https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Poisonings and deaths linked to use of local anesthetics decreased over the last decade, but poisonings from lidocaine increased, according to two studies published online recently in Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine and the British Journal of Anaesthesia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-lidocaine-poisoning.html Wed, 15 Oct 2025 13:30:04 EDT news679750755 All current local anesthetics block sensory signals—pain—but they also interrupt motor signals, which can be problematic. For example, too much epidural anesthesia can prevent mothers in labor from being able to push. Prolonged local anesthesia after orthopedic surgery can leave patients unable to participate in rehab. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-09-local-anesthetic-doesnt-impair-motor.html Wed, 17 Sep 2025 15:46:03 EDT news677342761 New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London in partnership with the Mayo Clinic and UNEEG medical, has found that an electronic device placed under the scalp is an effective and feasible means of accurately tracking epilepsy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-skin-electrode-real-world-epilepsy.html Mon, 11 Aug 2025 10:54:04 EDT news674128441 A study led by doctors at the Medical University of South Carolina and UMass Chan Medical School found that ultrasound-guided nerve blocks helped kids with broken thigh bones, also known as femurs, feel less pain and need fewer systemic medications than children who didn't get the injections. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-nerve-blocks-pain-kids-broken.html Tue, 29 Jul 2025 13:14:52 EDT news673013687 Poisonings and deaths linked to the use of the local anesthetic lidocaine have nearly tripled in the US over the past decade, finds an analysis of National Poison Data System (NPDS) reports, published online in the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-tripling-lidocaine-local-anesthetic-poisoningsdeaths.html Mon, 21 Jul 2025 18:30:05 EDT news672307258 A young woman became a June bride months after surviving complex surgery to remove a 40-pound tumor from her body, Cedars-Sinai doctors report. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-bride-survived-pound-tumor.html Mon, 14 Jul 2025 08:30:08 EDT news671699660 A new molecule developed by University at Buffalo researchers acts like a local, long-lasting anesthetic, providing robust pain relief for up to three weeks, according to the results of preclinical studies reported recently in the journal Pain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-06-opioid-molecule-anesthetic-relieving-chronic.html Thu, 12 Jun 2025 09:58:03 EDT news668941081 Universitätsmedizin Berlin has reduced the annual CO2 emissions originating from gases used for anesthesia by over 80% since 2018. This reduction in carbon emissions was achieved by using climate-friendly anesthetics in the operating room. As a study published in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia demonstrates, education—and in particular, fundamental decisions—were the keys to success. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-02-sustainable-anesthesia-room-lowers-emissions.html Thu, 27 Feb 2025 15:44:04 EST news659893442 Researchers from McMaster University and collaborating institutions found that commonly performed interventional procedures for chronic non-cancer spine pain may provide little to no pain relief when compared with sham procedures. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-02-common-procedures-chronic-spine-pain.html Mon, 24 Feb 2025 09:46:03 EST news659612761 For older adults undergoing hemiarthroplasty for hip fracture, intraoperative use of liposomal bupivacaine does not improve pain scores or other relevant outcomes, compared to conventional bupivacaine, reports a study in Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-liposomal-bupivacaine-doesnt-decrease-pain.html Thu, 19 Sep 2024 14:23:10 EDT news645974586 Federal officials affirmed this month that the pain people might feel when getting an IUD can be more than doctors' promises of "just a pinch." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-iuds-gynecologists-patients-focused-procedures.html Wed, 21 Aug 2024 11:32:10 EDT news643458723 Intrauterine devices (IUDs) are a highly effective and long-lasting form of birth control placed in the uterus. Research shows that many people who get IUDs experience moderate to intense pain during the insertion. But it wasn't until recently that providers began to acknowledge this and do something about it. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-06-decision-sedation-painful-iud-insertion.html Sun, 30 Jun 2024 07:40:01 EDT news638779032 Children are very stressed by anesthetics injected into the mouth before tooth extraction, in connection with orthodontic treatment. In a study by the University of Gothenburg, a technique was tested to monitor stress levels in 14–16-year-olds during dental treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-06-silent-stress-children-dentist.html Fri, 14 Jun 2024 13:49:05 EDT news637591743 When carrying out root canal treatment procedures, dentists need to insert a file deep into the root canal to remove the inflamed tissue. The rotating file often gets jammed and must be cleaned regularly. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-11-piezoceramics-shorten-root-canal-treatments.html Thu, 02 Nov 2023 15:27:04 EDT news618157621 Imagine taking the first sip of your morning coffee, only to be hit by an overwhelming, gut-churning stench. This altered sense of smell is a reality for many living with a post-COVID smell dysfunction called parosmia—a disorder that twists even comforting smells into repulsive ones. