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H Kehlet

Publications and source records attributed to H Kehlet.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

Hyperalgesia in a human model of acute inflammatory pain: a methodological study.

The aim of the study was to examine reproducibility of primary and secondary hyperalgesia in a psychophysical model of human inflammatory pain. Mild burns were produced on the crura of 12 volunteers with a 50 x 25 mm thermode (47 degrees C, 7 min). Assessments of (i) cold and warm detection thresholds, (ii) mechanical and heat pain thresholds, (iii) pain to heat (43 degrees C and 45 degrees C, 5 s), (iv) secondary hyperalgesia, and (v) skin erythema were made 1.75 and 0.5 h before, and 0, 1, 2, 4, and 6 h after a burn injury. Sensory thresholds and hyperalgesia to heat and mechanical stimuli were examined by contact thermodes and von Frey hairs, and pain intensity was rated with a visual analog scale (0-100). To describe between-day reproducibility, the subjects were examined three times at intervals of 21 days. Within-day comparisons showed that a 20% change could be detected as significant for all variables with fewer than 12 subjects in a cross-over design (2alpha = 5% and power = 80%). Between-day comparisons demanded up to 25 subjects to detect changes of the same magnitude. The burns caused mild to moderate pain (VAS: mean 29, SD 14) and the subjects (all right-handed) were more sensitive to heat pain on their left side (P < 0.03). Hyperalgesia was induced instantaneously by the burn and outlasted the study period (6 h). However, no spontaneous pain was observed after the injury, and a brief period of hypoesthesia to warm and cold stimuli was induced by the burn. The painful measurements themselves evoked hyperalgesia to heat and mechanical stimuli on the arm, but only to mechanical stimuli on the legs. including secondary hyperalgesia. Hyperalgesia evoked by the measurements was significantly less intense than that induced by injury. Habituation to the painful stimuli was demonstrated by significantly higher pain thresholds and lower pain responses on the second and third day of the study. The burn model is a sensitive psychophysical model of acute inflammatory pain, when cross-over designs and within-day comparisons are used, and the model is suitable for double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of analgesics. In similar models, we recommend that analgesic and placebo are evenly divided between right and left sides and study days.

Acute Disease↗

Hyperalgesia and temporal summation of pain after heat injury in man.

Temporal summation of pain occurs when repeated stimuli become increasingly painful in spite of unchanged stimulus intensity. Summation can be quantified as the difference in pain between the first and the last stimulus in a train of stimuli. The aim of the study was to compare temporal summation of pain in normal skin with summation of pain in skin with primary and secondary hyperalgesia evoked by a heat injury. A heat injury was produced on the crus of 12 volunteers with a 50 x 25 mm thermode (47 degrees C, 7 min). Measurements were made before, and 0, 1, 2, and 4 h after the heat injury, in three areas: primary and secondary mechanical hyperalgesia induced by the heat injury, and in a mirror image of the injury on the opposite leg. Temporal summation of pain was induced by repeated electrical stimuli (five stimuli at 2 Hz) and assessed by visual analog scale (VAS). Primary hyperalgesia was evaluated by von Frey hairs and electrical stimuli, and the areas of secondary hyperalgesia with a rigid von Frey hair (314 mN). Significant primary (P < 0.000001) and secondary (P < 0.00006) mechanical hyperalgesia were evoked by the heat injury. The pain threshold to single electrical stimuli was reduced within the injury (P < 0.03), but not outside. The pain responses to single and repeated electrical stimuli were not significantly altered by the injury. Temporal summation of pain occurred in 418 stimulus trains out of 576 (73%), but no significant changes in summation developed in skin with primary or secondary mechanical hyperalgesia compared with normal skin (baseline measurements). Temporal summation at high stimulus intensities was more pronounced than at lower intensities (P < 0.0002). We found no correlation between either temporal summation and area of secondary hyperalgesia, or temporal summation and pain intensity during the induction of heat injury. We conclude that the development of primary and secondary mechanical hyperalgesia after heat injury in man was not associated with changes in temporal summation of painful electrical stimuli.

Adult↗

Pain after groin hernia repair.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study was to provide a detailed description of postoperative pain after elective day-case open inguinal hernia repair under local anaesthesia. METHODS: This was a prospective consecutive case series study. After 500 hernia operations in 466 unselected patients aged 18-90 years, pain was scored (none, light, moderate or severe) at rest, while coughing and during mobilization, daily for the first postoperative week and after 4 weeks. Pain scores were added together over the first postoperative week. RESULTS: On days 1, 6 and 28, 66, 33 and 11 per cent respectively had moderate or severe pain while coughing or mobilizing. Total pain scores were higher while coughing or mobilizing than at rest (P < 0.001). Younger patients had higher total pain scores than older patients while coughing or mobilizing (P0< 0.01), but not at rest. No significant differences were found between types of surgery or hernia. CONCLUSION: Pain remained a problem despite the pre-emptive use of opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and local anaesthesia, irrespective of surgical technique.

