Continuous brachial plexus analgesia and NMDA-receptor blockade in early phantom limb pain: a report of two cases.

Objective: To provide a mechanism-based acute pain management strategy for early phantom limb pain following traumatic amputations and to collect first evidence of its acute and potentially preventative effects on the formation and maintenance of phantom limb pain. The combination of continuous brachial plexus analgesia and prolonged block of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors over 4 weeks aimed to attenuate peripheral and central sensitization, currently thought to be substantially involved in establishing and maintaining phantom limb pain.

Case Report: Two patients, after traumatic upper limb amputations and early phantom limb pain, were treated on the second and fifth day following amputation by continuous brachial plexus analgesia with ropivacaine 0.

Role of cross-allergies to latex in clinical routine of anesthesia.

Study Objective: To determine the applicability and reliability of a screening questionnaire to detect patients at high-risk of latex allergy; to assess the importance of other allergies such as profilin allergies (pollinosis) for presence of latex sensitization; and to determine the clinical effectiveness of preemptive avoidance of latex exposure in high-risk patients.

Design: Prospective, clinical trial.

Setting: Operative theater of a university hospital.

The effects of fresh frozen plasma on neutrophil-endothelial interactions.

Unlabelled: Leukocyte adhesion to endothelial cells contributes to microcirculatory disturbances during severe shock syndromes. Whereas certain plasma expanders inhibit leukocyte adhesion, contaminants of plasma protein solutions upregulate endothelial cell adhesion molecules in certain cases. We performed this study to determine whether fresh frozen plasma (FFP) affects neutrophil-endothelial interactions in cocultures of neutrophils and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in vitro.