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-potential-nerve-block-treatment-distortions.html Thu, 13 Jul 2023 14:50:02 EDT news608476269 The number of cases of skin cancer is continuing to rise sharply, in Sweden and internationally, involving high costs for a health care economy that is already under severe strain in many places. To further evaluate and refine effective and safe treatment methods is therefore of the utmost importance. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-06-curettage-cryosurgery-effective-common-skin.html Mon, 26 Jun 2023 10:41:03 EDT news606994861 For patients undergoing skin cancer surgery, microdosed incisional clindamycin reduces the rate of surgical site infections (SSIs), according to a study published online May 24 in JAMA Surgery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-microdosed-incisional-clindamycin-ssi-skin.html Wed, 24 May 2023 13:40:16 EDT news604154414 Before undergoing surgeries and other invasive medical procedures, patients typically undergo anesthesia. Anesthesia consists in giving patients a class of drugs (i.e., anesthetics) that cause them to lose feeling in specific areas of the body (i.e., local anesthesia) or fully lose awareness during a procedure (i.e., general anesthesia). These anesthetics can be administered to patients via injection, inhalation, skin-numbing lotions, and other means. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04-unveils-neutral-underpinning-re-emergence-consciousness.html Thu, 13 Apr 2023 11:30:05 EDT news600604098 A visit to the dentist's office could provide a glimpse into your heart and brain health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-08-health-conditions-dentist-teeth.html Thu, 11 Aug 2022 13:32:04 EDT news579443521 Since Roe v. Wade was overturned on Friday and Missouri's trigger ban outlawed nearly all abortion in the state, interest in vasectomies has been on the rise around Kansas City. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-07-vasectomy-roe-decision-doctors.html Fri, 01 Jul 2022 13:39:03 EDT news575901541 Until relatively recently, opioids were a mainstay of treatment for pain following total hip or knee replacement. Today, a growing body of evidence supports the use of multimodal analgesia—combinations of different techniques and medications to optimize pain management while reducing the use and risks of opioids, according to a paper in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-multimodal-analgesia-standard-pain-total.html Thu, 08 Jul 2021 13:07:12 EDT news544968428 A new study, presented today at the AATS 101st Annual Meeting, shows significant reduction in post-operative use of Schedule II opioids for pain management following robotic surgery. To address the on-going issues of opioid overuse and abuse, the study aimed to examine the use of painkillers in Enhanced Recovery After Thoracic Surgery (ERATS) protocols and determine the impact of alternative pain management approaches on clinical outcomes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-04-modifications-erats-protocol-significantly-post-operative.html Fri, 30 Apr 2021 16:37:50 EDT news539019467 Does your tattoo sport your old flame's name? Or the one you got on a whim no longer fits your image? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-07-tattoo-advice.html Wed, 31 Jul 2019 16:23:39 EDT news483809013 Using arthroscopy to stage a lesion in the chondral area of the knee is more accurate than magnetic resonance imaging, according to researchers from the Rothman Institute, La Jolla, Calif. The findings were presented today at the American Orthopedic Society of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-07-arthroscopy-effective-mri-chondral-defects.html Thu, 11 Jul 2019 15:23:56 EDT news482077430 The Gale and Graham Wright Prostate Centre at North York General Hospital (NYGH) is advancing prostate cancer care with a new study that shows the benefits of transperineal prostate biopsies (TPBx) under local anesthetic. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-05-north-york-safest-method-prostate.html Thu, 09 May 2019 12:35:29 EDT news476624122 The spinal surgery David B. underwent in November wasn't his first – but it was the first time he was awake for a procedure. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-03-spine-surgery-recovery.html Wed, 06 Mar 2019 08:30:03 EST news471082002 His skull still open, a South African musician with a brain tumor played several notes on his guitar during a successful operation to remove most of the growth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-12-south-african-musician-guitar-brain.html Sat, 22 Dec 2018 10:14:24 EST news464696047 Medications have long been used to treat pain caused by injury or chronic conditions. Unfortunately, most are short-term fixes or cause side effects that limit their use. Researchers at the University of Missouri have discovered a new compound that offers longer lasting painkilling effects, and shows promise as an alternative to current anesthetics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-05-potential-painkiller-longer-effects.html Thu, 07 May 2015 13:03:21 EDT news350222592 Epidural injections with a glucocorticoid in combination with the local anesthetic lidocaine appear to be no better in reducing pain and physical limitations in patients with spinal stenosis, a common spine disorder, than injections of lidocaine alone, a new study has found. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-07-benefit-corticosteroids-added-spinal-stenosis.html Wed, 02 Jul 2014 17:00:02 EDT news323529360 Anesthesiologists using a technique similar to a dental freeze can improve the quality of recovery and decrease recovery time for breast cancer surgery patients, according to a new study. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-03-anesthetic-technique-quality-recovery-women.html Tue, 11 Mar 2014 09:51:56 EDT news313750307