Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
-
Reg Anesth Pain Med · Nov 2018
Lipid Emulsion Pretreatment Decreased the Maximum Total and Free Plasma Concentration of Levobupivacaine for Femoral and Sciatic Nerve Block in Below-Knee Fracture Surgery.
Although intravenous lipid emulsion has been proved a powerful antidote for local anesthetic toxicity, there are few pharmacokinetic data on using lipid infusion as a pretreatment for other clinical applications. We assessed the influence of lipid pretreatment on the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of levobupivacaine. ⋯ This study was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, identifier ChiCTR-TRC-14005203.
-
Reg Anesth Pain Med · Nov 2018
Is a Retrolaminar Approach to the Thoracic Paravertebral Space Possible?: A Human Cadaveric Study.
The retrolaminar block (RB) is used for truncal analgesia, but its mechanism of neural blockade remains obscure. We sought to learn the pattern of local anesthetic spread after thoracic RB using cadaveric models. ⋯ Injectate spread to the paravertebral space, epidural space, intercostal space, and intervertebral foramina is possible in the RB but is quite variable. In comparison to the thoracic paravertebral block, injectate spread within the paravertebral space is more limited.
-
The burden of chronic headache disorders in the United States is substantial. Some patients are treatment refractory. Ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist, provides potent analgesia in subanesthetic doses in chronic pain, and limited data suggest it may alleviate headache in some patients. ⋯ Ketamine was associated with short-term analgesia in many refractory headache patients with tolerable adverse events. A prospective study is warranted to confirm this and elucidate responder characteristics.
-
Reg Anesth Pain Med · Nov 2018
Serratus Plane Block: A Cadaveric Study to Evaluate Optimal Injectate Spread.
Although serratus plane block reportedly provides satisfactory analgesia for breast and thoracic surgeries, the optimal technique for consistent success has not been studied. The goal of this anatomical study was to evaluate the impact of volume, level, and site of injection on the extent of injectate spread that can influence anesthetic coverage. ⋯ Our data showed that a high-volume double-injection technique provides extensive and consistent dye spread in the anterior chest wall and axilla, regardless of the plane of injection relative to the SAM. This technique likely provides more reliable analgesic coverage for breast procedures especially those that involve the axilla, pending confirmation in future clinical studies.