Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2023
ReviewStellate ganglion block catheters for refractory electrical storm: a retrospective cohort and care pathway.
Electrical storm can be challenging to treat, requiring a multidisciplinary team to coordinate medical management and invasive procedures. As the stellate ganglion provides efferent sympathetic outflow to the myocardium, stellate ganglion blocks (SGB) can be used to combat ventricular arrhythmias that arise from sympathetic overactivity. Data are scarce regarding SGB catheters as a treatment for electrical storm. We reviewed our use of SGB catheters for refractory electrical storm using our pathway collaboratively developed by critical care, cardiology, and regional anesthesia teams. ⋯ SGBs can interrupt or treat electrical storm. SGB catheters allow for prolonged arrhythmia cessation without repeated blocks and decrease the risk of repeat episodes of ventricular arrhythmias.