Abstract
An 87-year-old male vasculopath suffering from ischemic rest pain of ather osclerotic origin in the left foot was observed for a five-day period, with a healthy 28-year-old male serving as a control, to evaluate four subjective and objective parameters following nitropaste application for analgesia.
Objective parameters (tissue oxygenation and limb temperature) were as sessed twice daily, morning and evening, in both the supine and erect positions.
The overall average increase in tissue oxygenation in the patient was 111.2% when supine and 100.3% when erect, whereas it was 5% in the normal control when supine and 4.7% when erect. Overall average increase in temperature in the patient was 7.59% in the morning and 4.05% in the evening, position not being a factor. In the control, it was 2.5% when supine and 1.9% when erect.
The patient's interpretation of subjective pain had progressed from moder ate to mild by day 3; this was consistent with the nurse's assessment. Thus the improved analgesia commenced forty-eight hours after institution of nitropaste treatment, despite the fact that tissue oxygenation had increased by an average of 158.9% during the first twenty-four hours and the temperature had increased by an average of 2.9%.
To demonstrate efficacy of this drug as an analgesic; a properly randomized, double-blind study should be performed with a statistically significant sample size.
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