Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Feb 2024
ReviewEmpirical guide to a safe thoracic paravertebral block based on dimensions of paravertebral space when ultrasound visualization is challenging.
Although ultrasound (US) guidance is the mainstay technique for performing thoracic paravertebral blocks, situations arise when US imaging is limited due to subcutaneous emphysema or extremely deep structures. A detailed understanding of the anatomical structures of the paravertebral space can be strategic to safely and accurately perform a landmark-based or US-assisted approach. As such, we aimed to provide an anatomic roadmap to assist physicians. ⋯ The best target for initial needle insertion from the midline (mean length of TP minus 2 SDs) distance would be 2.5 cm (upper thoracic)/2.2 cm (middle thoracic)/1.8 cm (lower thoracic) for females and 2.7 cm (upper)/2.5 cm (middle)/2.0 cm (lower thoracic) for males, with consideration that the lower thoracic region allows for a lower margin of error in the lateral dimension because of shorter TP. There are different dimensions for the key bony landmarks of a thoracic paravertebral block between males and females, which have not been previously described. These differences warrant adjustment of landmark-based or US-assisted approach to thoracic paravertebral space block for male and female patients.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Feb 2024
ReviewNeurological injury following peripheral nerve blocks: a narrative review of estimates of risks and the influence of ultrasound guidance.
Peripheral nerve injury or post-block neurological dysfunction (PBND) are uncommon but a recognized complications of peripheral nerve blocks (PNB). A broad range of its incidence is noted in the literature and hence a critical appraisal of its occurrence is needed. ⋯ Our review adds information to existing literature that the neurological complications are rarer but seem to display a higher incidence for some blocks more than others. Use of US guidance may be associated with a lower incidence of PBND especially in those PNBs reporting a higher pooled estimates. Future studies need to standardize the reporting of PBND at various timepoints and its association to PNB.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Feb 2024
Randomized Controlled Trial Observational StudyEvaluating residual anti-Xa levels following discontinuation of treatment-dose enoxaparin in patients presenting for elective surgery: a prospective observational trial.
Prior studies have demonstrated that patients presenting for elective surgery may have higher-than-expected residual anti-Xa level activity at or beyond 24 hours following their last treatment dose of enoxaparin. Given that 24 hours of abstinence is currently recommended by both European and American societies before the performance of neuraxial or deep anesthetic/analgesic procedures, determining the actual timeframe at which residual anti-Xa level activity reliably falls below 0.2 IU/mL, the lower limit of the target range for thromboprophylaxis, is critical. ⋯ Residual levels of anti-Xa activity do not reliably fall below 0.2 IU/mL 24 hours following discontinuation of treatment-dose enoxaparin. Therefore, current time-based guidelines are not conservative enough. Routine anti-Xa testing should be strongly considered, or current time-based guidelines should be reassessed.
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Major traumatic injuries are a known risk factor for persistent opioid use, but data describing the relationship between specific traumatic injuries and opioid use is lacking. ⋯ These data demonstrate that new persistent opioid use frequently occurs in these common hospitalized trauma populations. Improved interventions to reduce persistent pain and opioid use in patients hospitalized after these and other traumas are needed.