Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jun 2022
Association of opioid exposure before surgery with opioid consumption after surgery.
To determine the effect of prescription opioid use in the year before surgery on opioid consumption after surgery. ⋯ Preoperative opioid use is associated with small increases in patient-reported opioid consumption after surgery for most patients, though greater differences exist for patients with chronic use. For most patients with preoperative opioid exposure, existing guidelines may meet their postoperative needs. However, guidelines may need tailoring for patients with chronic use, and providers should anticipate a higher likelihood of postoperative refills for all opioid-exposed patients.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jun 2022
Transforaminal lumbar puncture for spinal anesthesia or novel drug administration: a technique combining C-arm fluoroscopy and ultrasound.
Lumbar puncture (LP) may be challenging for patients with scoliosis and other conditions following previous posterior fusion and instrumentation from thoracic to sacral levels. Interventional radiologists have described CT approaches to transforaminal LP. We hypothesized that combined C-arm fluoroscopy and ultrasound could be a feasible approach to transforaminal LP for interventional pain physicians and regional anesthesiologists. ⋯ Transforaminal LP appears technically feasible for patients with full-spine fusions using a straight-needle approach with combined fluoroscopy and ultrasound guidance. Larger case series and prospective studies may better define the success rates, risks, and benefits of this approach relative to alternative approaches to intrathecal access for patients with previous long-segment posterior spine fusions.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jun 2022
Exploring the utility of assistive artificial intelligence for ultrasound scanning in regional anesthesia.
Ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia (UGRA) involves the acquisition and interpretation of ultrasound images to delineate sonoanatomy. This study explores the utility of a novel artificial intelligence (AI) device designed to assist in this task (ScanNav Anatomy Peripheral Nerve Block; ScanNav), which applies a color overlay on real-time ultrasound to highlight key anatomical structures. ⋯ ScanNav shows potential to support non-experts in training and clinical practice, and experts in teaching UGRA. Such technology may aid the uptake and generalizability of UGRA.