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Original Article
Efikasi analgetik pada blok ganglion stellata terhadap nyeri pasca
operatif
N. Kumar,1 D. Thapa,2 S. Gombar,3 V. Ahuja4 and R. Gupta5
1 Junior Resident, 2 Associate Professor, 3 Professor, 4 Assistant Professor, Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive
Care, 5 Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, India
Summary
Penelitian ini merupakan suatu penelitian acak, tersamar, dengan plasebo sebagai kontrol yang bertujuan untuk
membandingkan efektivitas analgesik pada blok ganglion stellata terhadap nyeri pasca operatif setelah pembedahan
orthopedi ekstremitas bagian atas. Responden diberikan injeksi 3ml blok ganglion stellata dengan bantuan ultrasound;
15 orang mendapatkan lidocaine 2% dan 15 responden lainnya memperoleh saline 0.9%. Following the block, all
patients received standardised general anaesthesia. Postoperative analgesia included regular intravenous diclofenac,
paracetamol and patient-controlled analgesia with tramadol for
24 h. Patients were observed at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24 h after surgery for tramadol consumption, cardiovascular vari-
ables and visual analogue scale pain scores at rest and on movement. The mean (SD) hourly tramadol consumption
was significantly reduced in the lidocaine group compared with the saline group at 4 h (8.0 (10.1) mg vs 28.0
(12.6) mg, respectively; p = 0.001), 6 h (5.3 (10.8) mg vs 17.3 (12.7) mg, respectively; p = 0.013) and 8 h (5.3
(11.8) mg vs 21.3 (9.1) mg, respectively; p = 0.001). The cumulative 24-h tramadol consumption was 97.3 (16.6) mg
in the lidocaine group and 150.6 (26.0) mg in the saline group (p = 0.001). There were significant differences in the
pain visual analogue scale at rest at two time points; at 4 h the median (IQR [range]) visual analogue scale scores
were 4 (4–6 [2–8]) in the lidocaine group and 5 (4–6 [2–7]) in the saline group (p = 0.03), and at 6 h visual analogue
scale scores were 3 (3–4 [3–6]) and 4 (4–6 [2–7]), respectively (p = 0.04). Pain visual analogue scale on movement
was lower in the lidocaine group at all time intervals compared with the saline group, but this did not reach statistical
significance. The present study has demonstrated a postoperative tramadol-sparing and analgesic effect of pre-opera-
tive stellate ganglion block in patients undergoing upper limb orthopaedic surgery under general anaesthesia.
............................................................................................................................... ..................................
Correspondence to: V. Ahuja
Email: vanitaanupam@yahoo.co.in
Accepted: 14 May 2014
Introduction
Postoperative pain relief is a major concern for the
anaesthesiologist after upper limb surgery. Inade-
quately managed postoperative pain is associated with
increased autonomic instability, and acute pain may
progress to chronic pain if left untreated [1].
High-dose opioids have been used during the intra-
and postoperative periods for fractured humerus [2],
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but this may be associated with significant side-effects
such as nausea, vomiting, sedation and respiratory
depression. Nerve blocks have been used for orthopaedic
procedures on the upper limb for both surgery and post-
operative pain relief, but are associated with loss of
tactile sensation and motor function which hampers
functional assessment, as well as nerve injuries in the
early postoperative period [2, 3].
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Anaesthesia
Kumar et al.2014,
| Stellate
69, 954–960
ganglion block and postoperative pain
Kumarrelief
et al. | Stellate ganglion blockAnaesthesia
and postoperative
2014, 69,
pain
954–960
relief
The role of the sympathetic nervous system is well In the operating theatre, mandatory monitoring
established in patients with chronic pain states such as including non-invasive blood pressure, heart rate, con-
complex regional pain syndrome [2]. Recently, tinuous ECG, oxygen saturation and end-tidal carbon
McDonnell et al. described the use of pre-operative
ultrasound-guided stellate ganglion block in four
patients having upper limb surgery for trauma, with
promising results in terms of low postoperative pain
scores and morphine consumption [2]. An editorial
accompanying their study suggested that these findings
should be confirmed using a well-designed randomised
controlled clinical trial [4]. We conducted the present
randomised trial to compare the efficacy of pre-opera-
tive stellate ganglion block with lidocaine or saline,
and its effect on tramadol consumption during the first
postoperative 24 h, in patients following upper limb
orthopaedic surgery.
