Background:
This prospective, randomized, double-blinded, active controlled trial assessed whether a single preoperative administration of 40 mg of duloxetine could decrease postoperative pain and numbness after posterior lumbar interbody fusion surgery (PLIF).
Methods:
Patients with an American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I or II undergoing PLIF were included. At 2 hours before inducing anesthesia, patients were administered 40 mg duloxetine or 4 mg diazepam (control drug). Postoperative pain and other symptoms were evaluated on the basis of a visual analog scale, amount of fentanyl used, fentanyl dose request times, rate of use of adjunctive analgesics (diclofenac sodium or pentazocine), and lower limb numbness score (0–3) during the first 2 postoperative days.
Results:
Forty-six patients were randomly assigned to the duloxetine and diazepam groups (n = 23 each); 6 were lost to follow-up, and analysis was performed on data from 22 patients in the duloxetine group and 18 in the diazepam group. No significant differences were detected in the patient background, postoperative visual analog scale score at rest in the lumbar region and lower limbs, fentanyl use, rate of analgesic adjuvant use, or incidence of side effects. The numbness score in the lower limbs, however, was significantly lower in the duloxetine group.
Conclusion:
A single preoperative 40-mg dose of duloxetine did not improve postoperative pain after PLIF, but did improve lower limb numbness. Duloxetine may suppress neuropathic pain-like symptoms after PLIF surgery.
Increasing evidence indicates that sevoflurane anesthesia does not impair renal function in healthy patients despite higher concentrations of plasma inorganic fluoride. However, whether sevoflurane further affects renal tubular function in patients with impaired renal function is not known. We compared the effect of sevoflurane anesthesia with that of isoflurane anesthesia on renal tubular function in patients with moderately impaired renal function. Fourteen patients with creatinine clearance between 10 and 55 mL/min were anesthetized with either sevoflurane or isoflurane using a semiclosed circuit system. Plasma inorganic fluoride concentrations and urine N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (gamma-GTP), and beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2MG) excretions were measured up to post-anesthetic day 14. Although both the peak plasma inorganic fluoride concentrations and the areas under the curve of plasma inorganic fluoride concentration versus time were significantly greater in the sevoflurane group than in the isoflurane group, urine NAG, gamma-GTP, and beta 2MG excretions per day did not differ between the two groups. These results indicate that sevoflurane and isoflurane may have similar effects on the renal tubules in patients with moderately impaired renal function.
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