. For women in labor who require continuous lumbar epidural anesthesia, we recommend threading a multiorifice epidural catheter 5 cm into the epidural space.

Analgesia, Epidural↗

Computed tomography of the carpal tunnel: a radioanatomical study.

Cross-sectional anatomy of the carpal tunnel was evaluated by computed tomography (CT) on eight cadavers. Prior to CT, the wrists were marked and, subsequently, anatomical cross sections of the specimens were carefully made along the markers. The anatomical section planes closely correlated with the levels of the CT images. Photographs of one of the specimens were taken for comparative studies.

Autopsy↗