Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2017
Comparative StudyAdherence to a Multimodal Analgesic Clinical Pathway: A Within-Group Comparison of Staged Bilateral Knee Arthroplasty Patients.
Multimodal analgesic clinical pathways for joint replacement patients often include perineural catheters, but long-term adherence to these pathways has not yet been investigated. Our primary aim was to determine adherence rate to a knee arthroplasty clinical pathway for patients undergoing staged bilateral procedures. ⋯ For staged bilateral knee arthroplasty patients, 100% clinical pathway adherence including perineural catheters and multimodal analgesia is feasible despite multiple variables. We believe that patient-centered acute pain management requires consistent and reliable delivery of care.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2017
Upgrading a Social Media Strategy to Increase Twitter Engagement During the Spring Annual Meeting of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.
Microblogs known as "tweets" are a rapid, effective method of information dissemination in health care. Although several medical specialties have described their Twitter conference experiences, Twitter-related data in the fields of anesthesiology and pain medicine are sparse. We therefore analyzed the Twitter content of 2 consecutive spring meetings of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine using publicly available online transcripts. ⋯ Physician trainees, however, represent an important and increasing minority of Twitter contributors. Physicians not in attendance predominantly contributed via retweeting original content, particularly picture-containing tweets, and thus increased reach to nonattendees. A social media campaign prior to meetings may help increase the reach of conference-related Twitter discussion.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2017
Lung Ultrasound for the Regional Anesthesiologist and Acute Pain Specialist.
In this article, we discuss the emerging role of lung point-of-care ultrasonography for regional anesthesiologists and pain management specialists. Lung ultrasonography is a well-established clinical tool that is used on a routine basis in emergency rooms and critical care units internationally to evaluate patients with respiratory distress; however, its benefits to the regional anesthesiologist and pain specialist are not as well known and are practiced less frequently. ⋯ As anesthesiologists routinely perform nerve blocks that put patients at potential risk of complications such as pneumothorax or diaphragmatic paresis, it is important to understand how to use lung ultrasonography to evaluate for these conditions, as well as to differentiate between other potential causes of respiratory distress, such as interstitial syndrome and pleural effusions. This article describes the normal and pathological findings that can be used to quickly and confidently evaluate a patient for these conditions.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2017
Epinephrine Deteriorates Pulmonary Gas Exchange in a Rat Model of Bupivacaine-Induced Cardiotoxicity: A Threshold Dose of Epinephrine.
The study goal was to compare the effect of epinephrine in different doses on pulmonary gas exchange in a rat model of bupivacaine-induced cardiac depression. ⋯ A single injection of 10 μg/kg epinephrine or greater was associated with deterioration of pulmonary gas exchange in our rat model of bupivacaine induced cardiac depression.