Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
Volume:9 Issue: 1, Feb 2019

The meeting between Rumi and Shams, in the 13th century, was a turning point in the life of Rumi leading to a revolutionary effect in his thoughts, ideas, and poems. This was an ever-inspiring meeting with many results throughout the centuries. This meeting has created some footprints in cellular and molecular medicine: The discovery of two distinct genes in Drosophila, i.e. Rumi and Shams and their role in controlling Notch signaling, which has a critical role in cell biology. This nomination and the interactions between the two genes has led us to a number of novel studies during the last years. This article reviews the interactions between Rumi and Shams and their effects on Notch signaling in order to find potential novel drugs for pain control through drug development studies in the future.

Although mentoring has been accepted as an effective and nourishing component in medical learning, known mentoring programs for the residents are lacking in most countries. To evaluate the mentoring program for anesthesiology residents at Shahid Beheshti University, an examination was designed to explore the styles of mentoring programs, as well as the aims and outcome followed by such programs. In October 2016, Anesthesiology Department of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences enrolled all the nine educational wards in “mentorship program”. Twelve members of the faculty were chosen to be mentor. This program contained: (a) Creating online groups for reporting, feedbacks, and problem-solving, (b) integrating each chapter of textbooks for studying program each month, (c) establishing formative and summative assessments (i.e., PMP, OSCE, multiple choice exams), (d) role-playing for stress management of level 4 residents. Our main objective was to provide the residents with the provision of mentors. The goals of our programs were: Arrange a safe environment to encourage and foster reflection, promote self-care and wellness, guide special development, provide a resource for residents pursuing control, enrich team constructing and problem-solving skills, and promotion in career counseling of anesthesia residents at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences enrolled in this program from 2014 to 2017. We retrospectively compared 2 periods before (2014 - 2015) and after (2016 - 2017) of monthly examination and educational conference. In the academic stage from 2014 - 2015, the overall first-time license rate for the IBA written QE was 7 of 14 (50%) and in the period of 2016 - 2017, the general rate was 11 of 14 (78%) and in the period of 2017 - 2018, it was 12 of 14 (85%). For each extra year experiencing the program, the odds ratio for passing IBA written QE was 1.7 (P < 0.05). The median Iranian Board of Anesthesiology In-Training Examination (IBAITE) percentile was considerably greater in period 2 than period 1 (P < 0.05). Also, there was a significant correlation between IBAITE score and first-time passing rates for the IBA written QE (0.55, P < 0.05). The results of this study demonstrated the clinical mentorship program as an effective method in improving theoretical, clinical, and professional achievement of anesthesiology residents. Programmed mentorship could significantly improve the educational goal achievements for anesthesiology residents. Mentoring programs are needed to be more used; however, need to be assessed and evaluated, especially regarding the professional aspects of education. Medical schools could subsequently be assessed regarding the number and quality of their running mentorship programs as a quality improvement tool.

Local anesthetics for spinal anesthesia in one-single injection are known to induce more severe hypotension than a fractionated dose in healthy obstetric patients. Hypotension in obstetric patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension, including preeclampsia, during spinal anesthesia, could compromise fetal well-being. This study aimed to compare the mean arterial pressure (MAP), the total dose of ephedrine required, and level of sensory blockade between the fractionated-dose and single-dose spinal anesthesia injection in obstetric patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension who underwent a cesarean section. This single-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted from January to April 2018 after being approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Universitas Indonesia (No. 1174/UN2.F1/ETIK/2017) and recorded at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03693638). After obtaining informed consent, 42 parturients with hypertension in pregnancy (gestational hypertension or preeclampsia), ASA II-III, aged 18 - 40 years, and BMI of 18.5 - 35 kg/m2 with singleton pregnancy, who were planned for spinal anesthesia for emergency or semi-emergency cesarean section with hyperbaric bupivacaine 0.5% (MarcaineTM, Hospira) and fentanyl, were included in this study. All subjects were randomly divided into two groups including fractionated-dose (FD) and single-dose (SD). There was no significant difference between the two groups in MAP in the first 15 minutes after anesthesia (P > 0.05) and median total dose of ephedrine required (10 (0 - 25) mg in the FD group vs. 15 (0 - 30) mg in the SD group, P = 0.30). However, in the FD group, MAP tended to be higher in the first three minutes compared to the SD group. The level of sensory blockade was mostly at T4, which was not significantly different between the groups (52.4% in FD vs. 42.9% in SD, P = 0.59). In obstetric patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension who underwent a cesarean section, the mean arterial pressure after spinal anesthesia was not significantly different between the fractionated dose of spinal anesthesia injection and single-dose injection. Total ephedrine required and levels of sensory blockade were not significantly different between the groups.

