DESIGN: Cross-sectional.
SETTING: Jakarta, Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 504 non-pregnant women 18-40 years.
MAIN MEASURES: Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and PTH.
RESULTS: The mean 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was 48 nmol/l. Less than 1% of women had a 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration indicative of vitamin D deficiency (<17.5 nmol/l); whereas, over 60% of women had a 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration indicative of insufficiency (<50 nmol/l). We estimate that 52 nmol/l was the threshold concentration for plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D above which no further suppression of PTH occurred. Below and above this concentration the slopes of the regression lines were -0.18 (different from 0; P=0.003) and -0.01 (P=0.775), respectively. The relation between vitamin D status and parathyroid hormone concentration did not differ between women with low, medium or high calcium intakes (P=0.611); however, even in the highest tertile of calcium intake, mean calcium intake was only 657 mg/d.
CONCLUSION: On the basis of maximal suppression of PTH we estimate an optimal 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration of approximately 50 nmol/l. Many women had a 25-hydroxyvitamin D below this concentration and may benefit from improved vitamin D status.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled prospective study, we enrolled 40 children undergoing tonsillectomy. Anesthetic care was standardized. Intraoperative analgesia was provided with remifentanil 0.5 microg x kg(-1) followed by an infusion of 0.25 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1). Group I (ketamine, n = 20) received a bolus dose of ketamine 0.5 mg x kg(-1) followed by a continuous infusion of 2 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1) before start of surgery. The infusion was stopped when surgery ended. Group II (placebo, n=20) received normal saline in the same manner. Pain was assessed postoperatively using the Children's Hospital Eastern Ontario Pain Scale (CHEOPS; range of scores 4 13), and total morphine consumption was recorded in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). Patients were transferred to the ward and morphine was administered via a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) device and analgesia was recorded using a visual analogue scale (VAS) (0 - 10).
RESULTS: Intraoperative remifentanil consumption was not different between the ketamine group (0.29+/-0.09 microg x kg x min(-1) ) and the control group (0.24+/-0.07 microg x kg x min(-1)). There were no significant differences between CHEOPS scores and VAS score between the two groups. The total mean morphine consumption in the ward was not significantly different between the two groups: 376.5 +/-91.6 microg x kg(-1) with ketamine and 384.4+/-97.3 microg x kg(-1) with placebo. The time-to-first analgesic requirement was also similar in both groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Small-dose ketamine did not decrease postoperative pain after tonsillectomy in children when added to a continuous intraoperative remifentanil infusion.