• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.167-173
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• 1989

Inadequate pain relief after upper abdominal surgery increases the incidence of pulmonary complications due to the difficulty in coughing and deep breathing. Kvalheim and Reiestad (1984) introduced intrapleural administration of local anesthetic solutions to produce analgesia following cholecystectomy performed through a subcostal incision, unilateral breast surgery and renal surgery. We studied continuous intrapleural administration of bupivacaine and epinephrine, and its effect in controlling pain after cholecystectomy. In 9 patients, an intermittent dosage technique was used. An intrapleural catheter was inserted and 20 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine and 1:100,000 epinephrine was administered. Results were as following: 1) Mean analgesic duration from the initial intrapleural injection to secondary administration of supplementary bupivacaine was 13.5 hours. 2) No specific changes were noted on vital signs and arterial blood gases. 3) Effective analgesia, produced by intrapleural bupivacaine resulted in significant improvement in tidal volume as measured by spirometry. 4) No signs of systemic toxicity and complications were encountered. 5) Intrapleural administration of a local anesthetics after cholecystectomy provides a satisfactory duration of analgesia.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2019

Background: Severe pain always develops after thoracotomy; intrapleural regional analgesia is used as a simple, safe technique to control it. This study was performed to evaluate whether a small dose of naloxone with local anesthetics prolongs sensory blockade. Methods: A prospective, randomized double-blinded controlled study was conducted on 60 patients of American Society of Anesthesiologists statuses I and II, aged 18 to 60 years, scheduled for unilateral thoracotomy surgery. After surgery, patients were randomly divided into two groups: through the intrapleural catheter, group B received 30 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine, while group N received 30 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine with 100 ng of naloxone. Postoperative pain was assessed using the visual analog pain scale (VAS). Time for the first request for rescue analgesia, total amount consumed, and incidence of postoperative complications were also recorded. Results: The VAS score significantly decreased in group N, at 6 h and 8 h after operation (P < 0.001 for both). At 12 h after injection, the VAS score increased significantly in group N (P < 0.001). The time for the first request of rescue analgesia was significantly longer in group N compared to group B (P < 0.001). The total amount of morphine consumed was significantly lower in group N than in the bupivacaine group (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Addition of a small dose of naloxone to bupivacaine in intrapleural regional analgesia significantly prolonged pain relief after thoracotomy and delayed the first request for rescue analgesia, without significant adverse effects.