Management of difficult airway due to laryngeal mass is a major challenge to the anesthesiologists, and awake fiberoptic intubation (AFOI) would be the technique of choice. The current study aimed at comparing the effects of administration of dexmedetomidine-propofol or ketofol for sedation during AFOI in terms of intubation conditions, hemodynamic stability, and patients and anesthesiologist’s satisfaction. Eighty adult patients, 18 - 60 years old, ASA (the American Society of Anesthesiologists) physical status I-III, with difficult airway due to laryngeal mass and planned for AFOI were enrolled. Sedation was randomly given to the patients according to their assigned group by either dexmedetomidine-propofol (group D; n = 40) or ketofol (group K; n = 40). Outcome variables included time to reach Ramsay sedation scale (RSS) ≥ 3, intubation time, number of patients in need of rescue propofol, patient’s discomfort score, tolerance to endoscopy and intubation, hemodynamic parameters, patients and anesthesiologist’s satisfaction, and occurrence of side effects. Time to reach RSS ≥ 3 and intubation time were significantly shorter, and fewer patients required rescue propofol in the K group as compared to the D group (P = 0.000*, and 0.035*, respectively). Higher discomfort score and better tolerance to endoscopy and intubation were noticed in group K than group D, but with no statistical significance (P = 0.132, 0.137, and 0.211, respectively). Patients in group D had significantly lower mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) after the loading dose till five minutes after intubation (P = 0.000*). There was no significant difference in patients’ satisfaction between the two groups (P = 0.687), while anesthesiologist’s satisfaction was higher in group K compared with that of group D (P = 0.013*). Cough score as well as incidence of unfavorable respiratory outcomes were not significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.611, 0.348, respectively). Ketofol and dexmedetomidine-propofol combination were suitable and satisfactory for AFOI. However, ketofol was more advantageous in offering faster onset of sedation, shorter intubation time, stable hemodynamic profile, as well as higher anesthesiologist’s satisfaction when compared to dexmedetomidine-propofol.

Pain control after surgery in children is very important. Despite having good analgesic effects, the use of opioids is, however, limited due to side effects. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of transverse abdominis plane (TAP) block on the intensity and frequency of pain after appendectomy in children. In a single-blinded clinical trial, 40 children aged from 4 to 16 years, candidates for the appendectomy, were divided randomly to intervention and control groups. The intervention group received ultrasound-guided TAP block using 0.25 mL/kg of 0.25% bupivacaine in the Petit triangle after general anesthesia. Postoperative pain was assessed within the first 24 hours after surgery based on the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale (WBFP). There was a reduction in WBFP scores at 2 hours after appendectomy in the intervention group compared with the control group (5.05 ± 2.83 vs 6.30 ± 2.2063). Also, the pain intensity within 24 hours after surgery in the intervention and control groups was 3.10 ± 1.33, and 3.60 ± 1.63 respectively according to WBFP scale (P > 0.05). The TAP block was effective to reduce pain after appendectomy in children, however, there was no significant difference between intervention and control groups. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to be done in this area of research.

