Is there a dose response of dexamethasone as adjuvant for supraclavicular brachial plexus nerve block? A prospective randomized double-blinded clinical study.

Study Objective: The study objective is to examine the analgesic effect of 3 doses of dexamethasone in combination with low concentration local anesthetics to determine the lowest effective dose of dexamethasone for use as an adjuvant in supraclavicular brachial plexus nerve block.

Design: The design is a prospective randomized double-blinded clinical study.

Setting: The setting is an academic medical center.

The association of gender and body mass index with postoperative pain scores when undergoing ankle fracture surgery.

Background: Intraoperative administration of opiates for postoperative analgesia requires a dosing strategy without clear indicators of pain in an anesthetized patient. Preoperative patient characteristics such as body mass index (BMI), gender, age, and other patient characteristics may provide important information regarding opiate requirements. This study intends to determine if there is an association between gender or BMI and the immediate postoperative pain scores after undergoing an open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of an ankle fracture with general anesthesia and morphine only analgesia.