Ultrasound visibility of regional anesthesia catheters: an in vitro study.

Background: Ultrasound subjective visibility of in-plane needles is correlated with the intensity difference between the needle surface and the background. Regional anesthesia catheters are difficult to visualize by an ultrasound. In the present study, we investigated the ultrasound visibility of the catheters.

New anthranilic acid derivative, EAntS-GS, attenuates Freund's complete adjuvant-induced acute pain in rats.

Background: Acute and chronic pain commonly accompany various clinical conditions such as contusion, fracture, osteoarthritis, peripheral neuropathy, and postherpetic neuralgia. Recent studies have found that antioxidative drugs can have analgesic effects. The present study tested the hypothesis that a new anthranilic acid derivative, EAntS-GS, exerts antinociceptive effects on inflammatory pain in a rat model.

The antinociceptive effects of estradiol on adjuvant-induced hyperalgesia in rats involve activation of adrenergic and serotonergic systems.

Purpose: Estradiol is a female hormone required for maintaining pregnancy and developing follicles in the ovary. Estradiol has been shown to perform a variety of physiological activities, including pain reduction. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that estradiol exerts antinociceptive effects in a rat model of inflammatory hyperalgesia.

Use of imaging agent to determine postoperative indwelling epidural catheter position.

Background: Epidural anesthesia is widely used to provide pain relief, whether for surgical anesthesia, postoperative analgesia, treatment of chronic pain, or to facilitate painless childbirth. In many cases, however, the epidural catheter is inserted blindly and the indwelling catheter position is almost always uncertain.

Methods: In this study, the loss-of-resistance technique was used and an imaging agent was injected through the indwelling epidural anesthesia catheter to confirm the position of its tip and examine the migration rate.

[Resistance to vecuronium bromide induced muscle relaxation in a patient with chronic renal failure and secondary hyperparathyroidism].

We report resistance to vecuronium bromide (Vb) induced muscle relaxation for general anesthesia in a patient with chronic renal failure (CRF) and secondary hyperparathyroidism (HPT). An 81-year-old man (body weight : 52 kg) diagnosed with bladder carcinoma was scheduled for a total cystectomy. In the operating room, standard monitors were applied except for a nerve stimulator.

Olprinone reduces ischemia/reperfusion-induced acute renal injury in rats through enhancement of cAMP.

Activated leukocytes are implicated in development of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced organ injuries. Phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitors have anti-inflammatory effects by preventing cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) degradation. We examined the effects of olprinone, a specific phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitor, on I/R-induced acute renal injury model in rats.

[Parenteral opioids in end-of-life care in cancer patients].

The ethical obligation to relieve pain and other distressing symptoms in patients with cancer is now receiving increasing attention and concern in palliative and end-of-life care. The vast majority of patients with cancer pain are prescribed opioids in oral formulation. However, a patient at the end of his or her life often needs parenteral administration of opioids as the medical condition deteriorates, irrespective of using sedatives.