Nowadays, endoscopic sinus surgery is one of the most common surgeries in the field of ear, nose, and throat. This surgery has always been followed by bleeding and can cause hemodynamic disorders due to the direct effect of the endoscopic sinus surgery. This study aimed to investigate the hemodynamic changes with different doses of isoflurane during endoscopic sinus surgery. In a randomized clinical trial, 90 patients were selected based on ASA class I and II, and divided into three groups of 30 people. The method of anesthesia induction in groups was alike. After induction anesthesia, isoflurane with percentages of 1%, 1.2%, and 1.5% was used in the groups of 1, 2, and 3, respectively and remifentanil was fixed and used in the groups in a dose of 0.1 g/kg/min during the surgery. There was a significant difference in changes in mean of arterial pressure (MAP) after induction in the 3 groups (P < 0.001) that the reduction in mean of arterial pressure between 1 and 3 groups and between 2 and 3 groups were significantly different. There was a significant difference in heart rate per 30, 45, and 60 minutes between 1 and 2 groups (P < 0.001). Isoflurane percentages of 1.5% versus 1.2% and 1% affected generally a considerable reduction rate of 1% in bleeding and better control of mean arterial blood pressure. In addition, the mean heart rate in several minutes in group 2 with 1.2% isoflurane was less than other groups.

Discopathy is one of the most common spinal surgeries. Hemodynamic control is important in bleeding reduction during the surgery. Clonidine and dexmedetomidine both are α2 agonists that help stabilize hemodynamics and prevent the increase of intraoperative bleeding. In this study, the effects of clonidine and dexmedetomidine were compared in bleeding reduction during spinal surgery. This randomized, double-blind clinical trial was conducted in 120 patients aged 20 to 50 years with ASA class I or II, undergoing spinal surgery. Patients were randomly divided into three groups. Group C received oral clonidine 0.2 mg, 90 minutes before entering the room. Group D received dexmedetomidine 0.5 µ/kg 15 minutes before anesthesia induction and 0.25 µ/kg/h infusion during operation. Group P received placebo as the control group. There was a significant reduction in intraoperative blood loss in patients who received clonidine (289 ± 130) and dexmedetomidine (344 ± 145) compared to the control group (462 ± 15) (P < 0.05), with a more dramatic reduction in the clonidine group (P < 0. 001).

Dental rehabilitation surgery is associated with significant fear and anxiety with subsequent psychological disturbances. Midazolam has been used frequently as a premedication. However, it may be associated with side effects. Dexmedetomidine and ketamine combination has been suggested as an effective premedication in improving preoperative sedation and analgesia. This study compared the effects of combined intranasal dexmedetomidine and oral ketamine versus intranasal midazolam on anxiolysis and postoperative analgesia. Seventy-six children (aged two to six years) undergoing dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia were assigned randomly to one of the two groups (n = 38 each) receiving either intranasal dexmedetomidine at 2 µg/kg and oral ketamine at 3 mg/kg (Group DK) or intranasal midazolam at 0.2 mg/kg (group M) 30 minutes prior to the anesthesia induction. The sedation levels and parental separation state were evaluated. Time to recovery, postoperative rescue analgesia, and postoperative adverse effects were assessed. Seventy-six children completed the study. Patients in group DK had significantly lower sedation scores than those in group M after 20 and 30 min (P < 0.05). The rate of satisfactory separation showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups 30 minutes after the administration of premedication (P = 0.926). A significantly higher number of patients in group M required rescue analgesic (42%) compared to those in group DK (16%) (P = 0.012). Premedication with intranasal dexmedetomidine 2 µg/kg and oral ketamine 3 mg/kg is a rapid and effective alternative in children undergoing dental rehabilitation when compared to intranasal midazolam 0.2 mg/kg.

Various mechanisms have been suggested for analgesic effects of drugs used in infra-clavicular block and each has contributed to pain relief. The aim of this study was to compare the degree of sympathetic block and measure tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1 levels before and after infra-clavicular block with ropivacaine and bupivacaine in patients undergoing arterio venous fistula (AVF) surgery. Forty-eight patients undergoing AVF surgery were randomly divided to two groups, undergoing infra-clavicular block with ropivacaine and bupivacaine. The bupivacaine group was blocked with 30 mL of 0.5% bupivacaine and in the ropivacaine group, the blockage was done with 30 mL of 0.5% ropivacaine. Infra-clavicular block was carried out by ultrasound in a vertical manner. Blood samples were taken before the block and one hour after the block to measure IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-alpha. Data were analyzed by covariance analysis and correlation t-test. T-correlation analysis showed that in both ropivacaine and bupivacaine groups, the TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IL-1 levels decreased after the block. Also, the increase in arterial diameter was significantly greater in ropivacaine group. The present study showed that peripheral block with any single drug could reduce pre-inflammatory factors. On the other hand, ropivacaine significantly increased the diameter of the artery compared to the bupivacaine group.

