Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2011
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyA randomized comparison of infraclavicular and supraclavicular continuous peripheral nerve blocks for postoperative analgesia.
Although the efficacy of single-injection supraclavicular nerve blocks is well established, no controlled study of continuous supraclavicular blocks is available, and their relative risks and benefits remain unknown. In contrast, the analgesia provided by continuous infraclavicular nerve blocks has been validated in randomized controlled trials. We therefore compared supraclavicular with infraclavicular perineural local anesthetic infusion following distal upper-extremity surgery. ⋯ A local anesthetic infusion via an infraclavicular perineural catheter provides superior analgesia compared with a supraclavicular perineural catheter.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2011
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyDecreasing the local anesthetic volume from 20 to 10 mL for ultrasound-guided interscalene block at the cricoid level does not reduce the incidence of hemidiaphragmatic paresis.
This prospective, randomized, double blind study was designed to determine whether reduction in volume from 20 to 10 mL of ropivacaine 0.5% for ultrasound-guided interscalene block might decrease the incidence of diaphragmatic paresis and preserve pulmonary function. ⋯ Decreasing the volume for interscalene block from 20 to 10 mL did not reduce the incidence of hemidiaphragmatic paresis or impairment in pulmonary function, which persisted at discharge from recovery room. No significant differences in quality or duration of analgesia were observed.