Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jun 2021
ReviewInterventional procedure plans generated by telemedicine visits in spine patients are rarely changed after in-person evaluation.
The role of telemedicine in the evaluation and treatment of patients with spinal disorders is rapidly expanding, brought on largely by the COVID-19 pandemic. Within this context, the ability of pain specialists to accurately diagnose and plan appropriate interventional spine procedures based entirely on telemedicine visits, without an in-person evaluation, remains to be established. In this study, our primary objective was to assess the relevance of telemedicine to interventional spine procedure planning by determining whether procedure plans established solely from virtual visits changed following in-person evaluation. ⋯ Our findings suggest that telemedicine evaluations are a generally accurate means of preprocedural assessment and development of interventional spine procedure plans. These findings clearly demonstrate the capabilities of telemedicine for evaluating spine patients and planning interventional spine procedures.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jun 2021
CommentInvasive placebos in research on peripheral nerve blocks: a follow-up study.
The Serious Harm and Morbidity "SHAM" grading system has previously been proposed to categorize the risks associated with the use of invasive placebos in peripheral nerve block research. SHAM grades range from 0 (no potential complications, eg, using standard analgesia techniques as a comparator) through to 4 (risk of major complications, eg, performing a sub-Tenon's block and injecting normal saline). A study in 2011 found that 52% of studies of peripheral nerve blocks had SHAM grades of 3 or more. ⋯ The use of invasive placebos that may be associated with serious risks in peripheral nerve block research has decreased in contemporary peripheral nerve block research.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jun 2021
CommentHigh-definition ultrasound imaging defines the paraneural sheath and fascial compartments surrounding the cords of the brachial plexus at the costoclavicular space and lateral infraclavicular fossa.
The paraneural sheath is a multilayered network of collagen fibers that surround the brachial plexus. Currently, there are no sonographic data on the paraneural sheath of the brachial plexus, which this study aimed to evaluate. ⋯ We have demonstrated the paraneural sheath and fascial compartments surrounding the cords of the brachial plexus at the costoclavicular space and lateral infraclavicular fossa using high-definition ultrasound imaging.