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D Kittle

Publications and source records attributed to D Kittle.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Postoperative pain control using epidural catheters after anterior spinal fusion for adolescent scoliosis.

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective review of patients undergoing epidural catheter placement after anterior spinal fusion and instrumentation for adolescent scoliosis was performed. Data were collected using visual analog pain scores reflecting the patients' perception of their pain control. OBJECTIVES: To present the authors' technique for epidural catheter placement and dosing protocol, and to demonstrate the results from postoperative pain control after anterior spinal instrumented fusion for 10 consecutive patients. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The literature regarding the benefits of epidural catheters after spinal surgery is contradictory, even with controlled studies comparing epidural catheters with intravenous morphine patient-controlled anesthesia. The authors believe that this lack of consensus stems from varied epidural dosing protocols and techniques in catheter placement, which they have witnessed anecdotally at their own institution. This prompted the authors to develop and refine a standardized dosing and catheter placement protocol for pain control after spinal surgery. METHODS: Epidural catheters were placed intraoperatively before wound closure, then removed on postoperative Day 5. Dosing consisted of fentanyl (1 microg/kg) and hydromorphone (5 microg/kg) diluted in preservative-free saline (0.2 mL/kg). After surgery, dosing consisted of 0.1% ropivacaine and hydromorphone (10 microg/ml) continuously infused at 0.2 mL/kg/hour. Postoperative pain control was assessed on each postoperative day using a visual analog pain scale with choices ranging from 0 to 10. RESULTS: The arithmetic mean of the median pain scores after surgery was 2.1. The mean of the maximum pain scores for the 5 days was 4.1. Three patients required an epidural bolus and a 20% increase in the epidural infusion rate. One patient was judged to be excessively sleepy, so the epidural infusion rate was decreased by 20%. Pruritus requiring diphenhydramine developed in three patients. No other adverse effects related to epidural analgesia were noted. No catheters were accidentally pulled out or disconnected. CONCLUSION: By following the dosing protocol described, epidural catheters can be used safely and effectively to control postoperative pain after anterior instrumentation and spinal fusion for adolescent scoliosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

A dual epidural catheter technique to provide analgesia following posterior spinal fusion for scoliosis in children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The authors report their experience with the use of a dual epidural catheter technique in controlling pain following long posterior spinal fusion and instrumentation for scoliosis in children and adolescents. METHODS: Following completion of the surgical procedure and prior to wound closure, the upper catheter was inserted with the tip directed cephalad to T1-4 while the tip of the lower catheter was positioned at the L1-4 level. As the surgical wound was being closed, the catheters were dosed with fentanyl and hydromorphone followed by a continuous infusion of ropivacaine plus hydromorphone. Postoperative pain was assessed every 2-4 h using a visual analogue score or an observational behavioural score (0=no pain, 10=worst imaginable pain). There were 14 patients ranging in age from 5-17 years (12.7 +/- 3.5) and in weight from 19-68 kg (44.3 +/- 17.5). The epidural catheters were left in place until the fifth postoperative day. RESULTS: The mean of the median pain score from each patient was 1.5 +/- 1.6, 1.6 +/- 1.5, 1.4 +/- 1.3, 1.1 +/- 1.1 and 0.9 +/- 0.9, respectively, on postoperative days 1 through 5. The mean of the maximum pain scores was 3.5 +/- 2.3 (range 0-7), 4 +/- 1.6 (range 2-6), 3.1 +/- 1.7 (range 1-6), 2.4 +/- 1.5 (range 0-4) and 2.2 +/- 1.4 (range 0-4), respectively, on postoperative days 1 through 5. CONCLUSION: No adverse effects related to epidural analgesia were noted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Intrathecal morphine (ITM) for postoperative pain control in children: a comparison with nalbuphine patient controlled analgesia (PCA).

This is a retrospective study covering the ten-year period 1984-1993. Single shot spinal morphine (ITM) is compared with PCA nalbuphine for postoperative pain relief in children having abdominal or thoracic procedures. The records of 52 patients meeting selection criteria were examined. Nursing and physician notations were reviewed for hourly pain assessments, evidence of associated complications, respiratory depression, nausea and or vomiting, pruritus, and urinary retention. ITM provided significantly better pain relief (2.2 h in pain) during the first 24 h postoperatively than PCA nalbuphine (9.2 h in pain). With the exception of urinary retention which was significantly more frequent following ITM (58.6%) compared to PCA nalbuphine (8.7%), narcotic related complications were not different between the two groups. No difference in duration of hospital stay or ICU stay could be demonstrated. We conclude that ITM provides better pain relief, without more serious complications, than PCA nalbuphine. We recommend it as a safe, effective technique to treat postoperative pain in children following thoracic or upper abdominal procedures.

Abdomen↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Using healthy life years (HeaLYs) to assess programming needs in a public health unit.

In December 1997, public health units in Ontario received revised mandatory program guidelines from the Ministry of Health in advance of the downloading of public health to municipalities. Public health units face difficult decisions in allocating municipal resources to meet the Province's mandated programs. To set priorities for resource allocation, it is critical to assess need across program areas and to use a common unit in doing so. This paper applies the Healthy Life Years (HeaLYs) method in assessing health need related to the mandatory programs for the population of Wellington and Dufferin counties in Ontario. The HeaLYs method incorporates duration and severity of ill-health, incidence and mortality in calculating years of healthy life lost (YHLL). For Wellington-Dufferin, the leading causes of YHLL were concentrated in the program areas of chronic disease, injury, and substance abuse and included four areas not addressed in the MPG (suicide, depression, dementia, and osteoarthritis).

Adult↗