Postoperative visceral pain is common after surgery and previous studies have demonstrated that oxycodone is an effective treatment. In this study, we compared the effects of preemptive oxycodone to equal dose of sufentanil on postoperative pain and serum level of inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10) after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Forty patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy were randomized into preemptive oxycodone group or preemptive sufentanil group. Patients were given either oxycodone 0.1 mg/kg (oxycodone group, n = 20) or sufentanil 0.1 μg/kg (sufentanil group, n = 20) for preemptive analgesia. We evaluated pain/sedation scores at 0 h, 0.5 h, 2 h, 4 h, 6 h, 8 h and 24 h after surgery and measured serum concentrations of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10 before surgery and at 0 h, 6 h and 24 h after surgery. Twenty patients were recruited in each group. Numerical rating scale (NRS) of visceral pain in the oxycodone group at 2 h when resting (0.5(0,2.75) vs 3(2,4), P = 0.008) and moving (0.5(0,3) vs 3(2.25,4), P = 0.015) and 4 h when moving (2(0,3) vs 3(0,4.75), P = 0.043) after surgery were significantly lower than the sufentanil group. Serum concentrations of TNF-α at 6 h (38.68 ± 10.49 vs 73.02 ± 16.27, P<0.001) and 24 h (43.12 ± 8.40 vs 74.00 ± 21.30, P<0.001) in the oxycodone group were lower than the sufentanil group. Preemptive oxycodone 0.1 mg/kg administration could effectively suppress visceral pain at 2 h and 4 h after surgery and had lower inflammatory marker, serum TNF-α, level when compared to equal dose of sufentanil. Clinical trials registration number: ChiCTR-IOR-17013738 http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=17346 . Date of registration: 6th December 2017.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that genes, RNAs, and proteins are involved in the occurrence and development of stroke. In addition, previous studies concluded that microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are closely related to the pathological process of ischemic and hypoxic disease. Therefore, the aims of this study were to quantify the altered expression levels of miRNAs in the infarct region 6 h after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-induced focal cerebral ischemia in mice using a large-scale miRNAs microarray. Firstly, MCAO-induced cerebral ischemic injuries were investigated by observing the changes of neurological deficits, infarct volume and edema ratio. One hundred and eighteen differentially expressed miRNAs were identified in the infarct region of mice following the MCAOs compared with sham group (p < 0.05 was considered as significant). Among these 118 significantly expressed microRNAs, we found that 12 miRNAs were up-regulated with fold changes lager than two, and 18 miRNAs were down-regulated with fold changes less than 0.5 in the infarct region of mice following the 6 h MCAOs, compared with the sham group. Then, these 30 miRNAs with expression in fold change larger than two or less than 0.5 was predicted, and the functions of the target genes of 30 miRNAs were analyzed using a bioinformatics method. Finally, the miRNA-gene network was established and the functional miRNA-mRNA pairs were identified, which provided insight into the roles of the specific miRNAs that regulated specified genes in the ischemic injuries. The miRNAs identified in this study may represent effective therapeutic targets for stroke, and further study of the role of these targets may increase our understanding of the mechanisms underlying ischemic injuries.

Clinical evidence revealed patients suffered from moderate to severe pain after renal transplantation. Both quadratus lumborum block (QLB) and erector spinae plane block (ESPB) are effective strategies in perioperative analgesia. This trial aims to detect whether truncal blocks are utility in alleviating postoperative pain after renal transplantation. Ninety-two patients underwent renal transplantation were recruited and randomized to QLB group, ESPB group and control group (C group). Patients in QLB or ESPB group received 0.5% ropivacaine 30 mL for single injection before surgery respectively and patients in C group did not receive any local anesthetic injection before general anesthesia induction. Postoperative pain intensity was evaluated at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24 and 48 h after surgery in the present study. Intraoperative medication and postoperative complications were also recorded and analyzed. The proportion of moderate to severe pain in the first 24 h when moving was lowest in the QLB group (41.9% in QLB group vs. 83.9% in ESPB group vs. 96.7% in C group, P < 0.001). Pain intensity score (NRS) in the QLB group was significantly improved at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 h after surgery (P < 0.05). Area under curve (AUCs) of NRS scores were significantly lower in the QLB group than in the ESPB group and C group (P < 0.001). We also observed a reduction of remifentanil consumption in the QLB group than in either the ESPB or C groups (P = 0.008 and P < 0.001, respectively). Quadratus lumborum block before surgery more effectively suppressed pain after renal transplantation relative to erector spinae plane block. This study was registered on October 2, 2020. ChiCTR2000038803.