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
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 · Feb 2024
ReviewBeyond traditional therapies: a network meta-analysis on the treatment efficacy for chronic phantom limb pain.
Phantom limb pain (PLP) frequently affects individuals with limb amputations. When PLP evolves into its chronic phase, known as chronic PLP, traditional therapies often fall short in providing sufficient relief. The optimal intervention for chronic PLP remains unclear. ⋯ CRD42023455949.
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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.