Postoperative pain still occurs in more than 50% of surgical procedures. It s known that inappropriate treatment of postoperative pain can worsen patient s outcome, either for increasing systemic surgical stress response, increasing cardiologic events, or even by the development of chronic pain. New multimodal analgesia strategies have been employed, based on the use of different drugs, by different administration methods and at different times, trying to reduce the amount of opioids and, consequently, their side effects. In this setting, continuous intravenous lidocaine used during perioperative period has shown to be promising. This trial aimed to compare postoperative analgesia in patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomies, under general anesthesia, and received endovenous lidocaine in comparison to a control group. Opioid consumption, time of ileus, time to discharge and levels of interleukin 1, 6, 10, tumoral necrosis factor and interferon gamma were also compared. Forty-four patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomies were randomly allocated in two groups. The first one received endovenous lidocaine bolus of 1.5 mg.kg-1 followed by continuous infusion of 3 mg.kg-1 during intraoperative period until one hour after the end of the procedure. The second one received saline, intravenously, at the same infusion rate (ml.h-1), during the same period. It was a double-blind intervention. In the postoperative period, both groups received dipyrone and morphine patient controlled analgesia (PCA). Pain was assessed by VNS (Visual Numeric Scale), both at rest and when coughing at the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 12th and 24th hour after the end of the surgery. Blood samples for cytokines measurement were taken at the end of procedure and 24 hours later. The total morphine PCA demand, the time for the first flatus and the length of hospital stay were also recorded and compared. Groups were similar relating to gender (p = 0,2), age (p = 0,5), weight (p = 0,08) and length of surgery (p = 0,6). No differences were observed regarding the intensity of postoperative pain between the groups, either at rest (p = 0,76) or when coughing (p = 0,31), in morphine consumption (p = 0,9) and in the duration of ileus (p = 0,5) or length of hospital stay (p = 0,9). The inflammatory markers, IL-1 (p = 0,02), IL-6 (p < 0,01), γ IFN (p < 0,01) and α TNF (p < 0,01), showed significant reduction in lidocaine group against placebo group, except IL-10 (p = 0,01), that, because of its antiinflammatory effects, increased its concentration. Thus, intravenous lidocaine in the perioperative period of laparoscopic cholecystectomies was not able to reduce postoperative pain, opioid consumption, and duration of ileus or length of hospital stay. However, its anti-inflammatory effect was evidenced by the significant changes in the studied cytokines. / A dor pós-operatória ainda ocorre em mais de 50% dos procedimentos cirúrgicos. Sabe-se que o tratamento inadequado da mesma pode piorar o desfecho dos pacientes, seja através de uma resposta sistêmica exacerbada ao estresse cirúrgico, do aumento da incidência de eventos cardiológicos isquêmicos ou mesmo do desenvolvimento de dor crônica. Novas estratégias de analgesia multimodal têm sido utilizadas, baseadas no uso de diferentes fármacos, por diferentes vias de administração e em períodos distintos, tentando reduzir as doses de opioides, e, consequentemente, seus efeitos adversos. Neste contexto, a infusão contínua de lidocaína intravenosa no período perioperatório tem se mostrado promissora. O objetivo principal desse estudo foi comparar o grau de analgesia pós-operatória em pacientes submetidos a colecistectomias laparoscópicas, sob anestesia geral, que receberam lidocaína intravenosa em relação a um grupo controle. Comparou-se, também, o consumo de opioide, o tempo de íleo paralítico, o tempo de alta hospitalar e os níveis de interleucinas 1, 6, 10, fator de necrose tumoral e interferon gama. Foram selecionados 44 pacientes submetidos a colecistectomias videolaparoscópicas, que foram distribuídos aleatoriamente em dois grupos. O primeiro recebeu lidocaína endovenosa, com bolus inicial de 1,5 mg.kg-1, seguido da infusão contínua de 3 mg.kg-1 durante o período transoperatório até uma hora após o término do procedimento. O segundo grupo recebeu solução