Purpose: To investigate prospectively the influence of patient characteristics upon, and the association of postoperative measurements with, the requirements for postoperative morphine and the assessment of resting pain and pain upon movement in Chinese patients.Methods: From January 1998 to December1999, patients receiving patient-controlled iv morphine subsequent to general anesthesia and surgery at our institute (Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital), were enrolled in the study. Demographic data (such as gender, age, weight, height and education level) and postoperative measurements, including pain scores at rest or during movement, sedation scores and morphine consumption, were recorded.Results: In total 2,298 patients were recruited. Females consumed significantly less morphine via patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) in the first three postoperative days than was the case for males (P <0.05). Gender was the strongest predictor for postoperative morphine requirements. Postoperative pain upon movement was another effective predictor for morphine requirement (P <0.05). Age, body height, body weight, education and operation sites were not associated with morphine consumption.

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The results suggested that postoperative pain was an associative risk factor to increase the incidence of emesis in these female patients.

BackgroundFew studies have examined the contribution of treatment on the mortality of dementia based on a population-based study.ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of anti-dementia and nootropic treatments on the mortality of dementia using a population-based cohort study.Methods12,193 incident dementia patients were found from 2000 to 2010. Their data were compared with 12,193 age- and sex-matched non-dementia controls that were randomly selected from the same database. Dementia was classified into vascular (VaD) and degenerative dementia. Mortality incidence and hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated.ResultsThe median survival time was 3.39 years (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.88–3.79) for VaD without medication, 6.62 years (95% CI: 6.24–7.21) for VaD with nootropics, 3.01 years (95% CI: 2.85–3.21) for degenerative dementia without medication, 8.11 years (95% CI: 6.30–8.55) for degenerative dementia with anti-dementia medication, 6.00 years (95% CI: 5.73–6.17) for degenerative dementia with nootropics, and 9.03 years (95% CI: 8.02–9.87) for degenerative dementia with both anti-dementia and nootropic medications. Compared to the non-dementia group, the HRs among individuals with degenerative dementia were 2.69 (95% CI: 2.55–2.83) without medication, 1.46 (95% CI: 1.39–1.54) with nootropics, 1.05 (95% CI: 0.82–1.34) with anti-dementia medication, and 0.92 (95% CI: 0.80–1.05) with both nootropic and anti-dementia medications. VaD with nootropics had a lower mortality (HR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.15–1.37) than VaD without medication (HR: 2.46, 95% CI: 2.22–2.72).ConclusionPharmacological treatments have beneficial effects for patients with dementia in prolonging their survival.