Methods
We performed a prospective, randomised, double-
blinded, placebo-controlled study between April 2012
and September 2013 after gaining approval from our
Institutional Ethics Committee. We included patients
of ASA physical status 1–2, aged between 18 and
60 years with an upper limb fracture scheduled for
surgery under general anaesthesia. We did not study
patients with a body mass index > 30 kg.m 2, a his-
tory of substance abuse, inability to understand a pain
visual analogue scale (VAS), inability to use patient-
controlled analgesia (PCA), allergy to lidocaine,
chronic sympathetic-mediated pain syndromes affect-
ing the upper limb or trauma other than to the
affected limb.
Patients were evaluated a day before surgery to
assess their fitness for the proposed surgical procedure
under general anaesthesia, and written informed
consent was obtained at this stage. Patients were
instructed on the use of the PCA pump and the pain
VAS the day before surgery, and were reminded before
transfer to the operating theatre and in the post-
anaesthesia care unit. All patients were fasted for 8 h
pre-operatively and premedicated with oral alprazolam
0.25 mg and ranitidine 150 mg the night before and
2 h before surgery.
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© 2014 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland 956
© 2014 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland
Anaesthesia
Kumar et al.2014,
| Stellate
69, 954–960
ganglion block and postoperative pain
Kumarrelief
et al. | Stellate ganglion blockAnaesthesia
and postoperative
2014, 69,
pain
954–960
relief
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© 2014 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland 957
© 2014 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland
Anaesthesia
Kumar et al.2014,
| Stellate
69, 954–960
ganglion block and postoperative pain
Kumarrelief
et al. | Stellate ganglion blockAnaesthesia
and postoperative
2014, 69,
pain
954–960
relief
≤ 400 mg.24 h 1 [5]. Intravenous ondansetron 4 mg The mean (SD) total tramadol consumption over
three times.day 1 and ranitidine 50 mg twice.day 1 24 h was 97.3 (16.6) mg in the lidocaine group, which
were also administered.
Postoperative measurements were made at 0, 2, 4,
6, 8, 12 and 24 h postoperatively consisting of tram-
adol consumption, cardiovascular variables, pain VAS
at rest and movement, sedation, nausea, vomiting, and
any adverse effects. Sedation was assessed using a
four-point scale (0: completely alert; 1: sleepy occa-
sionally but rousable; 2: asleep often but rousable; 3:
asleep and unrousable) [6]. Nausea and vomiting were
assessed using a four-point scale (0: no nausea and
vomiting; 1: slight nausea resolving without treatment;
2: slight nausea and/or vomiting responding to treat-
ment; 3: nausea and/or vomiting not responding to
treatment) [7].
Sample size was calculated based on a previous
study [8], in which the mean (SD) 24-h consumption of
PCA tramadol was 267 (91) mg. We considered a 50%
reduction in tramadol consumption as significant. To
demonstrate this difference at p < 0.05 with a power of
90%, the study required 12 patients per group. To cater
for a 20% dropout rate, we enrolled 15 patients per
group. The statistical analysis was performed using Sta-
tistical Package for Social Sciences (version 15.0 for
Windows; SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA). For normally
distributed data, means were compared using an inde-
pendent sample t-test. For skewed data, the Mann–
Whitney test was applied. For time-related variables,
repeated measures ANOVA was applied. Proportions
were compared using chi-squared or Fisher’s exact test
as appropriate. All statistical tests were two-sided and a
value of p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results
A total of 40 patients were screened during the trial,
of whom 10 patients were not studied as they did not
fulfil the inclusion criteria (Fig. 1), leaving 15 patients
in the lidocaine group and 15 in the saline group. The
lidocaine group included 11 patients with a fractured
shaft of humerus and four with fractures of radius and
ulna, and the saline group included seven and eight
patients in the respective groups. Table 1 shows the
physical characteristics of the patients.
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© 2014 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland 958
© 2014 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland
Anaesthesia
Kumar et al.2014,
| Stellate
69, 954–960
ganglion block and postoperative pain
Kumarrelief
et al. | Stellate ganglion blockAnaesthesia
and postoperative
2014, 69,
pain
954–960
relief
Discussion
Postoperative pain has both neuropathic and inflam-
matory components [2]. We suggest that in the pres-
ent study, stellate ganglion block relieved the
neuropathic (sympathetic) component and the sys-
temic analgesics relieved the inflammatory component.
