An Acute Pain Service (APS) was started in University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur by the Department of Anaesthesiology in October 1992 for more effective control of postoperative pain. The main modalities of treatment included patient controlled analgesia (PCA) using morphine or pethidine with PCA devises, epidural opiate analgesia (EOA) using tramadol or fentanyl/bupivacaine mixture and subcutaneous administration of morphine or pethidine. Five hundred and fifty-one patients were managed in the first year, with an overall patient satisfaction score of 83%. The majority (98.5%) of them were after abdominal or major orthopaedic surgery. Eighty per cent of patients scored < 3 on the verbal numeric pain scale, where 0 is no pain and 10 is the worst imaginable pain, on the first postoperative day. Nausea and vomiting was an unpleasant side effect in 20% of patients.
Tonsillectomy is frequently associated with postoperative pain of considerable duration, which is usually accompanied by the substantial consumption of both opioid and non-opioid analgesic such as NSAIDs and local anaesthetics.
Adequate pain relief is a requisite for a successful closed manipulative reduction (CMR) of fractures and dislocations. This prospective study was undertaken to assess the mode and adequacy of pain relief given to patients undergoing such procedures at Seremban Hospital from the 1st April to the 31st May 2001. All patients with fractures and dislocations scheduled to undergo CMR were included in this study. The type of sedative agents and analgesia administered were recorded. Demographic data and the type of fracture or dislocation of the selected patients were documented. A visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain perception was given to both to the patients and the medical personnel who performed the procedure. All data were collected manually before entered into computerized database for analysis. Of 72 patients included in this study, 47% were Malay, 26% Indian, 21% Chinese and 6% others. There was male predominance and the patients' age ranged between 9 to 79 years (average 27.4 years). Upper limb injuries (79%) were mainly fractures of the radius and ulna (29%) and isolated fracture radius (21%). For the lower limb injuries (21%), combined tibia and fibula fractures constituted 10% of the total cases followed by isolated tibia fractures (10%) and hip dislocation (1%). The most common pain relieving agents given during the CMR were intravenous pethidine alone (43%) followed by combination of intravenous pethidine and valium (36%), intramuscular pethidine (17%) and intramuscular tramal (4%). The Visual Analogue Score (VAS) for pain perception revealed that 61% of the patients had moderate pain while 21% had severe pain during the course of the procedures. Suboptimal pain relief administered during CMR should prompt positive actions to ensure that the patient is not subjected to undue pain just for the sake of an acceptable fracture reduction.
We studied 95 patients who underwent knee Arthroscopy under local anaesthesia between JANUARY 1995 till 1997. Materials used were 1% Xylocaine and 0.25% Bupivacaine of 20 mls each combined with midazolam 2 mg and IV pethidine 30 mgm for sedation. The patients were attached to monitors (pulse Oxymeter, ECG and BP and pulse recorders) and blood less field was created using a tornquet. The procedures lasted about 45 minutes. 90 out of 95 patients completed the procedures successfully without any complications. 2 developed respiratory embarrassments and were intubated and ventilated. 3 procedures abandoned and converted to general anaesthesia. The range of procedures done include meniscectomy, meniscal repair, synovial biopsy, debridement for osteoarthrosis, shaving of osteophytes, drilling of cartilage and bones and removal of loose bodies. This study is to show that knee arthroscopy under LA is a safe alternative in hospitals where GA time is limited.