Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2024
Comparative anatomical study of digital block with the WALANT, interdigital, and transthecal techniques.
Interdigital block and transthecal block through the flexor sheath are commonly used techniques for the anesthesia of isolated fingers. The wide-awake local anesthetic no-tourniquet technique is a relatively new approach for local anesthesia during finger procedures. The anatomical spread of local anesthetics with the wide-awake local anesthetic no tourniquet technique has not been described adequately.This anatomical study aimed to assess the distribution of a local anesthetic dye solution to the digital nerves. The study was designed to compare the nerve staining effect using the wide-awake local anesthetic no tourniquet and the transthecal and interdigital techniques in cadavers. We hypothesized that the wide-awake local anesthetic no tourniquet technique stains digital nerves more effectively than the interdigital and transthecal digital injection techniques. ⋯ The wide-awake local anesthetic no tourniquet technique was as effective as conventional techniques in the digital blockade, achieving specific spread on the targeted nerves.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2024
Oral opioid prescribing to active duty US military personnel: a cross-sectional population.
While civilian opioid prescriptions have seen a dramatic decline in recent years, there are few studies investigating trends in opioid prescription in the active duty military population. We evaluated oral opioid prescribing patterns to active duty military personnel in the Military Health System (MHS) from 2017 to 2020 to determine the incidence of opioid prescriptions as well as demographic and military-specific risk factors for receiving an oral opioid prescription. ⋯ The substantial decrease in oral opioid prescriptions to active duty military personnel mirrors data published in the civilian community. The identified risk factors for receiving an opioid prescription may be potential targets for future interventions to further decrease prescribing.