Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Nov 2018
Pectoral Block Failure May Be Due to Incomplete Coverage of Anatomical Targets: A Dissection Study.
The popularization of ultrasound-guided nerve blocks in cosmetic and reconstructive breast surgery calls for better anatomical understanding of chest wall innervation. When inserting subpectoral implants, pain from pocket dissection, stretching of muscle, and release of costal attachments may be relieved by blocking the pectoral nerves in the interpectoral (IP) space.We describe the variable anatomy of the pectoral nerves in the IP space in order to define the area to be covered for sufficient blockade, based on cadaver dissections. ⋯ The MPN branches that innervate the lower part of the pectoralis major muscle are asymmetrical and variable in location and length; all located in a triangular area easily defined by sonographic landmarks, lateral to the TAA.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Oct 2018
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyAn Ultrasound-Guided Lateral Approach for Proximal Sciatic Nerve Block: A Randomized Comparison With the Anterior Approach and a Cadaveric Evaluation.
The lateral and anterior approaches for proximal sciatic nerve (SN) block can be used in patients lying supine. We assume that the posterior femoral cutaneous nerve (PFCN) is simultaneously blocked more often via the lateral approach than via the anterior approach, given the proximity of these 2 nerves at the injection level. However, locating the SN is difficult when using the original landmark-based lateral approach. We have introduced ultrasound guidance to alleviate the technical difficulty of the lateral approach and tested the hypothesis that an ultrasound-guided lateral approach would achieve PFCN block more often than the ultrasound-guided anterior approach for SN block. ⋯ This study was registered at UMIN Clinical Trials Registry, identifier UMIN000026748.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Oct 2018
Pharmacokinetics of 400 mg Locally Infiltrated Ropivacaine After Total Knee Arthroplasty Without Perioperative Tourniquet Use.
Local infiltration analgesia (LIA) with ropivacaine for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is increasingly used. Despite the high doses of ropivacaine, LIA is considered safe, and this perception is sustained by pharmacokinetic data demonstrating that maximum concentrations of ropivacaine stay well below the toxic threshold in plasma. These pharmacokinetic studies all involve TKA procedures with the use of a tourniquet. Recently, performing TKA without the use of a tourniquet is gaining popularity, but no pharmacokinetic data exist when LIA is administered for TKA without the use of a tourniquet. The purpose of this study was to describe the pharmacokinetic profile of a single-shot ropivacaine (200 mL 0.2%) and 0.75 mg epinephrine (1000 μg/mL) when used for LIA in patients for TKA without a tourniquet. ⋯ This study was registered at Netherlands Trial Registry (http://www.trialregister.nl), trial ID NTR6306.