Adolescent↗

Percutaneous transhepatic cholelithotripsy for difficult common bile duct stones.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: A study was carried out to assess the feasibility of a new rapid technique for percutaneous transhepatic access to the biliary tract with endoscopic lithotripsy (percutaneous transhepatic cholelithotripsy). PATIENTS AND METHODS: 14 patients with biliary stones resistant to endoscopic retrograde cholangiography and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy underwent cholelithotripsy, utilizing a new dilation kit with massive teflon dilators covered by "peel-away sheets". RESULTS: Successful lithotripsy was performed in all patients by laser lithotripsy through a choledochoscope or ureteroscope in ten patients and by stone removal by basket in the remaining four patients. The procedure was carried out using local anesthesia in the last 11 patients. Except for two patients with transient cholangitis, no complications occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Difficult bile duct and intrahepatic stones can be treated successfully with a simple percutaneous transhepatic cholelithotripsy procedure including local anesthesia, dilation and stone clearance.

Aged↗

Pain and dyspepsia after elective and acute cholecystectomy.

BACKGROUND: Postcholecystectomy pain occurs in 20-30%. The main cause of this pain remains unclear. Whether the underlying gallbladder disease influences the outcome after cholecystectomy is not fully established. METHODS: A multicenter questionnaire study comparing the occurrence of abdominal pain and dyspepsia 5-10 years after cholecystectomy in 345 (222 women, 123 men) patients cholecystectomized for acute cholecystitis and in a control group of 296 (213 women, 83 men) patients cholecystectomized for uncomplicated symptomatic gallbladder stones. RESULTS: Of 641 questionnaires, 534 (83%) were completed. Complaints of abdominal pain and dyspepsia were found with similar frequencies in the acute cholecystitis and gallstone groups. Women had abdominal pain more often than men (42% versus 29%) (P = 0.01). Although more than one-third complained of abdominal pain after cholecystectomy, 93% had improved or were cured. CONCLUSION: The outcome after cholecystectomy seems to be independent of the underlying gallbladder disease (acute cholecystitis or elective operations for gallstones).

Abdominal Pain↗

Cryoanalgesia: effect on postherniorrhaphy pain.

UNLABELLED: Cryoanalgesia versus sham treatment was applied to the ilioinguinal and iliohypogastric nerves after mesh repair of an inguinal hernia under local anesthesia in 48 male patients in a prospective, randomized, and observer- and patient-blinded trial. Pain was scored daily during rest, while coughing, and during mobilization to the sitting position for 1 wk and weekly for 8 wk on a four-point verbal rank scale. Use of supplementary analgesics and sensory disturbances were recorded. Assessments were made for allodynia, hyperalgesia, and mechanical pain detection thresholds 8 wk postoperatively. Cumulative pain scores for the first postoperative week were equal in the two groups, as was the use of analgesics. Eight weeks postoperatively, three cases of hyperalgesia to pinprick were detected in the cryoanalgesia group, and 10 patients in the cryoanalgesia group versus 5 in the sham-treatment group reported disturbed sensibility. We conclude that cryoanalgesia of the iliohypogastrical and ilioinguinal nerve does not decrease postherniorrhaphy pain. IMPLICATIONS: Does freezing of sensory nerves in the groin reduce pain after hernia repair? Extreme cold (-60 degrees C) was applied in a double-blind, randomized study. No difference in pain scores was found. Sensory disturbances were seen in treatment and control patients. Freezing cannot be recommended for pain relief after hernia repair.

Aged↗

Peripheral analgesic effects of ketamine in acute inflammatory pain.

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND. This study examined the analgesic effect of local ketamine infiltration, compared with placebo and systemic ketamine, in a human model of inflammatory pain. METHODS: Inflammatory pain was induced by a burn (at 47 degrees C for 7 min; wound size, 2.5 x 5 cm) on the calf in 15 volunteers on 3 separate days with 7-day intervals. They received either (1) subcutaneous infiltration with ketamine in the burn area (local treatment) and contralateral placebo injections, or (2) subcutaneous ketamine contralateral to the burn (systemic treatment) and placebo in the burn area, or (3) placebo on both sides. The study was double-blinded and the order of the treatments was randomized. Hyperalgesia to mechanical and heat stimuli was examined by von Frey hairs and contact thermodes (3.75 and 12.5 cm2), and pain was rated using a visual analog scale (0-100). RESULTS: The burns produced significant hyperalgesia. Local ketamine infiltration reduced pain during the burn injury compared with systemic treatment and placebo (P < 0.01). Heat pain thresholds were increased by local ketamine treatment compared with placebo immediately after injection (P < 0.03), and so were the mechanical pain thresholds (P = 0.02). Secondary hyperalgesia and suprathreshold pain responses to heat and mechanical stimuli were not significantly affected by local ketamine. No difference between local ketamine and placebo could be detected 1 h and 2 h after the burn. CONCLUSIONS: Ketamine infiltration had brief local analgesic effects, but several measures of pain and hyperalgesia were unaffected. Therefore, a clinically relevant effect of peripheral ketamine in acute pain seems unlikely.

