In recent years, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education has become important in many countries around the world. In this study a bibliometric analysis was applied to evaluate the scientific results of STEM education in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, indexed in the Scopus database for the period 2000-2019. A total of 175 publications were taken from the Scopus database for analysis. Our main findings show that the trend of research in this field has shown a dramatic increase in scientific production in the last three years, when the published amount accounted for 67.43% of the collection. Authors with the most publications came from the top 10 universities and research institutes (accounting for 38.44%). Scholars in the ASEAN region tend to submit their works to Q3 and Q4 journals in the SCImago database. Diverse research with basic and cross-cutting topics focus on STEM education for undergraduate students, engineering education, and education computing.

Objective To evaluate the preemptive analgesic effect of combination pregabalin with celecoxib for lumbar spine surgery. Methods A prospective, randomized study was conducted among 60 lumbar spine surgery patients and divided into two groups. Postoperative pain relief was achieved with intravenous patient-controlled analgesia with morphine. The preemptive analgesia group received oral pregabalin (150 mg) and celecoxib (200 mg) 2 hrs before surgery, and the control group received a placebo. Pain was assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS). Side effects and morphine consumption were monitored until 48 hrs after surgery. Results VAS score at rest and during movement was statistically significantly lower in the preemptive analgesia group at most time points ( p <0.05). Morphine consumption was significantly lower in the preemptive analgesia group compared with control group in the 24 first hours (29.03±4.38 mg vs 24.43±4.94) and 48 hrs (52.23±9.57 mg vs 44.20±10.21 mg), p <0.05. Hemodynamics, respiratory rate, and SpO 2 were similar for both groups. The sedation score was only statistically significant at H8 time point. The incidence of nausea/vomiting in the preemptive group did not statistically differ from the control group. Conclusion Preoperative administration of pregabalin combined with celecoxib had a good preemptive analgesia effect and reduced intravenous morphine consumption after lumbar spine surgery. Side effects were mild and transient.

BackgroundParavertebral block has been proven to be an efficient method to provide post-thoracotomy pain management. This study aimed to compare patient-controlled paravertebral analgesia (PCPA) and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IVPCA) in terms of analgesic efficiency, respiratory function, and adverse effects after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy.Patients and methodsThe prospective randomized trial study was carried out on 60 patients who underwent VATS lobectomy (randomly allocated 30 patients in each group). In the PCPA group, an initial dose of 0.3 mL/kg of 0.125% bupivacaine with fentanyl 2 µg/mL was administered, followed by a 3 mL/h continuous infusion with patient-controlled analgesia (2 mL bolus, 10-minute lockout interval, 25 mL/4 h limit). In the IVPCA group with morphine 1 mg/mL solution, an infusion device was programmed to deliver a 1.0 mL demand bolus with no basal infusion rate, with a 10-minute lockout interval and a maximum of 20 mL/4 h period. Postoperative pain was assessed by visual analog scale at rest and on coughing. Arterial blood gas and spirometry were monitored and recorded for the first 3 postoperative days. Side effects to include were also recorded.ResultsThe PCPA group had statistically significant lower pain scores (P<0.0001) at rest at all times. Lower pain scores on coughing were statistically significant in PCPA group in the first 4 hours. Postoperative spirometry showed that both the groups had comparable recovery trajectories for their pulmonary function. Arterial blood gas analysis showed pH and PaCO2 were in a normal range in both the groups. The incidence of headache was higher in the IVPCA group (13.3% vs 0%; P=0.038).ConclusionPCPA effectively managed pain after VATS lobectomy, with lower pain scores, similar respiratory function, and fewer side effects than standard IVPCA treatment.

Background Local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST) is a life-threatening complication that may follow application of LAs through various routes. Despite increasing usage of LA techniques in a large number of health-care settings, contemporary awareness of LAST and understanding of its management are inadequate. Case presentation We report two cases who suffered LAST following brachial plexus block for surgery on the upper extremity. The first patient received an ultrasound-guided supraclavicular block with 300 mg lidocaine (6 mg/kg) and 50 mg ropivacaine (1 mg/kg) in 25 mL without epinephrine, and the second patient received an ultrasound guided interscalene block with 200 mg lidocaine (4.5 mg/kg) and 45 mg ropivacaine (1 mg/kg) supplemented with epinephrine 1:200,000. Both patients presented with symptoms of central nervous and respiratory system depression, the first roughly 10 minutes after injection, and the second immediately after withdrawal of the needle. In both cases, thorough recovery was obtained using lipid-emulsion therapy. Conclusion The complication of LAST following ultrasound-guided brachial plexus block could be treated successfully applying the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicineprotocol of intravenous administration of lipid emulsion.

BACKGROUND: Using sugammadex allows to quickly reverse deep neuromuscular blockade with rocuronium in laparoscopic surgery, which results in great benefits during and after surgery by minimizing the problem of postoperative residual curarization. AIM: The aims of this study are comparing the efficacy of reversing neuromuscular blockade between sugammadex and neostigmine and evaluating its unwanted effects after laparoscopic abdominal surgery. METHODS: Subject of this prospective clinical comparative trial was patients who underwent abdominal laparoscopic surgery at 103 Military Hospital from October 2017 to October 2018. Eighty-four patients suffering from abdominal laparoscopic surgery under deep neuromuscular blockade were enrolled and divided randomly into two groups with 42 patients in each: Group N used neostigmine for neuromuscular blockade reversal and Group S applied sugammadex. At the end of surgery, neuromuscular blockade was reversed with either sugammadex or neostigmine. RESULTS: The reversal time to achieve train-of-four ratio >0.9 in the sugammadex group was 2.42 ± 0.58 min, which was shorter than in the neostigmine group (11.83 ± 2.19 min) (p < 0.05). The time until extubation in the sugammadex group was 3.69 ± 0.67 min, which was shorter than in the neostigmine group 11.90 ± 2.22 min (p < 0.05). Reversal with sugammadex resulted in statistical significance of less sputum production (0% vs. 11.9%), dry mouth (0% vs. 28.57%), headache (2.38% vs. 7.14%), and nausea (4.76% vs. 14.28%) compared with neostigmine. However, 26.19% of patients in the neostigmine group presented bradycardia, whereas the concurrent administration of atropine in the neostigmine group resulted in increased heart rate. CONCLUSION: Sugammadex reversed neuromuscular blockade more rapidly and effectively than neostigmine in abdominal laparoscopic surgeries. The unwanted effects of sugammadex group were fewer than neostigmine group.