Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2011
ReviewMeralgia paresthetica: what an anesthesiologist needs to know.
Meralgia paresthetica (MP) is an entrapment pain syndrome of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN) of thigh. Diagnosis is principally made on clinical ground with pain and paresthesia of the anterolateral thigh. Electrophysiological test and nerve block play important roles when the diagnosis is uncertain. ⋯ Surgical options should be considered in patients refractory to those treatment options. Anesthesiologists are commonly involved in the management of MP because of their expertise in pain management and performance of the LFCN block. Blockade of the LFCN with local anesthetics and steroid serves both the diagnostic and therapeutic role.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2011
ReviewA review of the benefits and pitfalls of phantoms in ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia.
With the growth of ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia, so has the requirement for training tools to practice needle guidance skills and evaluate echogenic needles. Ethically, skills in ultrasound-guided needle placement should be gained in a phantom before performance of nerve blocks on patients in clinical practice. However, phantom technology is varied, and critical evaluation of the images is needed to understand their application to clinical use. ⋯ Fresh-frozen cadavers retain much of the textural feel of live human tissue and are nearly as echogenic. Similar to clinical practice, this makes needles inserted at steep angles practically invisible, unless they are highly echogenic. This review describes the uses and pitfalls of phantoms that have been described or commercially produced.