Administration, Cutaneous↗

The feasibility, safety and cost of infiltration anaesthesia for hernia repair. Hvidovre Hospital Hernia Group.

Data from 400 consecutive elective ambulatory operations for inguinal hernia under unmonitored local anaesthesia with limited pre-operative testing were prospectively obtained by the use of standardised files and questionnaires to assess the feasibility, patient satisfaction and potential cost reductions for such a technique. The median age of the patients was 59 years, and 29 operations were performed in ASA group III patients. The median postoperative hospital stay was 85 min. Conversion to general anaesthesia was necessary only in two cases, and nine patients needed overnight admission. One week postoperative morbidity was low with one case of transient cerebral ischaemia and one case of pneumonia, but no case of urinary retention. On follow-up, 88% were satisfied with the procedure, including unmonitored local anaesthesia. The cost reduction was at least 160 Pounds per patient compared with general/regional anaesthesia. We conclude that elective inguinal herniorrhaphy may be performed routinely under unmonitored local anaesthesia with a low postoperative morbidity, a high satisfaction rate and significant cost reductions.

Adult↗

Impact of laparoscopic surgery on stress responses, immunofunction, and risk of infectious complications.

Open laparotomy is followed by profound changes in endocrine metabolic function and various host defense mechanisms, impaired pulmonary function, and hypoxemia, all of which may be important for the development of postoperative infectious complications. Laparoscopic surgery, however, leads to a reduced inflammatory response (C-reactive protein and interleukin-6), a reduced immunomodulatory response, improvement in pulmonary function, and less hypoxemia, whereas classic endocrine metabolic responses are less influenced or not influenced compared with similar open operation. The clinical implications of laparoscopic surgery on postoperative infectious complications have not been assessed in large-scale prospective, randomized studies, except in appendectomy, in which a reduced incidence of wound infection has been demonstrated. Data from cholecystectomy and colorectal surgery suggest a reduction in wound complications, whereas the sparse data on intraperitoneal infections and sepsis are not conclusive. Thus, laparoscopic surgery modifies the injury response and reduces the risk of infectious complications. If integrated into an accelerated rehabilitation program, further improvement may result. The impact of these findings on prophylactic antibiotic regimens cannot be assessed from available data and requires evaluation in prospective clinical studies.

Humans↗

[Uncomplicated gallstones: who should be operated on?].

Gallstones are common and occur asymptomatically or symptomatically with or without complications. Treatment is only required for symptomatic gallstones and complications in gallstones. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the treatment of choice for symptomatic gallstones and is performed with an increasing frequency. One may fear, that the indications for cholecystectomy have changed, and surgery is now undertaken for a lesser degree of morbidity. Cholecystectomy does not increase life expectancy, and 20-30% of patients cholecystectomized for symptomatic gallstones complain of abdominal pain of unknown origin after the operation. New valid parameters in order to predict which patients will benefit from cholecystectomy are therefore necessary. Symptoms specific to gallstones are not precisely known, and greatest success in treatment seems to be related to the occurrence of severe, often steady pain, of hours' duration, often located in the epigastrium or upper right quadrant, with or without radiation and/or vomiting. Dyspepsia alone is not an indication for cholecystectomy. Psychological vulnerability may predict a poor outcome after cholecystectomy and should lead to reconsideration of the indication for surgery.

Cholecystectomy↗

[Posterior rectotomy--a minimally invasive procedure?].

