Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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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.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2024
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyCooled radiofrequency ablation versus standard medical management for chronic sacroiliac joint pain: a multicenter, randomized comparative effectiveness study.
Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, with sacroiliac joint pain comprising up to 30% of cases of axial lower back pain. Conservative therapies provide only modest relief. Although placebo-controlled trials show efficacy for sacral lateral branch cooled radiofrequency ablation, there are no comparative effectiveness studies. ⋯ In patients with sacroiliac joint pain, cooled radiofrequency ablation provided statistically superior improvements across the spectrum of patient outcomes compared with standard medical management.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2024
ReviewDorsal root ganglion: a key to understanding the therapeutic effects of the erector spinae plane (ESP) and other intertransverse process blocks?
Since its description in 2016, the erector spinae plane block (ESPB) has become a widely employed regional anesthetic technique and kindled interest in a range of related techniques, collectively termed intertransverse process blocks. There has been ongoing controversy over mechanism of action of the ESPB, mainly due to incongruities between results of cutaneous sensory testing, clinical efficacy studies, and investigations into the neural structures that are reached by injected local anesthetic (LA). ⋯ We hypothesize that the DRG, due to its unique and complex microarchitecture, represents a key therapeutic target for modulation of nociceptive signaling in regional anesthesia. This paper discusses how the anatomical and physiological characteristics of the DRG may be one of the factors underpinning the clinical analgesia observed in ESPB and other intertransverse process blocks.
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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
Spread of local anesthetic injected in the paravertebral space, intertransverse processes space, and erector spinae plane: a cadaveric model.
Paraspinal fascial plane blocks have become popular and include the erector spinae plane (ESP) and intertransverse process (ITP) blocks. Controversy exists regarding the exact mechanism(s) of these blocks. We aimed to evaluate the spread of local anesthetic (LA) following ESP and ITP blocks as compared with paravertebral (PV) blocks in a cadaveric model. ⋯ Based on the results of this cadaveric experimental model of paraspinal fascial plane blocks, LA spread following ITP blocks extends into both the PV space and the erector spine fascial plane, and thus may offer a more favorable analgesic profile than ESP blocks.