Respiratory failure and hypoxemia are the known complications of anesthesia and surgery. As a major surgery mainly at advanced ages, the coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery could lead to hypoxemia in the early post-operative phase. Currently, the fraction of partial pressure of arterial oxygen to the fraction of inspired oxygen (PiO2/FiO2) is used to determine the severity of the respiratory assault. This study aimed to find the effect of hypoxemia measured by PaO2/FiO2 at the first hour following CABG in the determination of short-term prognosis of CABG. Being approved by a local ethics committee, this observational cross-sectional study was conducted in 212 patients undergoing CABG on the cardiopulmonary pump, with no concurrent surgery or other cardiac pathologies. Factors like age, sex, weight, height, the duration of pump and cross-clamp, as well as other medical conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes mellitus (DM), opioid use, ejection fraction (EF), and creatinine clearance (CrCl) before the surgery were brought into consideration as possible confounders. The ratio of PiO2/FiO2 in the first hour after the surgery was measured, and its effect on intubation time and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay was evaluated as the primary outcomes. The t-test and chi-squared were used to compare quantitative and qualitative variables, respectively. The repeated measures ANOVA test was used to compare the means. There was no significant relationship between hypoxemia measured as the ratio of PaO2/FiO2 and the duration of ICU length of stay (P value = 0.220) and the total intubation time (P value = 0.661). Among the qualitative variables, just opium addiction in patients with PaO2/FiO2 > 300 was associated with significantly longer intubation time (P value = 0.016). Furthermore, in the quantitative variables, longer intubation time was associated with higher cross-clamp time (P value = 0.035) in hypoxemia in the range of ARDS patients. Hypoxemia after the CABG surgery is common and does not affect the short-term prognosis of CABG patients.

Choosing a proper medication for pain management of patients with acute renal colic has been a challenge for physicians treating these patients. The present study was performed with the aim of comparing intravenous (IV) ibuprofen and IV ketorolac in pain management of these patients. In the present double-blind clinical trial study, patients suspected with renal colic presented to the emergency department were randomly divided into 2 groups receiving IV ibuprofen or IV ketorolac and were compared regarding effectiveness (pain reduction 15, 30, and 60 minutes after injection), treatment success, and possible side effects. In total, 240 patients suspected with renal colic with the mean age of 27.38 ± 12.32 years were randomly divided into 2 groups of 120 individuals treated with IV ketorolac or ibuprofen (66.4% male). The two groups were in a similar condition regarding age (P = 0.56), sex (P = 0.78) history of kidney stone (P = 0.40), vital signs (P > 0.05), stone size (P = 0.73), stone location (P = 0.13), and pain severity on admission (P = 0.32). 15, 30, and 60 minutes after drug injection, pain severity in the ketorolac group was significantly higher than the group receiving ibuprofen (P < 0.0001 for all comparisons), yet these differences were not clinically significant. Fifteen minutes after the injection, the rate of treatment success was significantly higher in the group receiving IV ibuprofen (P < 0.0001). After 60 minutes, the number of completely relieved cases reached 37 (30.8%) patients in the ketorolac group and 83 (69.1%) patients in the ibuprofen group. No significant difference was seen in side effects between the two groups (P = 0.35). The findings of the present study show that ibuprofen is a more rapid acting drug compared to ketorolac in controlling pain caused by renal colic. In addition, its rate of complete relief from pain was twice as much as that of ketorolac. Since the side effects observed for ibuprofen in the present study were very mild, it is suggested to use this drug in treatment and pain control of renal colic patients.