Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Injury to saphenous nerve branches is frequent during knee surgery and can result in chronic pain. This saphenous neuralgia remains challenging to treat. Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) is a new potential non-pharmacologic treatment option. We present our outcomes experience using this technology in 12 patients. ⋯ Limited effective treatments exist for saphenous neuralgia. Our case series demonstrates the potential of PNS as a treatment for saphenous neuralgia. Comparative effectiveness studies are warranted to assess whether our effect size is clinically relevant.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Dec 2023
Review Case ReportsUltrasound-guided spinal anesthesia in infants: a narrative review.
Infant spinal anesthesia has many potential benefits. However, the delivery of infant spinal anesthesia is technically challenging. The landmark-based technique has not changed for over a century. Advancements in ultrasound technology may provide an opportunity to improve infant spinal procedures. ⋯ Ultrasound yields high-quality images of the infant spine. Most literature regarding ultrasound for infant spinal procedures arises from emergency medicine or interventional radiology specialties. The literature on ultrasound for infant spinal anesthesia is extremely limited, but shows promise. Future studies are needed in order to determine whether ultrasound can improve the success rate for delivery of infant spinal anesthesia.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Dec 2023
Randomized Controlled TrialA randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a bupivacaine hydrochloride implant in patients undergoing abdominoplasty.
Surgical site infiltration with bupivacaine hydrochloride (HCl) is a standard element of postoperative analgesia for soft tissue surgeries, but results in short-lived analgesia. A novel bupivacaine implant, XARACOLL (bupivacaine HCl), is Food and Drug Administration approved for treatment of acute postsurgical pain following adult inguinal herniorrhaphy. This study examined the efficacy and safety of the bupivacaine implant (300 mg) compared with placebo for postsurgical pain after abdominoplasty. ⋯ The study design was limited by not containing an active comparator. Compared with placebo, INL-001 provides postoperative analgesia that is temporally aligned with the period of maximal postsurgical pain in abdominoplasty and offers a favorable safety profile.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Dec 2023
Case ReportsPostoperative analgesia for Kasai portoenterostomy using external oblique intercostal blocks.
External Oblique Intercostal (EOI) fascial plane blockade is a relatively new regional anesthetic technique used for a variety of upper abdominal surgical procedures. Proponents of this block praise its simple sonoanatomy, extensive local anesthetic (LA) spread, and ease of catheter placement, while avoiding encroachment into the surgical field or dressing sites; nevertheless, it is underutilized in pediatric surgery. Kasai portoenterostomy is a common pediatric surgical procedure for biliary atresia typically done via an open abdominal approach with an extended subcostal incision. Postoperative analgesic management with epidural anesthetic techniques are considered but may be limited by periprocedural coagulopathy concerns. ⋯ The purpose of this report is to describe the outcomes and technical approach in a neonate who received EOI blocks as an alternative to epidural anesthetic management. Further studies are needed to compare the efficacy and complication rate of EOI blockade to epidural analgesia for Kasai portoenterostomy surgery.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Dec 2023
Surgical opioid-avoidance protocol: a postoperative pharmacological multimodal analgesic intervention in diverse patient populations.
This study evaluated the effect of a surgical opioid-avoidance protocol (SOAP) on postoperative pain scores. The primary goal was to demonstrate that the SOAP was as effective as the pre-existing non-SOAP (without opioid restriction) protocol by measuring postoperative pain in a diverse, opioid-naive patient population undergoing inpatient surgery across multiple surgical services. ⋯ The SOAP was as effective as the non-SOAP group in postoperative pain scores across a diverse patient population and associated with lower postoperative opioid consumption and discharge prescription opioids.