Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2014
Case ReportsDislocation of a Femur Fracture After Femoral Nerve Block.
Femoral nerve block (FNB) is increasingly used as an analgesic modality in patients with femoral fracture both in the emergency department and preoperatively. We describe an occurrence of unexpected dislocation of the fracture after FNB. ⋯ Femoral nerve block confers effective analgesia for femur fracture. However, relaxation of the quadriceps femoris muscle may destabilize the fracture because of an unopposed tone of the hamstrings and/or thigh adductors.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2014
Prolonged Amelioration of Experimental Postoperative Pain by Bupivacaine Released From Microsphere-Coated Hernia Mesh.
Postoperative pain alters physiological functions and delays discharge. Perioperative local anesthetics are effective analgesics in the immediate 1- to 2-day postoperative period, but acute pain often lasts longer. The goal of this work was to develop a local anesthetic formulation adhering to an intraoperative implanted device that reduces pain for at least 3 days after surgery. ⋯ Bupivacaine slowly released for 72 hours from microspheres adsorbed to the hernia mesh significantly suppresses evoked postoperative hypersensitivity for at least 1 week and is more effective than a suspension of these microspheres or preoperative single-shot infiltration of bupivacaine.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2014
Case ReportsAdductor canal block can result in motor block of the quadriceps muscle.
The block of nerves in the adductor canal is considered to cause a sensory block without a motor component. In this report, we describe a case of significant quadriceps muscle weakness after an adductor canal block (ACB). ⋯ Several studies have reported that ACB involves no motor blockade. However, our case report illustrates that the ACB can result in clinically significant quadriceps muscle paralysis. This report suggests that patients should be monitored vigilantly for this occurrence to decrease the risk of falls.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2014
Ghrelin Alleviates Neuropathic Pain Through GHSR-1a-Mediated Suppression of the p38 MAPK/NF-κB Pathway in a Rat Chronic Constriction Injury Model.
Neuropathic pain is related to the sustained activation of neuroglial cells and the production of proinflammatory cytokines in the spinal dorsal horn. Ghrelin, the endogenous ligand for growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a (GHSR-1a), has been shown to inhibit the activation of microglia and the release of proinflammatory cytokines. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of ghrelin/GHSR-1a signaling in neuropathic pain and to understand the associated mechanisms. ⋯ Our present study demonstrated that ghrelin alleviated neuropathic pain through a GHSR-1a-mediated suppression of the p38 MAPK/NF-κB pathway.