A Meta-Analysis of Comparing Intermittent Epidural Boluses and Continuous Epidural Infusion for Labor Analgesia

With the development of medical equipment and techniques in labor anesthesia, it is a major issue to investigate the risks and treatment effects among techniques such as continuous epidural infusion (CEI) and intermittent epidural bolus (IEB). However, there is a controversial result regarding two techniques. This study was conducted through meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for labor analgesia between the CEI and IEB techniques. The pooled results were presented as weighted mean differences (WMDs) together with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and odds ratios (ORs) together with 95% CIs, respectively. Eleven RCTs were included in this meta-analysis. Four hundred sixty-five parturients accepted CEI, whereas 473 parturients accepted IEB labor analgesia. Elven identified low- risk bias studies were recruited for meta-analysis. The results presented no statistical difference in cesarean delivery rate between IEB and CEI (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.67-1.37) and duration of second stage of labor (WMD, -3.82 min; 95% CI, -8.28 to 0.64). IEB had statistically significant lessened risk of instrumental delivery (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.39-0.90) and for the use in local anesthetic (WMD, -1.71 mg bupivacaine equivalents per hour; 95% CI, -1.88 and -1.55). Accepted IEB had a higher score of maternal satisfaction (WMD, -6.95 mm; 95% CI, -7.77 to -6.13). Based on evidence, IEB showed a greater benefit for slightly reducing the use in local anesthetic, reduced risk of instrumental delivery, and improved maternal satisfaction for the requirement of labor epidural analgesia for healthy women. In the future, more studies need to be conducted to practice the IEB regimen and explore its influence on labor analgesia.

Correction to: 4-Phenylbutyric acid protects against vasculitic peripheral neuropathy induced by ischaemia-reperfusion through attenuating endoplasmic reticulum stress

Unfortunately, Fig. 5 was incorrectly published in the original publication. The complete corrected Fig. 5 is given below.

Diagnosis and interventional pain management options for sacroiliac joint pain

The sacroiliac (SI) joint is among the most common sources of chronic low back pain, accounting for 15%–30% of patients presenting chronic low back pain. The complex anatomic structures, nerve innervation, and functional biomechanisms of the SI region make it challenging to diagnose and treat the SI joint as a pain source. In addition to physical therapy and medication for treating SI joint pain, multiple interventional measures including steroid injection, radiofrequency ablation, prolotherapy, and SI joint fusion have been proposed with various efficacies. This article describes the etiology, risk factors, and diagnostic methods as well as the different treatment modalities, focusing on interventional pain management options for patients suffering from SI joint pain.

Resveratrol alleviates nuclear factor-κB-mediated neuroinflammation in vasculitic peripheral neuropathy induced by ischaemia-reperfusion via suppressing endoplasmic reticulum stress

Vasculitic peripheral neuropathy (VPN) arises from an inflammatory obstruction in the blood vessels supplying peripheral nerves and subsequent ischaemic insults, which exhibits the clinical features of neuropathic pain and impaired peripheral nerve function. VPN induced by ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) has been reported to involve nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)-mediated neuroinflammation. Recent studies have suggested that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been implicated in the development of peripheral neuropathies. Resveratrol possesses a potent anti-inflammatory capacity. We hypothesized that resveratrol may exert a protective effect against VPN through modulating the interrelated ER stress and NF-κB pathways. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated into five groups: sham, sham + resveratrol 40 mg/kg (R40), IR, IR + R20 and IR + R40. VPN was induced by occluding the right femoral artery for 4 hours followed by reperfusion. Our data have shown that VPN induced by IR led to hind paw mechanical allodynia, heat hyperalgaesia, and impaired motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV). With resveratrol intervention, the behavioural parameters were improved in a dose-dependent manner and the MNCV levels were increased as well. The molecular data revealed that VPN induced by IR significantly increased the expression of NF-κB as well as the ER stress sensor proteins, protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase, inositol-requiring enzyme 1 and activating transcription factor 6 in the sciatic nerves. More importantly, resveratrol significantly attenuated the expression of NF-κB and the ER stress sensor proteins after IR. In conclusion, resveratrol alleviates VPN induced by IR. The mechanisms may involve modulating NF-κB-mediated neuroinflammation via suppressing ER stress.

Neuraxial magnesium sulfate improves postoperative analgesia in Cesarean section delivery women: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

We conducted this meta-analysis to elucidate whether additional neuraxial magnesium sulfate (MgSO₄) can improve postoperative analgesia in women undergoing Cesarean section (CS) delivery.

METHOD

We searched Pubmed, Embase and ClinicalTrial.gov. We included only randomized controlled trials that have compared the quality of postoperative analgesia with and without additional neuraxial MgSO₄ in women undergoing CS delivery with neuraxial anesthesia regimens. The primary outcomes included analgesic duration of neuraxial anesthesia, postoperative pain scores and postoperative consumption of analgesics. The secondary outcomes included patients' satisfaction and adverse effects related to postoperative analgesia.

RESULTS

Nine relevant studies comprising a total of 827 women undergoing CS delivery were included. Analyses revealed that CS women receiving additional neuraxial MgSO₄ (the MgSO₄ group) had longer duration of neuraxial anesthesia (effect size [ES] = 1.920, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.999 to 2.842, P < 0.001), longer duration of sensory block (ES = 1.020, 95% CI = 0.463 to 1.577, P < 0.001), lower postoperative pain scores at rest (ES = -1.206, 95% CI = -2.084 to -0.329, P = 0.007), pain scores with motion (ES = -1.435, 95% CI = -2.631 to -0.240, P = 0.019) and consumption of analgesics (ES = -1.620, 95% CI = -2.434 to -0.806, P < 0.001) than CS women without receiving additional neuraxial MgSO₄ (the control group). Of note, the MgSO₄ group tended to have higher rate on rating satisfaction as "excellent" than the control group did (odds ratio = 3.748, 95% CI = 2.218 to 6.332, P < 0.001). However, the incidences of adverse effects (i.e., nausea and vomiting, pruritus and hypotension) were not significantly different between these two groups.

CONCLUSION

Neuraxial MgSO₄ improves postoperative analgesia in CS women.

A novel DNA selection and direct extraction process and its application in DNA recombination

In the conventional bench-top approach, the DNA recombination process is time- and effort-consuming due to laborious procedures lasting from several hours to a day. A novel DNA selection and direct extraction process has been proposed, integrated and tested on chip. The integrative microfluidic chip can perform the whole procedure of DNA recombination, including DNA digestion, gel electrophoresis, DNA extraction and insert-vector ligation within 1 h. In this high-throughput design, the manual gel cutting was replaced by an automatic processing system that performed high-quality and high-recovery efficiency in DNA extraction process. With no need of gel-dissolving reagents and manipulation, the application of selection and direct extraction process could significantly eliminate the risks from UV and EtBr and also facilitate DNA recombination. Reliable output with high success rate of cloning has been achieved with a significant reduction in operational hazards, required materials, efforts and time.