According to a recent study, which of the following best describes the effect of adding a magnesium infusion (8 mg/kg/h) to an anesthetic regimen for scoliosis repair?
Scoliosis surgery is frequently associated with a painful recovery. Although opioids are the mainstay of postoperative analgesia, they are associated with many side effects, including nausea, pruritus, constipation, respiratory depression and hyperalgesia. Recent evidence suggests that a multimodal pharmacologic approach to pain management that includes acetaminophen and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists (e.g., ketamine, magnesium) is effective in providing adequate analgesia, minimizing opioid consumption and mitigating the undesirable side effects of opioid analgesics.
A recent prospective, double-blind, randomized study investigated the morphine-sparing effect of the addition of a magnesium infusion to the anesthetic for 50 patients undergoing scoliosis repair. All patients received a standardized induction and anesthetic maintenance titrated to a bispectral index value between 40 and 60 and mean arterial pressure between 65...