fisiológica, intravenosa, nas mesmas taxas de infusão, em, durante o mesmo período de tempo. A intervenção foi realizada de maneira duplo-cega. No pós-operatório, ambos os grupos receberam dipirona e utilizaram analgesia controlada pelo paciente (PCA) com morfina. A dor foi avaliada através da Escala Numérica Visual (ENV) em repouso e ao tossir na 1ª, 2ª, 4ª, 12ª e 24ª hora após o término da cirurgia. Amostras de sangue para dosagem de citocinas foram coletadas no final do procedimento e vinte e quatro horas após. A dose de morfina utilizada, o tempo para passagem de flatos e o tempo de alta hospitalar também foram registrados e comparados. Os grupos se distribuíram igualmente referente ao sexo (p = 0,2), idade (p = 0,5), peso (p = 0,08) e tempo de cirurgia (p = 0,6). Não foram observadas diferenças na intensidade da dor pós-operatória entre os grupos tanto em repouso (p = 0,76) quanto ao tossir (p = 0,31), na dose total de morfina (p = 0,9) e nos tempos de íleo paralítico (p = 0,5) e de alta hospitalar (p = 0,9). Os marcadores inflamatórios avaliados, IL-1 (p = 0,02), IL-6 (p < 0,01), IFN γ (p < 0,01) e FNT α (p < 0,01), apresentaram redução significativa de seus níveis séricos no grupo lidocaína, com exceção da IL-10 (p = 0,01), que, por apresentar efeito anti-inflamatório, teve sua concentração aumentada. Assim, a lidocaína endovenosa perioperatória em colecistectomias laparoscópicas não foi capaz de reduzir a dor pós-operatória, o consumo de opioides, o tempo de íleo paralítico e o tempo de alta hospitalar. Entretanto, seus efeitos anti-inflamatórios foram evidenciados pelas alterações séricas significativas das citocinas estudadas.

Abstract The purpose of the present research was (I-II) to evaluate the effects of clinical, hand-held Doppler (HHD) and duplex ultrasonographic examinations on the planning of operative procedure for primary varicose veins, (III) to assess the feasibility, safety and efficacy of endovenous saphenous vein obliteration with radiofrequency-resistive heating and (IV) to compare endovenous saphenous vein obliteration with conventional stripping operation in terms of short-term recovery and costs. Sixty-two legs (in 49 consecutive patients) and 142 legs (in 111 consecutive patients) with primary uncomplicated varicose veins were examined clinically and with HHD and duplex ultrasonography for planning the subsequent treatment. At the saphenous-femoral junction (SFJ) and at the saphenous-popliteal junction (SPJ), sensitivity was 56-64% and 23%, specificity 93-97% and 96%, positive predictive value 97-98% and 43% and negative predictive value 44-45% and 91%, respectively. In 9% of the cases, the treatment plan was modified on the basis of the duplex ultrasound findings. The present study showed that, in primary uncomplicated varicose veins, the accuracy of HHD is unsatisfactory. Thirty legs of 27 patients with varicose veins were treated using an endovenous catheter (Closure® System, VNUS Medical Technologies, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA), which was inserted under ultrasound guidance via a percutaneous puncture or a skin incision. The persistence of vein occlusion and complications potentially attributable to the endovenous treatment were assessed at 1-week, 6-week, 3-month, 6-month and 1-year follow-up visits. By the time of the last follow-up visit, occlusion of the treated segment of the LSV had been achieved in 22 (73.3%) legs. Persisting patency or recanalization of LSV was detected in 8 legs (26.7%). Postoperative complications included saphenous nerve paresthesia in 3 legs (10%) and thermal skin injury in one limb (3.3%). Twenty-eight selected patients admitted for operative treatment of varicose veins in the tributaries of the primary long saphenous were randomly assigned to endovenous obliteration (n = 15) or stripping operation (n = 13). The patients were followed up for 7-8 weeks postoperatively and examined by duplex ultrasonography. The comparison of costs included both direct medical costs and costs due to lost of productivity. All operations were successful, and the complication rates were similar in the two groups. The sick leaves were significantly shorter in the endovenous obliteration group [6.5 (SD 3.3) vs. 15.6 (SD 6.0), 95 % CI 5.4 to 12.9, p &lt; 0.001, t-test]. When the value of the lost working days was included, the endovenous obliteration was societally cost-saving.