This study included twenty-five consecutive patients, 12 men and 13 women, treated with a posterior approach to the rectum because of diseases in the mid and lower third of the rectum. Surgical indication included rectovaginal fistula in four patients, villous adenoma in 13 patients, villous adenoma containing carcinoma in three patients, primary carcinoma in four old high-risk patients and recurrent cancer in one old high-risk patient. There were only a few minor postoperative surgical complications, one wound infection and one rectal bleeding from the place of the excision. The bleeding was treated transanally. Three patients developed pneumonia. No patients died as a complication of the procedure. The posterior approach provides excellent exposure for complete removal of tumour in the mid- and distal part of the rectum, and the results of this study indicated that the technique has a place in the management of various benign and selected malignant conditions in the mid and lower third of the rectum. The procedure is easy to perform, safe with only a few minor complications and well tolerated even in old high-risk patients.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Effect of prednisolone on the systemic response and wound healing after colonic surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of preoperative treatment with a single high-dose glucocorticoid on the systemic and immunologic responses, wound healing, and convalescence after colonic surgery. DESIGN: Double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial. SETTING: Department of surgery in a university hospital. PATIENTS: Thirty patients scheduled for open colonic resection; 6 patients were excluded from the study (N = 24). INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomized to either of 2 treatment regimens: methylprednisolone sodium succinate 90 minutes before induction of anesthesia and epidural analgesia (group 1, n = 12), or placebo 90 minutes before anesthesia and epidural analgesia (group 2, n = 12). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Assessments of pain, pulmonary function, convalescence, and various injury and wound-healing factors were done several times until 10 days after surgery. RESULTS: Conventional reduction in pulmonary function and mobilization was improved in group 1. Interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein levels increased significantly less in group 1, as delayed-type hypersensitivity was abolished in group 1. Plasma cascade system activations were significantly less pronounced in group 1. Reduction of collagen turnover was observed in group 1, but without detrimental effects on collagen accumulation. CONCLUSION: Treatment with a single high-dose glucocorticoid before colonic surgery may improve postoperative pulmonary function and mobilization and reduce plasma cascade system activations, the inflammatory response, and immunofunction, but without detrimental effects on wound healing.

Adult↗

Validation of pulse oximetry for monitoring of hypoxaemic episodes in the late postoperative period.

We monitored 12 patients undergoing major abdominal surgery using a pulse oximeter (Nellcor N-200) and a transcutaneous oxygen tension monitor (TINA, Radiometer A/S) on the second or third night after operation. Of the shortest hypoxaemic episodes measured with the pulse oximeter (< or = 30 s duration), 78% also occurred in the transcutaneous oxygen tension measurement. Episodes of longer duration (> or = 1 min duration on the pulse oximeter) were, in 95% of cases, reflected in the transcutaneous oxygen tension measurement also. Thus postoperative episodic desaturations lasting > or = 1 min are at least 95% likely to be a real phenomenon.

Abdomen↗

Multimodal approach to control postoperative pathophysiology and rehabilitation.

Major surgery is still associated with undesirable sequelae such as pain, cardiopulmonary, infective and thromboembolic complications, cerebral dysfunction, nausea and gastrointestinal paralysis, fatigue and prolonged convalescence. The key pathogenic factor in postoperative morbidity, excluding failures of surgical and anaesthetic technique, is the surgical stress response with subsequent increased demands on organ function. These changes in organ function are thought to be mediated by trauma-induced endocrine metabolic changes and activation of several biological cascade systems (cytokines, complement, arachidonic acid metabolites, nitric oxide, free oxygen radicals, etc). To understand postoperative morbidity it is therefore necessary to understand the pathophysiological role of the various components of the surgical stress response and to determine if modification of such responses may improve surgical outcome. While no single technique or drug regimen has been shown to eliminate postoperative morbidity and mortality, multimodal interventions may lead to a major reduction in the undesirable sequelae of surgical injury with improved recovery and reduction in postoperative morbidity and overall costs.

Brain Diseases↗

Effect of sympathetic nerve block on acute inflammatory pain and hyperalgesia.

BACKGROUND: Sympathetic nerve blocks relieve pain in certain chronic pain states, but the role of the sympathetic pathways in acute pain is unclear. Thus the authors wanted to determine whether a sympathetic block could reduce acute pain and hyperalgesia after a heat injury in healthy volunteers. METHODS: The study was made as a randomized, single blinded investigation, in which the volunteers served as their own controls. A lumbar sympathetic nerve block and a contralateral placebo block were performed in 24 persons by injecting 10 ml bupivacaine (0.5%) and 10 ml saline, respectively. The duration and quality of blocks were evaluated by the sympatogalvanic skin response and skin temperature. Bilateral heat injuries were produced on the medial surfaces of the calves with a 50 x 25 mm thermode (47 degrees C, 7 min) 45 min after the blocks. Pain intensity induced by heat, pain thresholds to thermal and mechanical stimulation, and secondary hyperalgesia were assessed before block, after block, and 1, 2, 4, and 6 h after the heat injuries. RESULTS: Of the 24 volunteers, eight were excluded because of somatic block or incomplete sympathetic block. The study revealed no significant differences between sympathetic block and placebo for pain or mechanical allodynia during injury, or pain thresholds, pain responses to heat, or areas of secondary hyperalgesia after the injury. The comparisons were done for the period when the block was effective. CONCLUSION: Sympathetic nerve block did not change acute inflammatory pain or hyperalgesia after a heat injury in human skin.

Acute Disease↗