Kakazu & Julka have suggested the possible involve-
ment of the sympathetic nervous system in acute pain
following humerus fracture [9]. They found reduction
in pain VAS scores from 10 to 0 within 5 min of stel-
late ganglion block placement [9]. In the case series of
McDonnell et al., excellent postoperative analgesia with
low morphine consumption was provided for 48 h fol-
lowing stellate ganglion block with lidocaine [2]. The
expected duration of analgesia of stellate ganglion
block is up to 72 h when performed in patients with
chronic pain [10, 11]. Our study was intended to ver-
ify the role of sympathetic block in treatment of early
postoperative pain and, therefore, we did not continue
observations beyond 24 h. Further studies will be
required to establish any longer term benefits of this
approach.
We found a significant reduction in pain VAS at
rest in the lidocaine group compared with the saline
group. A plausible explanation is that the sympathetic
nervous system, which is normally inactive, becomes
activated following injury or surgery [12]. The role of
stellate ganglion block is well established in patients
with chronic pain as it interrupts the pain cycle,
reduces sympathetic tone, prevents central sensitisation
and helps to restore normal somatic sensation [12, 13].
The reduction in resting pain in the lidocaine group
might be due to improved blood flow and washing out
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Anaesthesia
Kumar et al.2014,
| Stellate
69, 954–960
ganglion block and postoperative pain
Kumarrelief
et al. | Stellate ganglion blockAnaesthesia
and postoperative
2014, 69,
pain
954–960
relief
of inflammatory mediators in the blocked arm [2], producing motor or sensory blockade, allowing the
thus modulating and attenuating the neuropathic com- surgeon to assess the operated arm in the immediate
ponent of Ad and C-fibres in the deeper muscles [2, postoperative period [3]. The use of a low volume of
14–17]. Our observation that there was only marginal
difference in pain VAS on movement could have mul- Table 1 Comparison of characteristics of 30 patients
tiple mechanisms related to a greater pain response in receiving stellate ganglion block with lidocaine or sal-
postoperative patients [18, 19]. A continuous release of ine. Values are mean (SD) or number (proportion).
inflammatory mediators in the peripheral tissue might
Lidocaine Saline
sensitise functional and dormant nociceptors responsi- (n = 15) (n = 15)
ble for somatic pain on movement [20]; these mecha- Stellate ganglion block provides an additional
nisms would not be directly influenced by stellate advantage over conventional nerve block of not
ganglion block.
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© 2014 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland 960
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Anaesthesia
Kumar et al.2014,
| Stellate
69, 954–960
ganglion block and postoperative pain
Kumarrelief
et al. | Stellate ganglion blockAnaesthesia
and postoperative
2014, 69,
pain
954–960
relief
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© 2014 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland
Anaesthesia
Kumar et al.2014,
| Stellate
69, 954–960
ganglion block and postoperative pain
Kumarrelief
et al. | Stellate ganglion blockAnaesthesia
and postoperative
2014, 69,
pain
954–960
relief
Table 2 Comparison of visual analogue scale pain scores at rest and during movement in 30 patients receiving
lidocaine or saline for stellate ganglion block. Values are median (IQR [range]).
Rest Movement
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Anaesthesia
Kumar et al.2014,
| Stellate
69, 954–960
ganglion block and postoperative pain
Kumarrelief
et al. | Stellate ganglion blockAnaesthesia
and postoperative
2014, 69,
pain
954–960
relief
*p = 0.03.
**p = 0.04.
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Anaesthesia
Kumar et al.2014,
| Stellate
69, 954–960
ganglion block and postoperative pain
Kumarrelief
et al. | Stellate ganglion blockAnaesthesia
and postoperative
2014, 69,
pain
954–960
relief
90 * *
general anaesthesia.
85
80 Competing interests
75 No external funding and no competing interests
70
declared.
65
60
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In conclusion, our study has established a post-
Figure 3 Cardiovascular variables (mean) after surgery
in patients receiving lidocaine ( ) or saline ( ) for stel- operative tramadol-sparing and pain-relieving effect
late ganglion block: (a) heart rate; (b) mean arterial of pre-operative stellate ganglion block in patients
pressure (MAP). *p < 0.05. Error bars are SD.
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Anaesthesia
Kumar et al.2014,
| Stellate
69, 954–960
ganglion block and postoperative pain
Kumarrelief
et al. | Stellate ganglion blockAnaesthesia
and postoperative
2014, 69,
pain
954–960
relief
965
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Anaesthesia
Kumar et al.2014,
| Stellate
69, 954–960
ganglion block and postoperative pain
Kumarrelief
et al. | Stellate ganglion blockAnaesthesia
and postoperative
2014, 69,
pain
954–960
relief
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