I am Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Cephalon, Inc., a leading biopharmaceutical company based in suburban Philadelphia and dedicated to the discovery, development and marketing of innovative products to treat sleep and neurological disorders, cancer and pain. Cephalon currently employs approximately 2,500 people in the United States and Europe, has sales revenue of just over one b...

PURPOSE To compare the effects of sugammadex and neostigmine, used to antagonize the effects of rocuronium, on the QTc interval. METHODS This study used 10 adult New Zealand white rabbits of 2.5-3.5 kg randomly divided into two groups: sugammadex group (Group S, n:5) and neostigmine group (Group N, n:5). For general anesthesia administering 2 mg/kg iv propofol and 1 mcg/kg iv fentanyl, 0.6 mg...

TO THE EDITOR: In their recent paper, Amann and colleagues (1) report an experiment in which they used a powerful analgesic, fentanyl, to block afferent feedback from Group III and IV neurons innervating the locomotor muscles. The authors investigated the effects of this experimental treatment on various physiological and perceptual responses to cycling exercise at different power outputs. Inte...

BACKGROUND Various attempts have been made to reduce the incidence of fentanyl-induced cough during anesthesia induction. We hypothesized that an appropriate dose of propofol might suppress fentanyl-induced cough. OBJECTIVES A study had been designed to observe the effects of propofol on a fentanyl-induced cough during anesthesia induction. PATIENTS AND METHODS We performed a randomized, do...

BACKGROUND Nefopam is a non-opioid, non-steroidal, centrally acting analgesic drug. The concomitant use of opioids and nefopam is believed to have many advantages over the administration of opioids alone for postoperative pain management. We conducted a randomized, double-blind study to determine the fentanyl-sparing effect of co-administration of nefopam with fentanyl for postoperative pain ma...

BACKGROUND Although acetaminophen has been used widely and is well tolerated in children, its efficacy and safety have not been clarified when combined with an opioid in intravenous parent-/nurse-controlled postoperative analgesia. METHODS Sixty-three children (aged 6-24 months) who had undergone elective ureteroneocystostomies were enrolled in this prospective, randomized, double-blinded stu...

A case of postoperative neuroleptic malignant syndrome is presented. A healthy 23-year-old male underwent a shoulder repair under uneventful fentanyl, halothane, nitrous oxide and oxygen anaesthesia. He received droperidol 5 mg IV and metoclopramide 10 mg IV intraoperatively to prevent postoperative nausea. Postoperatively, the patient developed autonomic instability, fever and generalized musc...

Approach Eighteen New Zealand white rabbits, undergoing surgical catheterisation of the bilateral carotid and internal jugular vein, were used in this study. In group I (propofol), anaesthesia was maintained with an intravenous (iv) infusion of propofol at a rate of 0.7 mg/kg/min and interval iv fentanyl. In group II (isoflurane), the end-tidal concentration was adjusted to 1.0 minimum alveolar...

To the Editor:—In his editorial, Eisenach highlighted an interesting paradox; while attempting to produce profound analgesia with high doses of potent opioids, it is possible to produce a “preemptive hyperalgesic” effect. In the two human studies referenced, high doses of systemic remifentanil and fentanyl produced acute hyperalgesia. In a previous human study, we found evidence that intratheca...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Intraosseous (IO) access has been used with good results in emergency situations, when venous access is not available for fluids and drugs infusion. The objective of this study was to evaluate IO a useful technique for anesthesia and fluids infusion during hemodynamic studies and when peripheral intravascular access is unobtainable. The setting was an university hospit...