Both intra-articular morphine and clonidine produce analgesia. This study was designed to compare the analgesic effects of the two drugs, used separately and in combination. We studied 90 patients undergoing arthroscopy of the knee under general anaesthesia. Patients were allocated randomly to receive 20 ml of intra-articular isotonic saline solution containing morphine 2 mg, clonidine 150 micrograms or both. Pain was assessed on an visual analogue scale after operation and time for rescue medication was measured. There was no difference in VAS scores between the three groups and the time for rescue analgesic was comparable. We conclude that intra-articular morphine and clonidine have comparable analgesic effects in the doses used. The combination of both drugs did not seem to increase analgesia.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a hypnotically-based intervention for pain and fear in women undergoing labor who are about to receive an epidural catheter. A group of 155 women received interventions that included either (a) patient rocking, gentle touching, and hypnotic communication or (b) patient rocking, gentle touching, and standard communication. The authors found that the hypnotic communication intervention was more effective than the standard communication intervention for reducing both pain intensity and fear. The results support the use of hypnotic communication just before and during epidural placement for women who are in labor and also indicate that additional research to evaluate the benefits and mechanism of this treatment is warranted.
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