Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Oct 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialPhysiological and functional responses of water-cooled versus traditional radiofrequency ablation of peripheral nerves in rats.
Several clinical studies have focused on assessing the effectiveness of different radiofrequency ablation (RFA) modalities in pain management. While a direct head-to-head clinical study is needed, results from independent studies suggest that water-cooled RFA (CRFA) may result in longer lasting pain relief than traditional RFA (TRFA). The primary purpose of this study was, therefore, to investigate in a preclinical model, head-to-head differences between the two RFA technologies. ⋯ This study shows that CRFA has greater energy output, as well as more pronounced structural and functional changes elicited on the peripheral nerves compared with TRFA. While these preclinical data will need to be confirmed with a large clinical randomized controlled trial, we are encouraged by the direction that they may have set for those trials.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Oct 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialEffect of low-dose lidocaine on objective upper extremity strength and immediate pain relief following cervical interlaminar epidural injections: a double-blinded randomized controlled trial.
Low-dose lidocaine is a common diluent for analgesia following cervical interlaminar epidural steroid injection (CIESI). Concerns with this practice exist. A single-arm cohort reported that 20% of patients develop postprocedural upper extremity weakness when using lidocaine as a diluent. Furthermore, a high-cervical spinal block with unintended intrathecal or subdural administration is possible. ⋯ Low-dose lidocaine as a diluent in CIESI does not significantly increase the risk of post-CIESI myotomal weakness when compared with saline, but also does not substantially increase the likelihood of immediate, meaningful pain relief.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Oct 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialBilateral ultrasound-guided thoracic erector spinae plane blocks using a programmed intermittent bolus improve opioid-sparing postoperative analgesia in pediatric patients after open cardiac surgery: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Postoperative pain after pediatric cardiac surgery is usually treated with intravenous opioids. Recently, the focus has been on postoperative regional analgesia with the introduction of ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane blocks (ESPBs). We hypothesized that bilateral ESPB with a programmed intermittent bolus (PIB) regimen decreases postoperative morphine consumption at 48 hours and improves analgesia in children who undergo cardiac surgery. ⋯ In pediatric cardiac surgery, the results of this study confirm our hypothesis that bilateral ESPB analgesia with ropivacaine decreases the postoperative morphine consumption at 48 hours and demonstrates better postoperative analgesia compared with a control group. Trial registration number NCT03593642.