Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2024
ReviewLocal anesthetic dosing and toxicity of adult truncal catheters: a narrative review of published practice.
Anesthesiologists frequently use truncal catheters for postoperative pain control but with limited characterization of dosing and toxicity. ⋯ Practitioners frequently administer ropivacaine and bupivacaine above the package insert limits, at doses associated with toxicity. Patient safety would benefit from more specific recommendations to limit excessive dose and risk of toxicity.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2024
Randomized Controlled TrialAdductor canal block techniques do not lead to involvement of sciatic nerve branches: a radiological cadaveric study.
Low and high volume mid-thigh (ie, distal femoral triangle) and distal adductor canal block approaches are frequently applied for knee surgical procedures. Although these techniques aim to contain the injectate within the adductor canal, spillage into the popliteal fossa has been reported. While in theory this could improve analgesia, it might also result in motor blockade due to coverage of motor branches of the sciatic nerve. This radiological cadaveric study, therefore, investigated the incidence of coverage of sciatic nerve divisions after various adductor canal block techniques. ⋯ Adductor canal block techniques are unlikely, even when using larger volumes, to block the sciatic nerve, or its main branches. Furthermore, injectate reached the popliteal fossa in a small minority of cases, yet if a clinical analgesic effect is achieved by this mechanism is still unknown.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2024
Randomized Controlled TrialReal-time ultrasound guidance versus fluoroscopic guidance in thoracic epidural catheter placement: a single-center, non-inferiority, randomized, active-controlled trial.
Fluoroscopy can improve the success rate of thoracic epidural catheter placement (TECP). Real-time ultrasound (US)-guided TECP was recently introduced and showed a high first-pass success rate. We tested whether real-time US-guided TECP results in a non-inferior first-pass success rate compared with that of fluoroscopy-guided TECP. ⋯ Real-time US guidance provided a non-inferior success rate and shorter time spent on preparation and procedure compared with fluoroscopic guidance in TECP.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2024
EEG response to a high volume (1.5 mL/kg) caudal block in infants less than 3 months.
The substantial compression of the dural sac and the subsequent cranial shift of cerebrospinal fluid caused by a high-volume caudal block has been shown to significantly but transiently reduce cerebral blood flow. The aim of the present study was to determine whether this reduction in cerebral perfusion is significant enough to alter brain function, as assessed by electroencephalography (EEG). ⋯ A high-volume caudal block appears to increase intracranial pressure, thereby reducing cerebral blood flow, to the extent that it transiently will affect cerebral function as assessed by EEG (increased delta power activity) in approximately 90% of small infants.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2024
Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring and spinal cord stimulator implantation.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most dreaded complications after spinal cord stimulation (SCS) implantation surgery. As a result, intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) has been proposed to avoid accidental damage to nervous structures under anesthesia and confirm positioning for optimal stimulation. Our study uses a large administrative claims database to determine the 30-day risk of SCI after SCS implantation. ⋯ Increased SCI risk among patients with IONM likely reflects higher baseline risk, and further research is needed for risk mitigation.