Intraoperative and postoperative nausea and vomiting (IONV and PONV, respectively) are common complications of anesthesia with significant associated morbidity. Strategies for their prevention and treatment have been organized in pharmacological and nonpharmacological measures. Acupuncture at PC6 has demonstrated efficacy in randomized trials, although evidence regarding its efficacy in treating IONV and PONV has not yet been fully established. We present the case of a patient who underwent peripheral vascular surgery on a limb under a subarachnoid block and who developed IONV refractory to conventional pharmacological therapy. Acupuncture at the PC6 and the TF4 points proved to be an effective alternative treatment to conventional pharmacological treatment and resulted in almost immediate cessation of IONV.

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Anxiety contributes to postsurgical pain, and midazolam is frequently prescribed preoperatively. Conflicting results have been described concerning the impact of midazolam on pain. This study aims to evaluate the effect of systemic midazolam on pain after open inguinal hernia repair, clarifying its relationship with preoperative anxiety. A prospective observational cohort study was conducted in three Portuguese ambulatory units between September 2018 and March 2020. Variable doses of midazolam were administered. Postsurgical pain was evaluated up to three months after surgery. We enrolled 306 patients and analyzed 281 patients. The mean preoperative anxiety Numeric Rating Scale score was 4 (3) and the mean Surgical Fear Questionnaire score was 22 (16); the mean midazolam dose was 1.7 (1.1) mg with no correlation to preoperative anxiety scores. Pain ≥4 was present in 67% of patients 24 h after surgery and in 54% at seven days; at three months, 27% were classified as having chronic postsurgical pain. Preoperative anxiety correlated to pain severity at all time points. In multivariable regression, higher midazolam doses were associated with less pain during the first week, with no apparent effect on chronic pain. However, subgroup analyses uncovered an effect modification according to preoperative anxiety: the decrease in acute pain occurred in the low-anxiety patients with no effect on the high-anxiety group. Inversely, there was an increase in chronic postsurgical pain in the very anxious patients, without any effect on the low-anxiety group. Midazolam, generally used as an anxiolytic, might impact distinctively on pain depending on anxiety.

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